Optics and Photonics Technology Master of Science Degree Program

The OPT (PH) MS degree program is comprised of a minimum of 27 hours of coursework, plus a minimum of 6 hours of PH 699. The thesis option is the only available route to the OPT degree.

Students may pursue the OPT option through either the Physics Department (PH) or the Electrical & Computer Engineering Department (ECE).  The OPT (PH) program of study meets the Department of Physics requirements and is suggested for students coming from a physics background or students wishing to earn additional physics hours while completing optics courses.  Students in this category, having a Physics Department faculty member as an advisor, will be designated as having Physics as their “home” department. Courses have been chosen such that little or no prior graduate work in physics is required.

The OPT degree program does not prepare the student for taking the Physics Comprehensive Exam or the OSE Preliminary Exam for entrance into either Ph.D. program. Requirements for students seeking the OPT degree through the Electrical Engineering department, OPT (EE), may be significantly different.

Program of Study

Courese must be chosen in according to the following matrix.

Course Catagory	Allowed Courses	Choose...
Optics	PH 541 (required) Geometrical Optics	Two courses
	PH 542 Physical Optics
	PH 642 Optical Physics
Optical Systems	OSE 534 Optical Fiber Communication	Three courses
	PH 570 Optical and Photonics Systems Design
	OSE 645 Lasers
	OSE 654 Optical Testing
	OSE 670 Optomechanical Design and Manufacturing
	PH 671 Optical Fabrication
	EE 532 Optical Systems Design
	OSE 546 Radiometry, Detectors, and Sources
	OSE 656 Lens Design
	OSE 710 Optical System Design
	OSE 690 Special Topics in Optical Science and Engineering
Management and	ISE 526 Design and Analysis of Experiments	Two courses
Marketing	ISE 530 Manufacturing Systems and Facilities Design	in one group
	ISE 670 Integrated Product and Process Design
	EM 660 Engineering Management Theory
	EM 666 Engineering Project Management
	EM 766 Implementation of Technology
	MGT 600 Organizational Theory, Behavior and Environment
	MGT 601 Introduction to Technology Development
	MGT 610 Strategic Management of Technology
	MGT 622 Management of Technical Professionals
	MGT 640 Principles of Project Management
	MSC 500 Decision Support Systems and Expert Systems
	MSC 600 Operations Management
	MKT 600 Survey of Marketing Management
	MKT 604 New Product Development
	MKT 606 Marketing in a High Technology Environment
	MIS 634 Management of Information Technology
	MIS 660 Information Security Management
	MIS 670 Business Contingency Planning
Electives	PH 551 Quantum Mechanics I	Two courses
	PH 552 Quantum Mechanics II
	PH 544 Optoelectronics
	PH 546 Radiometry
	PH 560 Introduction to Solid State Physics I
	PH 561 Introduction to Solid State Physics II
	PH 531 Introduction to Plasma Dynamics
	PH 607 Mathematical Methods
	PH 631 Electromagnetic Theory I
	PH 645 Lasers
	PH 632 Fourier Optics
	PH 661 Instrumentation and Data Analysis
	PH 680-689 Selected Topics
	PH 733 Nonlinear Optics
Thesis	PH 699 Master's Thesis Research	Two courses
Seminar	PH 792 Physics Seminar	Two courses

Note: All OPT students having Physics as their home department are required to complete a
minimum of two semesters (two credit hours) of PH 792 (Physics Seminar) with a grade of “S”. Seminar hours do not count toward the 27 hours of required coursework or the 6 hours of thesis.

Supervisory Committee

The student having Physics as the home department, in conjunction with his academic
advisor, should complete a formal program of study and form a supervisory committee
before 12 hours of graduate coursework have been completed, or earlier if a research
topic has been decided upon. The supervisory committee is comprised of 3 members, one
of which is the chairman of the committee. Normally the student’s research advisor is
also the chairman of the committee, but this is not a requirement. All committee members
must be members of the Graduate Faculty of the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

The chairman of the committee will be a full time faculty member of the Physics
Department. The student should prepare a brief research proposal and submit it, through
his chairman, to the entire committee and request their input early in the research. The
physics department policy is that each graduate student having a supervisory committee
will meet with that committee at least once every semester. This policy is definitely in the
student’s best interest and will assure direction and timely completion of the thesis. The
supervisory committee must approve the program of study. The committee may require
courses not listed above, in addition to the minimum courses. The signed and approved
program of study is a contract with the student. All committee members, as well as
others, as required by the Graduate School, must approve changes in a previously
approved program of study.

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