POSITIONS IN GOVERNMENT AND INDUSTRY
Students who plan to enter the industrial employment market after completing a bachelor's degree are advised to consider carefully how they will use the elective credits that are available to them. To compete in the employment market applicants must be able to point to skills they have acquired that make them attractive to prospective employers. In the majority of cases employers are seeking physicists with laboratory skills, computer experience, and writing skills sufficient to the communication needs of a successful research laboratory. While the basic B.S. degree requirements include one Advanced Laboratory course and another junior or senior level lab course (Optics I or Electronics), a degree with only these laboratory courses completed will not appear very attractive on a resume. To enhance their skills, our recommendation is that students who have these goals take advantage of the availability of the additional advanced laboratory courses that we offer as well as the research involvment leading to the Bachelor's Thesis. Specifically, there is a second semester of optics covering advanced topics in modern optics and a followup to the Advanced Laboratory course, an Advanced Projects Laboratory. With both optics courses, electronics, the two advanced laboratories, and the Bachelor's Thesis (credited as PHY 490) a student can develop sufficient skills to put him/her in a good position when job hunting. Below are listed all of the laboratory courses beyond the introductory ones.
PHY 431 Optics I
PHY 432 Optics II
PHY 440 Electronics
PHY 451 Advanced Laboratory
PHY 452 Advanced Projects
PHY 490 Senior Thesis
PREPARATION FOR GRADUATE SCHOOL
A student who eexpects to continue his/her studies after completion of the bachelor's degree should complete more than the required courses. To succeed in most graduate programs, especially a Ph.D. program, a student should complete more than one semester of quantum mechanics, classical mechanics, and electricity and magnetism. Furthermore, most students will need more laboratory skills to be successful in most graduate programs than is obtained by completing the minimum B.S requirements. Below are listed some suggestions of electives that a student should seriously consider if he/she is planning on graduate study.
Lecture Courses* One of these laboratory courses is required. Graduate School bound students should consider completing both.
PHY 422 Mechanics II
PHY 472 Quantum Physics II
PHY 482 Electricity and Magnetism II
PHY 491 Atomic, Molecular, and Condensed Matter Physics
PHY 492 Nuclear and Elementary Particle Physics
Laboratory Courses Beyond the Required Courses. At least two courses from the following list should be included as electives in addition to the required courses.
PHY 431 Optics I*
PHY 432 Optics II
PHY 440 Electronics*
PHY 452 Advanced Projects Lab
PHY 490 Senior Thesis
TEACHER CERTIFICATION
Students who plan to teach physics in secondary school after graduation will need to complete the Teacher Certification requirements of the College of Education as well as the requirements for the bachelor's degree in physics. Interested students should contact the College of Education for the current status of the certification process.
CHEMICAL PHYSICS
A major in Chemical Physics provides a strong foundation in chemistry, physics and mathematics for those students having a professional interest in the areas of overlap between chemistry and physics. It is particularly suitable for students planning a graduate degree in chemical physics. Interested students should contact the Department of Chemistry for specific information about this program.