Physics Major

Undergraduate students have the opportunity to participate in independent study and research, working one-on-one with faculty mentors. You’ll get to conduct research in areas such as nanoscience, astronomy and astrophysics, medical physics, and nuclear and particle physics.

Through research projects, you gain valuable professional skills and experience working with modern technical facilities and equipment. These include the College of Science and Humanities supercomputing cluster, a 20-inch diameter telescope in the observatory, Computational Research Laboratory, Nanoscience Laboratory, Biomedical Research Laboratory, Materials Research Lab, and a 3D printing lab.

The Department of Physics and Astronomy is also a member of the SARA consortium that operates three research-grade telescopes located in some of the best sites in the world: southwest Arizona, Chile, and the Canary Islands. Our students (and occasionally high-school students) often make observations with these telescopes and become authors on published scientific papers.

Careers in education and outreach are fostered through the Charles W. Brown Planetarium on campus.

Our department offers several scholarships to students seeking bachelor's degrees, as well as employment opportunities.

Our students regularly work as lab assistants, graders, research assistants, as well as paid staff in the Charles W. Brown Planetarium, which features a 52-foot diameter dome – the largest in Indiana.

Our Society of Physics Students (SPS) is an active, student-run club that engages in a number of social and outreach programs.

The SPS organizes cooperative events with organizations on campus, including our annual “Clash of the Sciences” demo competition between physics and chemistry student groups.

As part of your senior capstone experience, you will pursue scientific knowledge on a topic of your choice and hone technical skills that will be attractive to employers in many fields.

We offer research opportunities in:

• astronomy and astrophysics
• computational nanoscience
• condensed matter physics
• nanomaterials and devices
• nuclear and radiation physics
• particle physics
• physics education