Applied Science Department

Programs and Course Descriptions

Faculty

The Applied Science Program

General Description

The Department of Applied Science is an interdisciplinary graduate department that focuses on the Ph.D., which also offers an M.S. degree in some cases. Both degrees can be customized and focused into a number of concentrations in the physical and natural sciences. The program is offered by the core faculty of Applied Science in cooperation with affiliated faculty from the Departments of Biology, Mathematics, and Psychological Sciences, as well as from the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) and the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (JLab).

Admission

William & Mary uses an online application system. Application materials consist of GRE scores taken within the past five years, transcripts, and three letters of recommendation. Minimally, each applicant must have a Bachelor’s degree with a major in a physical or natural science, mathematics, or an engineering discipline. If English is not your first language, your Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or International English Language Testing System (IELTS) scores are required and must be sent directly to William & Mary by the Educational Testing Service or IELTS and you are strongly encouraged to make a Skype appointment with department admissions staff. For full consideration, review of applications begins 5:00 p.m. the first Friday of February for entrance in the Fall semester. Spring semester applications must be completed by 5:00 p.m. the second Friday in October. Applications submitted after the program’s deadline may be evaluated if space is available.

Concentrations

In coordination with their advisor, Applied Science graduate students may choose one of the following research fields to be listed on the final transcript as their concentration area.

Accelerator Science

Applied Mathematics

Applied Mechanics

Applied Robotics

Atmospheric and Environmental Science

Biomolecular Engineering

Biophysical Chemistry

Computational Geography

Computational Neuroscience

Interface, Thin Film, and Surface Science

Lasers and Optics

Magnetic Resonance

Materials Science & Engineering

Mathematical and Computational Biology

Medical Imaging

Nanotechnology

Neuroscience

Non-Destructive Evaluation

Polymer Chemistry

Remote Sensing

Stochastic Environmental Dynamics

Structural Biology

Programs and Course Descriptions

Programs

Courses

Applied Science

Description of Courses

Many of the courses for Applied Science are described in Chemistry, Computer Science, Mathematics, and Physics sections of this catalog. Wherever a William & Mary course is specified as a prerequisite or corequisite, it is understood that an equivalent course, taken at another institution, may be substituted. Typically, Readings in Applied Science differs from Topics in Applied Science in that a topic implies regular meetings in a course/lecture format.

Unless otherwise noted, all courses are graded using standard grading [A, B, C, D, F] scheme (See Grading and Academic Progress in the section entitled Graduate Regulations) and may not be repeated for credit (See Repeated Courses requirements in the section entitled Graduate Regulations).