BSC Physics

• Faculty support. Asking a professor for help requires little more than walking to their office. Physics has a well-earned reputation for being challenging, so faculty go the extra mile to provide the support you need to succeed and understand the topics. Our motto is: “If you can’t explain it, you don’t understand it.”

• Collaborative learning. Physics majors have round-the-clock access to the Physics Commons, a dedicated space for both individual and group work. This space in Stephens Science Center encourages an atmosphere of camaraderie and mutual support.

• Robust understanding. All physics courses employ active engagement strategies, wherein professors lead students through exercises designed to help them understand why the universe works as it does, rather than simply trusting mysterious formulas. While working with professors and classmates, you’ll learn to think critically, write coherently, and explain your ideas to others.

• Senior research. During your senior capstone, you will collaborate with a professor on an advanced research project and present your results during an on-campus conference. Seniors are encouraged to identify a subject that captures their interest and imagination – both are essential to making progress in science.

• Career opportunities. Beyond more obvious career choices like engineering, physics majors apply their talents in many unexpected fields: law, medicine and dentistry, banking and business, military and national security. Employers know that physics studies produce someone who will not hesitate to tackle a difficult problem just because no solution is immediately apparent.

Physics alumni find success in a wide range of careers. Some attend graduate school, while others explore a different path. Our graduates have gone on to graduate studies in physics at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, Auburn University, Georgia Tech, the University of Georgia, Duke University, Wake Forest University, Northeastern University, Pennsylvania State, and the University of Pennsylvania.

BSC physics majors have pursued other graduate studies, including: engineering programs at Auburn University, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology; medical and dental school at the University of Mississippi, the University of South Alabama, and the University of Alabama at Birmingham; law school at Cumberland School of Law, American University School of Law, and Pepperdine Caruso School of Law; business at the MIT Sloan School of Management; and data science at the University of Virginia.

Graduates have worked for the following organizations and companies:

• Johnson Spaceflight Center at NASA

• Missile Defense Agency

• United States Navy

• Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory

• Amgeno

• Tesla, Inc.

• Gulfstream Aerospace

• Southern Research

• BBVA Bank

• Wolfram Research

• NXTsoft

• Verizon Media

• Altamont School

Upon completion of the physics major, students will be able to 

• Develop mature intuitions regarding the motions and interactions of physical bodies, including macroscopic objects, particles, and fields

• Apply fundamental physical principles that accurately describe and predict the outcome of experiments and other observed phenomena

• Demonstrate competency using mathematical methods commonly used to solve physics problems 

• Engage in an extended research project and present results to an appropriate audience