Department of Physics

Tel: +82-42-869-2502
http://physics.kaist.ac.kr

The theme of Physics is to understand the fundamental principles of nature, from elementary particles to the massive universe, and to predict phenomena that can be derived from fundamental principles. The goal of the Department of Physics here at KAIST is to instill into students deep physical insights and the ability to use such insights in creative ways through thorough and wide-ranging education in both theoretical and experimental subjects. Presently, the department consists of 28 full-time faculties with additional 5 professors emeritus, about 230 graduate students and 150 undergraduate students. Over 700 alumni who have graduated from the Department of Physics with a graduate degree have succeeded in playing leading roles in many educational and research institutes as well as in industry. Currently, the demands for well-trained graduates continue to grow.


Undergraduate Program

The undergraduate program begins with an introductory phase which emphasizes a basic understanding of the fundamentals of classical mechanics, electrodynamics, thermodynamics and statistical mechanics, quantum mechanics, and mathematical physics. After the completion of introductory courses, the students are introduced to more specialized fields such as solid state physics, optics, atomic and molecular physics, semiconductor physics, plasma physics, particle physics, astrophysics, and computational physics. In parallel with lecture, students are also encouraged to develop new skills and interests through independent research under the supervision of a chosen professor.

Major Requirements

Students wishing to major in Physics must first complete all the general physics requirements of KAIST - except that PH152 is mandatory for physics majors rather than optional. They must then pass all the courses marked as "mandatory" in the table below, plus enough additional courses listed in the table to bring the total number of physics credits up to 40. In addition, physics majors are required to take the physics seminar PH496 and to submit an acceptable thesis. The latter involves enrolling in PH490 (B.S. Thesis Research). If one counts these last two courses, the total number of physics credits required is 45.

It is recommended, but not required, that prospective physics majors take CH103, MA111, MA201 and MA202.

Undergraduate Courses in Physics
Course Number Course Title Lecture: Lab : Credit
(Assignment)
Semester
PH121 Fundamental Physics I 3:1:3 (6)
PH122 Fundamental Physics II 3:1:3 (6)
PH141 General Physics I 3:1:3 (6)
PH142 General Physics II 3:1:3 (6)
PH151 General Physics Laboratory I 0:3:1 (3)
PH152 General Physics Laboratory II 0:3:1 (3)
PH161 Advanced Physics I 3:1:3 (6)
PH162 Advanced Physics II 3:1:3 (6)
Mandatory
PH221 Classical Mechanics I 3:0:3 (6) spring
PH231 Electromagnetism I 3:0:3 (6) spring
PH252 Physics Laboratory II 1:4:2 (3) fall
PH301 Quantum Mechanics I 3:0:3 (6) spring
PH302 Quantum Mechanics I 3:0:3 (6) fall
PH311 Thermal Physics 3:0:3 (4.5) spring
PH351 Physics Laboratory III 1:3:2 (3) spring
Elective
PH211 Mathematical Methods in Physics I 3:0:3 (6) fall
PH212 Mathematical Methods in Physics II 3:0:3 (6) spring
PH222 Classical Mechanics II 3:0:3 (6) fall
PH232 Electromagnetism II 3:0:3 (6) fall
PH241 Modern Physics 3:0:3 (4.5) spring
PH243 Introductory Modern Physics 3:0:3 (4.5) fall
PH251 Physics Laboratory I 1:4:2 (3) spring
PH312 Statistical Physics 3:0:3 (6) fall
PH352 Physics Laboratory IV 1:3:2 (3) fall
PH361 Solid State Physics I 3:0:3 (4.5) fall
PH391 Optics I 3:0:3 (4.5) fall
PH392 Optics II 3:0:3 (4.5) spring
PH401 Atomic and Molecular Physics 3:0:3 (4.5) spring/fall
PH413 Computational Physics 2:3:3 (4.5) spring/fall
PH421 Chaos and Nonlinear Dynamics 3:0:3 (4.5) fall
PH441 Introduction to Plasma Physics 3:0:3 (4.5) fall
PH450 Nuclear and Elementary Particle Physics 3:0:3 (4.5) fall
PH451 Speical Topics in Experimental Physics 2:3:3 (4.5) fall
PH462 Solid State Physics II 3:0:3 (4.5) spring
PH471 Theory of Relativity and Cosmology 3:0:3 (4.5) spring
PH481 Astrophysics 3:0:3 (4.5) fall
PH489 Special Topics in Physics 3:0:3 (4.5) spring/fall
Research
PH490 B.S. Thesis Research 0:6:3 spring/fall
PH495 Individual Study 0:6:1 spring/fall
PH496 Seminar 1:0:1 spring/fall

Double Major Requirements

Students wishing to double major in physics and another subject must still satisfy all of the requirements for a physics degree, except for the research courses and thesis, which are waived.

