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APS Bridge Program

APS Bridge Program

Bridge the gap between undergraduate and graduate study in Physics

As one of the American Physical Society’s (APS) Bridge Programs, we are eager to welcome strongly motivated students to our department, offering them the opportunity to earn a master’s degree as they prepare for the Ph.D.

The Bridge Program is designed to provide an individualized course of study, enabling students to bridge the gap between undergraduate and graduate degrees. Drawing from our broad curriculum, the Bridge Program features an especially wide array of laboratory-based courses. It emphasizes immersion in frontier research activities in both traditional and interdisciplinary fields of physics.

The varied Physics curriculum at Indiana University includes accelerator physics, astrophysics, biophysics, computational physics, condensed matter physics, elementary particle physics, gravitational physics, neutrino physics, nuclear physics, and quantum information.

Our department is interactive, friendly, and personal. From the time students enter the Bridge Program, we pay close attention to mentoring, advising, and professional development. We anticipate that in many cases Bridge Fellows will be able to transition seamlessly into our Ph.D. program.

Mentoring

Bridge Fellows are carefully mentored from their arrival on campus. We intensively assess each fellow’s preparation to customize their selection of courses. During the semester, students meet with their mentors both individually and as a group. Advanced graduate students have office space adjacent to our Bridge Fellows, providing additional access and support.

Research

Because the Ph.D. degree is based on research, we encourage our Bridge Fellows to become involved in research as soon as they can. We match students with research advisors at the beginning of the first semester of the program. In most cases, we expect Bridge Fellows to take no more than three courses per semester, totaling 9 to 11 credit-hours. This allows them to sign up for research credit hours, which count toward fulfillment of the research requirement for the M.S. degree.

Coursework

Each Bridge Fellow’s courses are selected based on prior preparation, with the goal of completing the Ph.D. core curriculum within two years.

We offer many elective courses at advanced undergraduate/beginning graduate levels, including laboratory-based courses:

Modern Physics Lab (P301)
Instrumentation Lab (P350)
Electronics (P400/540)
Optics (P460)
Experiments in Modern Physics (P451/551)
Computing Applications in Physics (P410/609)

These hands-on courses provide excellent preparation for Ph.D.-level research. Core graduate courses include:

Classical Mechanics (one semester)
Statistical Mechanics (one semester)
Electromagnetism (two semesters)
Quantum Mechanics (two semesters)

Eligibility

To be eligible to apply, students must:

Have a bachelor’s degree in physics or a closely related discipline
Have completed an undergraduate degree by the time you enter the Bridge Program
Have earned a qualifying undergraduate degree in physics, applied physics, engineering physics, astrophysics, or another closely related discipline
Be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident
Satisfy one or more of the following criteria in the current academic year: you did not apply to a physics graduate program, or you applied to one or more physics graduate programs but were not accepted by any program
Be committed to improving diversity in physics

Application process

Applications to the IU Bridge Program are managed by the American Physical Society. After the APS forwards applications to our Bridge Program, we will select and interview students. We expect to complete offers of admission by mid-June.

Start your application on the APS Bridge Program website