OSE PhD Core Academic Performance and Presentation Requirements

The following must be completed to fulfill the requirements for continuation in the PhD program in OSE:
  • Students must earn a B or higher in core and concentration course requirements listed in the chart below.
    • If a student earns less than a “B” in these core and concentration classes, then the student can repeat the course and have the new higher grade replace the previous grade pursuant to the Graduate Studies Grade Replacement Policy.
    • Students must adhere to the Graduate Studies Grade Replacement Policy requirements.
    • Graduate Studies Grade Replacement Policy: https://grad.unm.edu/resources/gs-forms/grade-replacement.html
  • All lecture or laboratory common core and concentration classes must be completed by the end of the fourth semester (for full-time students). These courses are listed in the table below for each concentration. Exceptions to the timeline may be made for students who are required to take additional background courses.
  • Students must give a twenty-minute research presentation to the OSE faculty and students. The presentations will be given the week before the fall or spring semester. The presentation must be given sometime before the beginning of the fifth semester. Students will work with their research advisor (if available) or a faculty mentor. The professors will help guide and coach the student in formulating the topic and content of their presentation. Detailed guidelines for the presentation are given below.
  • Part-time students will not be subject to the academic time clock associated with these requirements.
*The core and concentration classes listed below require each OSE PhD student to earn a “B” or better courses should be completed by the end of the student’s fourth semester.
 
*OSE PhD Program Core and Concentration
Common Core
Advanced Optics I (PHYC/ECE 463)
Experimental Techniques of Optics (PHYC 476L/477L)
Electrodynamics (PHYC 511); or Engineering Electromagnetics* (ECE 561)

Concentrations Courses

Optical Science

Photonics

Imaging Science

Quantum Optics

Advanced Optics II (PHYC 554 or ECE 554)

Advanced Optics II (PHYC 554/ECE 554)

Advanced Optics II (PHYC 554 or ECE 554)

Laser Physics I (PHYC 464 or ECE 464)

Laser Physics I (PHYC/ECE 464)

Optoelectronic Semiconductor Materials and Devices (ECE 570)

Probability Theory and Stochastic Processes (ECE 541)

Graduate Quantum Mechanics I (PHYC 521)

 
Guidelines and Suggested Content for Research Presentation
Students will give a twenty-minute research presentation to the OSE faculty and students. The presentations will be given the week before the fall and spring semesters. Presentations should be given in Microsoft Power Point format and last for 20 minutes (17-minute talk with 3 minutes for questions). The presentations will be judged on clarity, content, completeness, pedagogical quality and style, and response to questions. Slides should contain the relevant images, text, and equations necessary to clearly present and discuss the research topic to an audience with a background in Optical Science and Engineering. Sources should be cited. Students will preferably present their own research (when available) or, in extenuating circumstances, present another optics-related topic agreed upon with their advisor or faculty mentor. Below is a rough outline of content to consider including in the presentation.
  1. Background and Motivation
    1. Briefly introduce the topic.
    2. Describe why the topic is scientifically interesting.
    3. Describe why the topic is important to the world (what are the applications and impacts?).
  2. Literature Review and Previous/Current Results
    1. Perform a brief literature review and discuss the most important results and key contributors/researchers.
    2. If you are performing research on the topic you are presenting, include a discussion of your own research. If not, it is sufficient to discuss the results from other groups in the context of the literature review.
  3.  Challenges and Remaining Research Questions
    1. Describe the continuing challenges and remaining research questions associated with this research. What is still left to solve or examine regarding this topic?
  4. Future Directions
    1. Describe ongoing research directions/approaches that may address the identified challenges and help to answer the remaining research questions.
 Spring 2024 Presentations:

The Spring 2024 presentations sign-up deadline is Thursday, January 4, 2024. If you want to present this spring, then please send an email to Doris Williams at dwillia2@unm.edu.

In the future, we will have more information on the specific presentation date and signing-up for a 20-minute slot. For any questions regarding the Research Presentation, then please contact Doris Williams at dwillia2@unm.edu.