Saul Propp successfully passed the Physics PhD Qualifying exam, which is a multiple-day written exam covering a wide array of problems in advanced physics. All graduate students must pass this exam to continue in the PhD program, and it represents a major hurdle to advance to PhD candidacy – many don’t pass. But by studying for and taking the exam, students synthesize and unify what they have learned in their physics coursework, and gain a breadth of knowledge in multiple fields of physics, a set of theoretical tools to tackle various problems in research, and confidence to tackle physics problems that are new to them. Many students need to re-take the exam after their first summer in the program, but Saul studied hard and did great. Great job, Saul!

Alice Greenberg successfully passed the Physics PhD Qualifier exam, which is a multiple-day written exam covering a wide array of problems in advanced physics. All graduate students must pass this exam to continue in the PhD program, and it represents a major hurdle to advance to PhD candidacy. By studying for and taking the exam, students synthesize and unify what they have learned in their physics coursework, and gain a breadth of knowledge in multiple fields of physics, a set of theoretical tools to tackle various problems in research, and confidence to tackle new physics problems. Many students need to re-take the exam after their first summer in the program, but Alice studied hard and commanded that test. Great job, Alice!