To be recommended for candidacy for the Ph.D. degree in Materials Science, the student must, in addition to meeting the general Institute requirements, do the following:

a. Courses. To continue in the graduate program, the student must maintain a B– average for each term. Advancement to candidacy requires the successful completion of the program listed under “Core Courses” above. Alternatively, if the student has taken equivalent courses elsewhere, he or she may prove competency to the instructor of the equivalent course at the Institute and request a waiver of the required course. With the above course schedule as a guide, students must complete a minimum of 135 units of courses, numbered 101 or above, plus 2 units of MS 110ab, before presenting themselves for the candidacy exam. The coursework towards the Ph.D. degree in applied physics is typically completed within the first two years of residency at Caltech.

• All units must be taken for grades and passed with a grade of at least a C, except for courses offered only on a pass/fail basis.
• Only courses in which a student has obtained a grade of C or higher will be counted toward the 135 unit minimum.
• No more than 27 units of research through MS 200 can be counted toward the 135 unit requirement of candidacy.
• Students must complete the degree progress report online.
• Alternate Subjects or Areas
  • Students entering the program with advanced preparation may choose either to substitute more advanced courses in the topical areas shown or to demonstrate competency by successfully passing both the midterm and final examinations.
  • Students may petition the option representative to accept alternate subjects or areas.
  • These changes should retain core materials science knowledge, and should represent sufficient breadth.
  • The approval is not automatic; such petitions must be submitted to the option representative and approved before the student registers for the course.