The Placement Exams are offered in two days, and cover classical mechanics (CM), relativity, electricity, magnetism and optics (EM), quantum mechanics (QM), statistical mechanics and thermodynamics (SM). The Comprehensive Exam has comprehensive problems on astronomy, atomic physics, condensed matter physics, and particle physics, and there will be a fair balance between more eperimentally and more theoretically focused problems. In September, 2004. the "Placement Exam" was called "Qualifying Exam". Before that, there was no placement exam, and problems on the core courses were part of the "Comprehensive Exam".
| Date | Placement | Comprehensive | |
| 2009 Sept. | CM & EM | QM & SM | Exam and solutions |
| 2009 Jan. | Exam and solutions | ||
| 2008 Sept. | CM & EM | QM & SM | Exam and solutions |
| 2008 Jan. | Exam and solutions | ||
| 2007 Sept. | Exam | Exam and solutions | |
| 2007 Jan. | Exam and solutions | ||
| 2006 Sept. | CM, solutions EM, solutions |
QM, solutions SM |
Exam with solutions |
| 2006 Jan. | Comp | ||
| 2005 Sept. | CM, EM | QM, SM | Comp |
| 2005 Jan. | Comp | ||
| 2004 Sept. | CM, EM | QM, SM | Comp |
| 2004 Jan. | Comp | ||
| 2003 Sept. | ps, pdf | ps, pdf | ps, pdf |
| 2003 Jan. | ps, pdf | ||
| day 1 | day 2 | day 3 | |
| 2002 Sept. | ps, pdf | ps, pdf | ps, pdf |
| 2002 Jan. | ps, pdf | ps, pdf | ps, pdf |
| 2001 Sept. | ps, pdf | ps, pdf | ps, pdf |
| 2001 Jan. | ps, pdf | ps, pdf | ps, pdf |
| 2000 Sept. | ps, pdf | ps, pdf | ps, pdf |
| 2000 Jan. | ps, pdf | ps, pdf | ps, pdf |
| 1999 Sept. | ps, pdf | ps, pdf | ps, pdf |
| 1999 Jan. | ps, pdf, | ps, pdf | ps, pdf |
Last updated on August 26, 2009 by Jacobus Verbaarschot . Do not use this material without permission. © Stony Brook University, Department of Physics and Astronomy, except when problem and solution is in public domain.