Faculty's Tuition Structure

By law, educational services can be offered in Russia only under an authorized license granted by the Russian Ministry of Education and Science. The Faculty holds all necessary licenses to provide tuition at any level of educational programs available in Russia, namely, BSc, Specialist, MSc, and Post-graduate studies programs.
Students receive their tuition according to the approved curriculum, which covers all available courses, credits, and exams required for each particular qualification. A student can start the next semester only after having completed a full program for the previous semester. The diploma of Moscow State University is awarded only upon receiving credits for all required courses, passing all necessary exams and defending the diploma thesis.

Tuition process outline

At the Faculty of Physics, the undergraduates during first five semesters receive basic education, which includes courses and practicums on general physics, mathematics, programming, and other subjects. After that, in the middle of the third year, the students should decide which specialization they would like to join. At this point, the students are assigned to the different chairs, and, along with the general courses they receive some specialized training within the frame of scientific research conducted at the specific chair. As a rule, students participate in scientific seminars organized at the chair and participate in the research projects run by the laboratory they are associated with.
The overall number of general and specialized courses offered by the various chairs of the Faculty is about 40 and more than 650, respectively. Such a wide variety of specialized courses cover most of the modern Physics and its applications.
Along with the theoretical seminars, classes, and lectures, the students conduct practical projects in various practicums on general physics and in the computer classes. Thanks to this, the students learn physical phenomena in practice, and raise practical knowledge of using computers for simulation of physical problems.
In order to help the newly accepted students to perform well in the university environment, the Faculty maintains a system of curators (mentors) who supervise each group of students and help them to solve their problems and advise about their current and future career. When students decide on their specializations, to each of them will be assigned a scientific advisor who introduces him/her into scientific research and advises about the diploma work.
The fundamental principle of professional training adopted at the Faculty is the education of senior students through conducting scientific research in the labs-working in the scientific labs students develop their practical skills in experiment and theory they need for their future career.
The undergraduate students are greatly welcome to work in the numerous laboratories of the Faculty and started to do some research right after the first year of their study at the Faculty (as an exception, some students start their scientific work even at the first year at the Faculty). In the end of their fourth year, students must accomplish an independent research and defend the results of this research in a form of an interim diploma thesis (for specialists) or in a form of BS diploma work (for bachelors).
Undergraduates under the specialist, master, and bachelor programs must pass a state examination in physics and defend their diploma thesis or a dissertation in the end of the study.
Post-graduate program at the Faculty offers the highest quality tuition and training in various fields of modern Physics. Each of the PhD students has his/her own curriculum, which is settled together with the scientific advisor and takes into account specific scientific interests of the PhD student. During their PhD studies the students must pass exams in a number of disciplines, foreign language, philosophy, and courses on choice inclusive.
In the end of the PhD study, the students must prepare the PhD theses that reflect the original results obtained during their research in the PhD program. In order to receive the PhD degree, the applicant should defend his/her PhD thesis at a meeting of one of the specialized Dissertation Boards at the Faculty or somewhere else.

Physics Curriculum

Specialist program
_{(pre-requirements: secondary education)}

Program duration: 5.5 years

Offered diploma in Physics and Astronomy

• Physics (34 specializations);
• Physics of condensed matter (11specializations);
• Atomic nucleus and particle physics (10 specializations);
• Physics of Earth and the planets (3 specializations);
• Biochemical physics (2 specializations);
• Fundamental radiophysics and physical electronics (14 specializations);
• Medical physics (a novel specialization, since September 2003);
• Astronomy.

• General Physics: mechanics, molecular physics, electricity and magnetism, optics, atomic physics, atomic nucleus and particle physics, practicum on general physics, introduction to experimental techniques;
• Higher Mathematics: calculus, analytic geometry, linear algebra, complex variable function theory, differential equations, integral equations and variational calculus, probability theory and mathematical statistics;
• Computer methods in physics: programming and computer sciences, numerical methods in physics;
• Fundamentals of geophysics and ecology,
• Astrophysics
• Radiophysics, practicum on radioelectronics;
• Courses on choice: solid-state physics, general biology and biophysics, general physical chemistry;
• Theoretical physics: theoretical mechanics, electrodynamics, quantum theory, thermodynamics and statistical physics, mechanics of continuous mediums;
• Methods of mathematical physics, fundamentals of mathematical modeling;
• Humanities and social sciences courses: history of Russia, world history and culture, psychology, pedagogy, courses on choice in humanities, philosophy, economics, foreign language, physical training, history and methodology of Physics (Astronomy).