Minor Requirements

Students wishing to minor in physics must pass a total of 19 credits in physics courses, including PH301 and PH351. PH352 may be substituted for the latter.


Graduate Program

The graduate program focuses on the fields of condensed matter physics, optics, plasma physics, and particle and theoretical physics in both education and research. After the completion of the required courses in advanced classical mechanics, electrodynamics, quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics, and laboratory experiments, students are expected to choose a thesis advisor to start their own research and thesis program. In pursuit of excellence, the research program at the Department of Physics at KAIST covers many diverse topics, frequently in close collaboration with other universities, research institutes, and industry as well as other departments here at KAIST. The Department of Physics at KAIST is also expanding into newly emerging fields such as nonlinear dynamics, soft matter physics, complex systems, biophysics, etc.

Course Requirements

Graduate Courses in Physics
Course Number Course Title Lecture: Lab : Credit
(Assignment)
Semester
Mandatory
PH503 Quantum Mechanics I 3:0:3 (4.5) spring
PH504 Quantum Mechanics II 3:0:3 (4.5) fall
PH505 Advanced Mechanics 3:0:3 (4.5) spring
PH507 Advanced Electrodynamics I 3:0:3 (4.5) fall
PH508 Advanced Electrodynamics II 3:0:3 (4.5) fall
PH509 Statistical Mechanics 3:0:3 (4.5) spring
PH601 Applied Physics Laboratory I 0:9:3 (4.5) spring
PH602 Applied Physics Laboratory II 0:9:3 (4.5) spring
PH611 Advanced Solid Sate Physics I 3:0:3 (4.5) spring/fall
PH612 Advanced Solid State Physics II 3:0:3 (4.5) spring/fall
PH613 Semiconductor Physics 3:0:3 (4.5) spring/fall
PH614 Light Scattering Spectroscopy 3:0:3 (4.5) spring/fall
PH615 Introduction to Phase Transitions 3:0:3 (4.5) spring/fall
PH621 Advanced Wave Optics 3:0:3 (4.5) spring/fall
PH622 Geometrical Optics 3:0:3 (4.5) spring/fall
PH624 Laser and Quantum Optics 3:0:3 (4.5) spring/fall
PH625 Advanced Spectroscopy 3:0:3 (4.5) spring/fall
PH627 Fiber Optics 3:0:3 (4.5) spring/fall
PH641 Advanced Plasma Physics 3:0:3 (4.5) spring/fall
PH642 Plasma Waves 3:0:3 (4.5) spring/fall
PH643 Applied Plasma Physics 3:0:3 (4.5) spring/fall
Elective
PH653 Advanced Quantum Mechanics I 3:0:3 (6) spring/fall
PH654 Advanced Quantum Mechanics II 3:0:3 (6) spring/fall
PH692 Nonlinear Dynamics 3:0:3 (6) spring/fall
PH711 Physics of Magnetism 3:0:3 (6) spring/fall
PH713 Physics of Superconductivity 3:0:3 (4.5) spring/fall
PH716 Topics in Solid State Physics I 3:0:3 (4.5) spring/fall
PH717 Topics in Solid State Physics II 3:0:3 (4.5) spring/fall
PH721 Nonlinear Optics 3:0:3 (4.5) spring/fall
PH724 Laser Plasma Interactions 3:0:3 (4.5) spring/fall
PH726 Semiconductor Optics 3:0:3 (4.5) spring/fall
PH741 Topics in Plasma Physics 3:0:3 (4.5) spring/fall
PH742 Plasma Confinement Theory 3:0:3 (4.5) spring/fall
PH754 Advanced Particle Physics 3:0:3 (4.5) spring/fall
PH757 Topics in Particle Physics 3:0:3 (4.5) spring/fall
PH880 Topics in Physics 3:0:3 (4.5) spring/fall
PH960 M.S. Thesis spring/fall
PH965 Independent Study in M.S. spring/fall
PH966 M.S. Seminar 1:0:1 spring/fall
Research
PH980 PhD Thesis spring/fall
PH986 PhD Seminar 1:0:1 spring/fall
PH990 Physics Colloquium 1:0:0 spring/fall

Thesis Requirement

All students must submit an acceptable thesis to graduate.