US citizens and residents who have applied for admission in the fall semester are encouraged to visit us during the preceding spring semester. A travel scholarship fund is available to offset some travel expenses of visiting applicants. Applicants will be contacted when the time for visits approaches, and detailed information will be communicated at that stage.
Much additional information can be found on our special FAQ page for Graduate Program applicants. Applicants are urged to check this FAQ page for instant answers before sending inquiries by email. If you still have unanswered questions, please contact:
Graduate Coordinator
Department of Physics
Kent State University
Kent, OH 44242
Phone: 330-672-2246
Email: PhysGPC@kent.edu
For most students, it is best to apply directly to the PhD program.
Students usually enter our department through the PhD program. It is not necessary to already have a Masters degree (i.e., a Bachelor's degree is sufficient) to be admitted directly to the PhD program. Financial support through graduate assistantships is awarded exclusively to students entering PhD program. We generally accept students into the MS program only if they have their own support (through a scholarship for example).
While completing a two-month journalism fellowship in Arizona the summer after her college graduation, Anna Huntsman, ’19, found herself nostalgic for Ohio.“I was around a lot of people from all across the country,” she remembers. “They would ask me, ‘What’s so special about Ohio?’ and I would have this answer about the camaraderie, the sports, the work ethic. I just found myself having these answers of really missing my home.”Huntsman, who majored in journalism and was a member of Kent State’s Honors College, landed a job at Ideastream Public Media in Cleveland a few short months later....
Incoming PhD students primarily start their program in the Fall semester. This is also when we appoint nearly all available Graduate Assistantships.
The Masters of Arts program can apply to either semester since the program is flexible and generally self-supporting.
We support all admitted PhD student with a Graduate Assistantship with a 12 month stipend of $26,780 plus a full tuition scholarship. The assistantship can either be a Teaching Assistantship (TA) or grant supported research (RA). Beginning graduate students are supported by a TA which carries a part-time duties such as working in undergraduate labs, or tutoring beginning undergraduates, or grading.
Each application is given individual attention. We try to gain a holistic picture of the preparation of each applicant through their grades, statement of purpose, CV, and letters of recommendation. We value strong grades and research experience, but we also factor in other qualities important to success in graduate school and beyond, such as independence, persistence, creativity, over-coming adversity .
The graduate physics programs at Kent State University offer solidly-based fundamental course work and the opportunity to do experimental or theoretical research with first-class scientists in Biological Physics, Nuclear and High Energy Physics, Soft Matter Physics, and Quantum Materials. Our research groups enjoy international recognition in front-line areas of physics, we have excellent experimental and computational facilities, and we interact extensively with other strong research cen
Kent State alumnus Chase Wilcox, ‘21, began his career through a direct message on social media to his now-employer, DNC Media, while he was still a student. An advertising major, Wilcox completed his degree during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when Kent State and other universities across the world ceased the majority of in-person activities and moved to online instruction. Attempting to make the best of an unusual situation, Wilcox decided to take all online courses and moved to Florida, where he began successfully doing social media content for smaller brands on TikTok. Once he...
