The Department of Physics offers a comprehensive program of study leading to the completion of Minor in Physics. This program is designed to prepare students not only for advanced graduate studies in physics, but also for employment upon graduation in disciplines related to science and technology.
Basic courses give the student a solid foundation in the concepts of classical and modern physics, and assist the students in developing their analytical reasoning and problem-solving skills. Laboratory courses complement this experience with an opportunity to develop experimental skills and a working knowledge of advanced technology.
Program Learning Outcomes
The learning outcomes from the Minor in Physics are:
1) Knowledge and Understanding that includes:
1. The fundamentals, which all students in physics need to cover, including electricity and magnetism, optics, quantum, wave phenomena and the properties of matter in addition to Electronics.
2. A few subjects which students study in greater depth and appreciate current developments at the frontiers of the subject.
3. Advanced mathematics and its application in physics.
2) Intellectual Skills
Students will learn how to:
1. Formulate and tackle problems in physics, including the identification of appropriate physical principles and the use of special and limiting cases and order-of-magnitude estimates, to arrive at a solution which is presented with an explicit statement of assumptions and approximations.
2. Use mathematics to describe the physical world, selecting appropriate equations, constructing models, interpreting mathematical results and critically comparing them with experiment and observation.
3. Participate, under supervision, in an extended physics investigation.
3) Practical Skills
Students will learn how to:
1. Plan, execute and report the results of a complex extended experiment or investigation, using appropriate methods to analyze data and to evaluate the level of its uncertainty.
2. Use appropriate software such as programming languages and packages in a physics investigation.
