Preliminary Examination Examples

A preliminary exam on undergraduate-level physics must be passed in order to receive a graduate degree. All graduate students will take this exam as a placement exam prior to the first semester of study. Depending on the outcome, the graduate committee may recommend or require the student to take selected 800-level courses before the corresponding 900-level courses.

The exam is offered twice a year: once before the beginning of the fall semester (August) and once after the spring semester ends (May). Students may take the exam up to three times and must pass before beginning their second academic year.

The exams below are presented as PDFs. If you are unable to access these files, please visit the Main Office in Jorgensen Hall 208, call 402-472-9220, or contact the graduate program associate at pagrad@unl.edu and we will provide the sample exam in the format that you need.