If you are a bright undergraduate student majoring in physics or some closely related field and you have an interest in pursuing a graduate-level degree in experimental plasma physics, the University of Wisconsin has much to offer. In addition to the plasma research in the Department of Physics, there are major programs in the Department of Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics and in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. Physics students can do their research in connection with any of the programs on campus, and engineering graduate students often work on the MST device.
We recommend that students who want to do thesis research on the MST
device apply for admission to the Graduate
School in the Department of
Physics and request a teaching assistantship or fellowship for the
first year. You may also wish to apply for any other fellowships for which
you are qualified. Beginning graduate students are usually considered for
research assistantships only if you have had significant prior experience
in fusion-related plasma physics. During the first year, you would be expected
to pass the qualifying examination, after which you would probably be offered
a summer laboratory job to allow you to observe the research and to assess
mutual compatibility. Most students start their research at the beginning
of their second year in residence. Master's degrees are available, but
nearly all graduate students working on MST are in
the Ph.D. program.