PhD in Optical Science and Engineering from Fall 2018-Present

Optics is an enabler of many scientific and engineering disciplines, providing an essential tool for high-precision tests of fundamental physical laws, modern communication and imaging systems, and biomedical and manufacturing technologies, to name a few important application areas. Its pre-eminence as an interdisciplinary science has been unrivaled since the advent of the laser nearly 40 years ago. The Optical Science and Engineering (OSE) program at UNM has clearly demonstrated added value to the activities of the Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) and Physics and Astronomy, (P&A) departments over the past 25 years which is a testament to its broad compass and the recognition by UNM of OSE's unique position in the state's industrial enterprise, including the national and federal laboratories and burgeoning private sector.

OSE PhD Concentrations

• Optical Science
• Photonics
• Imaging Science
• Quantum Optics

Optics PhD Program

Summary of Ph.D. Rules:

1. The minimum course work required for the PhD program is as follows: A minimum of 52 hours of coursework credits (not including PHYC 699 or ECE 699 dissertation hours).
   • At least 24 hours of coursework graduate credit must be completed at UNM.
   • At least 18 hours of graduate credit coursework must be completed at UNM after admission to the doctoral program.
   • A minimum of 18 hours of graduate credit coursework earned at UNM must be courses numbered 500 or above.
2. Two credit hours of OSE Seminar Series PHYC 500 (Graduate Seminar) must be completed in the first two semesters after admission into the program.
3. A minimum of 18 hours of dissertation credits (ECE 699 or PHYC 699).
4. No more than 6 credit hours of coursework can have a grade of C (2.0), C+ (2.33) or CR (grading option selected by student). The OSE Seminar and other seminar courses are excluded from this limitation.
5. A student’s cumulative GPA cannot be below 3.0. In addition, the GPA for courses presented in his/her Application of Candidacy cannot be below 3.0.
6. All students must receive a grade of B or better in their common core and concentration electives. These fundamental courses are bolded in the chart below. These fundamental classes total 15 credits for each concentration.
7. No more than 50% of the required coursework credits at UNM may be taken with a single faculty member. (Course work that has been completed for an M.S. degree is included in this limit).
8. Doctoral candidates must be enrolled the semester in which they complete degree requirements, including the summer session. 

OSE Core Academic and Presentation(Completion by Fourth Semester or Third Year)

• OSE Core Academic and Presentation

OSE Comprehensive exam(Called Proposal Defense)

A doctoral student must pass a comprehensive examination in the major field of study. This examination, which may be written, oral or both, is not limited to the areas of the student’s course work but tests the student’s grasp of the field as a whole. 

• OSE Comprehensive Exam Requirements

OSE Thesis and Dissertation

• Please see the Graduate Studies rules and requirements for the thesis and dissertation defenses. 

      Please click here

    http://grad.unm.edu/degree-completion/index.html  

• OSE PHD Program Concentrations – Required Coursework

 Advanced Image Synthesis (ECE 512)
Advanced Optics I (PHYS 463)
Advanced Optics II (PHYS 554 or ECE 554)
Advanced Techniques in Optical Imaging (BIO 547)
Atomic and Molecular Structure (PHYS 531)
Colloidal Nanocrystals for Biomedical Applications (ECE 581)
Computational Methods for Electromagnetics (ECE 563)
Computer Vision (ECE 516)
Condensed Matter I (PHYS 529) 
Digital Image Processing (ECE 533)
Digital Signal Processing (ECE 539)
Electrodynamics (PHYS 511)
Experimental Optics (PHYS 466L/467L)
Experimental Techniques of Optics (PHYS 476L or 477L)
fMRI Methods (ECE 511)
Foundations of Engineering Electromagnetics (ECE 555)
Future Course on Detectors and Hardware (ECE 595)
Guided Wave Optics (ECE 564)
Information Theory and Coding (ECE 549)
Introduction to Electro-Optics and Opto-Electronics (ECE 575)
Laser Physics I (PHYS 464 or PHYS 564)
Laser Physics II (PHYS 564)
Machine Learning (ECE 517)
Materials and Devices I (ECE 371)
Materials and Devices II (ECE 571)
Medical Imaging (ECE 510)
Methods in Theoretical Physics I (PHYS 466 or MATH 466)
Microelectronics Processing Lab (ECE 574L)
Microwave Photonics (ECE 595)
Neural Networks (ECE 547)
Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos (MATH 412)
Nonlinear Optics (PHYS 568 or ECE 568)
Optical Communication Components (ECE 565)
Optimization Theory (ECE 506)
Probability Theory and Stochastic Processes (ECE 541)
Quantum Computation (PHYS 571)
Quantum Field Theory I (PHYS 523)
Quantum Field Theory II (PHYS 524)
Quantum Information Theory (PHYS 572)
Quantum Mechanics I (PHYS 521)
Quantum Mechanics II (PHYS 522)
Quantum Optics (PHYS 566)
Semiconductor Lasers and LEDs (ECE 577)
Semiconductor Materials and Optical Devices (ECE 570) - Replaced by ECE 575
Signal Detection and Estimation (ECE 642)
Synthesis of Nanostructures (ECE 518 or NSMS 518)
Theory of Linear Systems (ECE 500)
Topics in Modern Optics (PHYS 569) or Special Topics (ECE 595)

Depending on the student, the remaining 22 course work credit hours can be satisfied with a combination of courses (500 level or above) including problems courses and research hours.