Department of Physics and Astronomy

Physics 8140 Course Policy

Course grade

Classroom participation: 25 %
Homework: 30 %
Termpaper / PowerPoint presentation: 45 %

Class attendance and active participation

Graduate students are expected to attend all class meetings on time and to actively participate in discussions. At the beginning of each class meeting, a student will be asked to give a 10-minute summary of the course material covered in the previous lecture.
Exceptional circumstances may arise that merit the excused absence from class, such as
*  Serious illness or a death in a student's family; or
*  Matters relating to academic training (e.g. attending a physics conference, off- campus research approved by your Ph.D. adviser).
If you need to miss a class meeting for any reason, please notify me beforehand, either by e-mail or by phone; any casual or vague statements after the fact will not be taken seriously.

Homework

Homework assignments will be distributed via e-mail (attached PDF file). The due date will be clearly stated at the top of the assignment sheet. Typically, you will have 7 - 9 days to finish a given set. I request that you turn in your homework in class, either at the beginning or at the end of the lecture. You are allowed to discuss homework assignments with other students, however the work you turn in must be a fair representation of your own understanding of the course material. It is a violation of the Honor Code to copy all or part of another student's homework solution or to simply copy a solution found in a textbook or on the Internet.

Term paper / PowerPoint presentation

For your term paper (or PowerPoint presentation, whichever you prefer) you will be given a variety of topics to choose from. As a guideline, I expect about 20 typed pages (including figures, equations, and references) for the term paper or, alternatively, a 30-minute PowerPoint presentation (including questions and discussion by the audience). You are required to turn in an outline of your term paper or presentation to Prof. Umar no later than Tue, March 27. I will meet with each of you individually to discuss your outline and offer suggestions during office hours.
The PowerPoint presentations will be given during the last week of class (April 17 and 19) and, if necessary, during the exam period. All term papers are due on the last day of class (April 19).

Honor Code

Vanderbilt's Honor Code governs all work in this course (homework assignments and term paper).