Applicants are competitively judged by the department's admissions committee, and those who appear suitably qualified to successfully complete the requirements of the intended degree program are selected for admission subject to available resources. Applications are not processed until all documents are received. The research and instructional activities of the department are supported by a number of new modern laboratories. Laser-based laboratories support research in ultrafast nonlinear optics and optical spectroscopy, coherent optical communications, diode laser physics, novel diode laser structures, and optical fiber lasers. A new remote sensing signal and image processing laboratory supports research in multispectral and hyperspectral imagery, pattern recognition, neural networks, target tracking and detection, image coding and progressive image transmission, computer vision, and medical imaging.
Preference is given to first-year Ph.D. applicants for TAs.
Graduate RAs are sometimes available to highly-qualified students actively engaged in M.S. thesis or Ph.D. dissertation research, and are awarded and renewed subject to availability of funds and satisfactory research progress. Students are encouraged to apply directly to those particular fellowship programs.