Department of Physics

Admissions

We consider all applicants to our graduate program holistically. This means we carefully consider all of the parts of your application to build a complete picture of you as a student and researcher. A complete picture will help us decide if you can succeed in our program.

Deadlines

  • January 8 for fall (August) enrollment. We do not typically accept students for spring or summer admission.

Applying

All applications must be submitted through the K-State Graduate School on-line application. You will need to pay the application fee by credit card online.

McNair Scholars will not be required to pay the application fee but should have their program coordinator provide documentation that they have participated in the McNair Program at their undergraduate institution.

Students who have participated in K-State's Research Experiences for Undergraduates will also be exempt from the fee. The program sponsor will send a letter verifying participation in REU programs.

The application form will also include:

  • A personal statement of objectives: Statements should briefly describe your interest in the program, previous experience, research interests, and long-term career goals. In addition, you can mention the names of any faculty members you are interested in working with. Limit your statement to a single-spaced page if at all possible.
  • Official transcripts
  • Contact details for three professional references
  • $65 application fee ($75 for international applicants)
  • GRE scores are NOT required but can be provided if available. The University Code for testing is 6334. The department code is 808. Lack of physics GRE will not harm your application.

International Applicants

English Language Proficiency

The Graduate School requires each applicant whose native language is not English to provide a satisfactory test score for TOEFL (minimum score =79 on IBT; 550 on PBT), IELTS (score minimum score=6.5), or PTE (minimum score = 58). The test date should be no older than 18 months from the application deadline. An applicant who has received a degree in the last two years from a United States college or university is exempt from this requirement.

Affidavit of Financial Support

The Graduate School requires international applicants to submit an Affidavit of Financial Support for the Manhattan campus. This documentation is required in order to issue an I-20 or DS-2019 but it has no bearing on our admission decision. Typically we only admit students for whom we provide full financial support unless a student requests to be admitted on their own scholarship funds.

If you have any questions on the process, please email graduate@phys.ksu.edu.