Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Admissions and Financial Aid

• Is financial support available for graduate students in physics?

  In general, we do not admit students without offering financial support as well. The only exceptions are students who have already arranged for third-party funding, such as government fellowships.

  Financial support for first-year students usually takes the form of a teaching assistantship. This provides a stipend of approximately $1560 per month during the 9-month academic year (for 2006-2007) and includes a tuition waiver. Tuition is not deducted from your stipend, and the only money you owe the University are student fees of approximately $900 per year.

  In some cases research assistantships are offered to incoming students, and they are generally on the same terms (except that they involve working in a research group, rather than teaching undergraduates). Teaching assistantships are nominally 20 hour per week, but in practice we expect students to spend about 13 hours per week on duties associated with teaching.

• Are any fellowships offered by CSU or by your department?

  The University occasionally offers graduate fellowships to exceptionally well-qualified applicants. Our graduate admissions committee will decide whom to nominate for such fellowships and will take care of all the paperwork; there is nothing you should or can do in connection with that process. If you are awarded a fellowship you will be informed as soon as possible; this is typically some time after you are notified that you were admitted to the department.

• What is the deadline for applications? Can I apply for Spring admission?

  We do not have a hard-and-fast deadline for admissions, however, the earlier the better. University fellowships typically have deadlines in February or March, so in order to be eligible for any fellowships that may be available please try to complete your application by early February. Applications that are received too late, after we have filled out our incoming class (typically by mid-April), will rarely be considered.

  Spring admission is possible in exceptional cases, but we recommend that you contact the chair of the graduate admissions committee before submitting an application. It is also possible to apply for Fall admission but defer matriculation until Spring.

• I cannot afford the application fee, can you please waive the fee?

  The application fee is something the University requires, not our department, so we cannot waive it. However, we can review applications without having the fee in hand -- we just cannot offer you admission (which involves us sending your file to the Admissions Office for approval) until the fee is paid.

  So, if you really cannot afford the application fee then simply do not send it in. You will receive reminders that you have not paid the fee, which you should not worry about. If you are contacted by a member of the Physics Graduate Admissions Committee indicating that we would like to offer you admission, then you should be prepared to pay the fee promptly, if you really are interested in attending Colorado State.

  You should be aware, however, the applicants who pay the fee are more likely to be offered admission, all other things being equal, than those who do not. This is simply because it has been our experience that, in general, students who pay the fee are more serious about Colorado State, and more likely to accept an offer of admission, than those who do not. Note also that we are not required to actually review applications if the fee is not paid; we do so at our own discretion.

• I submitted an application. Have you received it? When will you come to a decision?

  If we have received your application you should receive an acknowledgment through regular mail; note that this may take several weeks, particularly if you are outside the U.S. If several weeks have passed and you have not heard from us, then please send a note to physics@lamar.colostate.edu and our graduate secretary will respond to your inquiry.

  The second question is trickier. We offer admissions on a "rolling" basis. What this means is that at any given meeting of the graduate admissions committee, we consider all complete applications that are on file and either decide to accept, decline, or defer the application. The decision depends on many factors, not just the quality of an individual application, but also the number of students that have already accepted our offers of admission, the number that have received offers from us but have not yet made up their minds, the number of applications received, the time of year, the number of teaching assistantships we expect will be available, and so forth.

• I'm interested in visiting the department, what should I do?

  We're always delighted to welcome visitors, please contact the chair of graduate admissions, Prof. Walter Toki, if you would like to make any arrangements in advance to meet with the faculty and students here.

  We feel that it is difficult to make an informed choice of graduate program without actually visiting the departments under consideration. Consequently, if you are offered admission and if you reside in the continental US, you may be offered an expenses-paid trip to Fort Collins.

• I have received an offer of admission from University X and have still not heard definite word on my application to Colorado State. What should I do?

  In this case (and in many others of similar character) the best thing you can do is to inform us promptly. In particular, contact the chair of graduate admissions. It may be possible to come to an accelerated decision, to make a competing offer, and so forth, but only if we know about your situation.

• I've been admitted to Colorado State in the Fall, but I'm wondering if there's anything I can do there in the summer, before classes start?

  Research appointments during the summer prior to enrollment are common. They offer an excellent opportunity to settle into Fort Collins and our department prior to the always-hectic beginning of the Fall semester.

  If there is a particular research group you would like to work with you could contact the relevant faculty member directly and inquire; if you're just interested in finding out what might be available, contact the chair of graduate admissions.