Graduate programs

The Department offers the degrees of Master of Arts and Master of Science in Physics and Ph.D. in Applied Physics. The M.A. and M.S. programs are designed to further the development of the student as a professional physicist. Specific programs designed to meet the needs of the individual student are planned in consultation with the graduate advisers.

The department offers graduate courses in classical mechanics, quantum mechanics, electromagnetism, statistical mechanics, physics of condensed matter, atmospheric physics, and biophysics. Current research areas in theoretical and experimental physics include: statistical physics, surface and materials physics (scanning tunneling microscopy, near-field optical microscopy, AFM, electron microscopy), molecular biophysics and membrane biophysics (detection of life in extreme environments and transport in biological and artificial membranes), physics educational research, and global change science (climate change and atmospheric physics and chemistry).

The department also participates in the Earth, Environment, and Society PhD Degree Program in areas of climate change and policy.