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.