• Courses for given specialization, special courses (6-7 credits, 7-9 exams);
• Special practicum on Physics (Astronomy);
• Allotted time for students' work in the research laboratories at the Faculty or at the collaborating research institutes;
• Preparing and defending the interim diploma thesis after the 4^th year of study of Physics
• Attending practical workshops on: Geophysics (for majors in "Physics of Earth and the planets"), Astronomy (for majors in "Astronomy"), Biology (for majors in "Biochemical physics");
• Pre-diploma training
• Final examination in Physics at the commission appointed by the Government
• Final examination in Russian language (for the foreign students)
• For majors in Astronomy, in addition to the general courses mentioned above, the courses on general astronomy, spherical astronomy, galaxy astronomy, astrometry, general astrophysics, practical astronomy, celestial mechanics, and geophysics and physics of planets are delivered, as well.

BSc program
_{(pre-requirements: secondary education)}

Program duration: 4 years

Offered diploma: Bachelor in Physics

• General Physics: mechanics, molecular physics, electricity and magnetism, optics, atomic physics, atomic nucleus and particle physics, practicum on general physics, introduction to experimental techniques;
• Higher Mathematics: calculus, analytic geometry, linear algebra, complex variable function theory, differential equations, integral equations and variational calculus, probability theory and mathematical statistics;
• Computer methods in physics: programming and computer sciences, numerical methods in physics;
• Courses on choice: solid-state physics, general biology and biophysics, general physical chemistry;
• Theoretical physics: theoretical mechanics, electrodynamics, quantum theory, thermodynamics and statistical physics;
• Methods of mathematical physics, fundamentals of mathematical modeling;
• Fundamentals of geophysics and ecology
• Astrophysics,
• Radiophysics. Practicum on radioelectronics;
• Humanities and social sciences courses: history of Russia, world history and culture, psychology, courses on choice in humanities, philosophy, economics, foreign language, physical training.
• Professional training
• Courses for given specialization, special courses (4 exams, 4 credits);
• Special practicums on physics;
• Allotted time for students' work in the research laboratories at the Faculty or at the collaborating research institutes;
• Pre-diploma training, preparing and defending the diploma thesis in the end of the study;
• Final examination in Physics at the commission appointed by the Covernment;
• Final examination in Russian language (for the foreign students)

MSc program
_{(pre-requirements: BS or BA degree)}

Program duration: 2 years

Offered diploma: Master in Physics

• Astrophysics. Physics of cosmic radiation and space;
• Classical and applied astronomy;
• Celestial mechanics.
• Radio physics;
• Physics of kinetic phenomena;
• Theoretical and mathematical physics;
• Acoustic and hydrodynamic wave processes physics;
• Physics of atmosphere and near-Earth environment;
• Nuclear and particle physics;
• Atomic and molecular physics;
• Physics of open systems;
• Physics of Earth and planets;
• Condensed matter physics;
• Physics of magnetic phenomena;
• Biophysics;
• Plasma physics;
• Semiconductor physics Microelectronics;
• Physics of modern radioelectronic technologies;
• Physics and management of science-intensive technologies

• Problems of modern Physics;
• History and methodology of Physics;
• Philosophical problems of natural sciences;
• Foreign language;
• Computer technologies;
• Philosophy;
• Courses on choice (2 courses).

• Special practicum on physics;
• Specialized courses (7 courses);
• Courses on choice (2 courses);
• Allotted time for students' work in the research laboratories at the Faculty or at the collaborating research institutes;
• Pedagogical training (teaching Physics for the students of Physics as assistants to Professors);
• Preparing and defending Ms dissertation in the end of the study;
• Final examination in Physics at the commission appointed by the Government;
• Final examination in Russian language (for the foreign students).

PhD program
_{(pre-requirements: specialist diploma or MSc degree)}

Program duration: 3 years

Offered diploma: PhD in Physics and related specializations awarded after defending of PhD dissertation.

• Acoustics;
• Astrometry and celestial mechanics;
• Astrophysics, radio astronomy;
• Biophysics;
• Ecology;
• Laser physics;
• Quantum electronics;
• Mathematical physics;
• Optics;
• Radio physics;
• Theoretical physics;
• Thermophysics and theoretical thermodynamics;
• Macromolecular compounds;
• Equipment and methods of experimental physics;
• Physics of atmosphere and hydrosphere;
• Geophysics, geophysical methods of mineral exploration;
• Physics of atomic nucleus and elementary particles;
• High-energy physics;
• Plasma physics;
• Physics of magnetic phenomena;
• Low-temperature physics;
• Physics of semiconductors;
• Physics of charge-particle beam and accelerating technology;
• Condensed matter physics;
• Physical electronics;
• Chemical physics;
• Mathematical simulation, numerical methods and program complexes.

• Foreign language;
• Philosophy;
• Specialized courses in selected specialization, including courses on choice (140 academic hours);
• Pedagogical training;
• Courses on choice;
• Scientific research, including preparation of the PhD dissertation.