Overview

About the program

You'll regularly meet with an advisement or doctoral committee who’ll support your progress toward your degree, which, combined with immersive in-classroom instruction, will set you up for a successful career.

After demonstrating mastery of fundamental physics through graduate-level coursework and a comprehensive candidacy examination, doctoral students conduct independent research in dynamic areas of modern physics in close collaboration with a faculty research director.

The Physics program at the University of South Carolina culminates in a dissertation based on original research, the results of which must be submitted to a refereed research journal.

Programme Structure

Courses include:

Quantum Mechanics
Classical Mechanics
Classical Field Theory
Statistical Thermodynamics
Selected Topics in Physics

Key information

Duration

Full-time
- 120 months

Start dates & application deadlines

Starting 2026-01-08 00:00:00
- Apply before 2025-09-15 00:00:00
Starting 2026-08-20 00:00:00
- Apply before 2026-01-15 00:00:00

Language

English

PTE Academic

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TOEFL^® IBT

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Duolingo English Test

120

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Credits

30 SCH

60 graduate credit hours beyond the baccalaureate degree or 30 beyond the master’s

Delivered

On Campus

Disciplines

Physics View 194 other PhDs in Physics in United States

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Academic requirements

GRE^®

Required

English requirements

PTE Academic

Schedule a PTE test!

TOEFL^® IBT

Schedule TOEFL®

Duolingo English Test

120

Take A Free Practice Test!

Other requirements

General requirements

Bachelor's Degree from an accredited college or university (or international equivalent)

Required Documents

Application
Personal Statement
Transcript(s)
3 Letters of Recommendation
TOEFL or IELTS (international applicants)
optional: GRE

Student insurance

Make sure to cover your health, travel, and stay while studying abroad. Even global coverages can miss important items, so make sure your student insurance ticks all the following:

Additional medical costs (i.e. dental)
Repatriation, if something happens to you or your family
Liability
Home contents and baggage
Accidents
Legal aid

We partnered with Aon to provide you with the best affordable student insurance, for a carefree experience away from home.

Get your student insurance now

Starting from €0.53/day, free cancellation any time.

Remember, countries and universities may have specific insurance requirements. To learn more about how student insurance work at University of South Carolina and/or in United States, please visit Student Insurance Portal.

Tuition Fee

To always see correct tuition fees

International

29760 USD/year

Tuition Fee

Based on the tuition of 14880 USD per semester during 120 months.
National

29760 USD/year

Tuition Fee

Based on the tuition of 14880 USD per semester during 120 months.
In-State

13734 USD/year

Tuition Fee

Based on the tuition of 6867 USD per semester during 120 months.

Living costs for Columbia

999 - 1508 USD /month

Living costs

The living costs include the total expenses per month, covering accommodation, public transportation, utilities (electricity, internet), books and groceries.

Funding

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Scholarships Information

Below you will find PhD's scholarship opportunities for Physics.

Available Scholarships

You are eligible to apply for these scholarships but a selection process will still be applied by the provider.

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