Graduate

The Department of Physics and Astronomy has graduate and post-graduate research programs in theoretical and experimental physics. Students may obtain the MA in Physics or MA in Adolescent Education from Hunter College, and/or the joint PhD degree in Physics from Hunter College and the City University Graduate Center. The Department offers all levels of graduate courses jointly with the Graduate Center.

Faculty of the department are pursuing projects in the forefront of modern research. The focuses include experimental research in astronomy, optics and spectroscopy, biophysics and biomedical optics, nuclear magnetic resonance and renewal energy materials, and theoretical research in nanophysics, quantum information and quantum optics, chemical physics, and time-frequency analysis. The research programs are well funded by nine different government agencies. Many of our faculty members are leaders of their fields, won prestigious awards, and earned international recognition.

The MA in physics is offered as a terminal degree, either separately or as part of the BA/MA program. The MA in physics may also, with the approval of the CUNY Graduate Center, form part of the degree work required for the CUNY PhD degree. Thesis research toward the CUNY PhD may also be carried out at Hunter College.

This special program for a limited number of well-qualified undergraduate students leads to a bachelor of arts and a master of arts degree. Students are offered the opportunity to quickly reach a level where they can stand in competition for admission into any doctoral program in physics.

Because this program requires a large number of physics courses, many of which have other physics courses as prerequisites, students in this program should begin taking physics courses in their first or second undergraduate semester. Students should consult the department chair, undergraduate adviser or graduate adviser for details as early as possible.