Students may obtain a master's degree as either an undergraduate student through the concurrent bachelor's/master's degree program or as a graduate student. Undergraduate students can apply to the concurrent bachelor's/master's degree program any time after completion of the typical first-semester junior physics classes and before graduation. Graduate students are generally only admitted to the PhD program in physics. Therefore, graduate students who have completed their PhD comprehensive exam or who are unable to complete the PhD program may earn an MS degree en route to a PhD degree. In certain circumstances, students can be admitted to the graduate program for a terminal master's degree, in which case the prerequisites are the same as for the doctoral program.<br>There are two separate plans for obtaining the master's degree, both of which require a total of 30 credit hours with a grade of B- or better at the 5000 level or above (up to 6 credit hours may be at the 3000 or 4000 level if approved by the physics graduate chair). All but 3 credit hours must be in physics (more credit hours may be allowed with permission of the physics graduate chair). A minimum of a B average (GPA of 3.0) must be maintained.