Six Florida Tech alumni have gone on to become U.S. astronauts,Florida Tech is ranked among the top 5% of all U.S. institutions awarding B.S. degrees to women in physics

BS - Physics

What is a Physics degree?

Physics and space sciences at Florida Tech have been setting the standard since 1958, successfully preparing students for high-tech careers at top space agencies and research firms. Faculty specializes in everything from human space exploration to stellar evolution and are devoted to undergraduate education, providing personal attention in the classroom and countless professional-level research opportunities. Located on Florida's Space Coast, just 60 miles from America's spaceport, the Kennedy Space Center, there is no better place to a physics degree than Florida Tech. Getting a physics degree focuses on understanding the physical world on a fundamental level. As such, a physics degree covers an extremely broad range of subjects and areas of specialization that seek to unify and understand this diversity in terms of the smallest possible number of laws and principles. A physicist therefore must receive a broad, general training in science. Mathematics, a primary tool, must be developed, as well as experimental laboratory skills. Most important is the development of a variety of problem-solving skills and a critical, incisive approach to physical problems.

Advantages

Why Florida Tech: The physics degree program at Florida Tech includes:

• being part of the first space science program in the world
• Faculty are internationally recognized scientists
• Home to the largest research-grade telescope in Florida
• Close to the Kennedy Space Center
• Ranked among the top 5% of all U.S. institutions awarding B.S. degrees to women in physics

  The Numbers: The physics and space sciences department has 18 faculty members

  Facilities: The Olin Physical Sciences building provides 51 laboratories (14 teaching and 21 research), consolidates faculty offices and enhances the use of technology in teaching the physical sciences. Upwards of 1000 students use the building on any given day. The 69,348-sq.-ft. facility also includes two large multi-use lecture/demonstration classrooms. Olin Observatory, which houses our 0.8-m Ortega Telescope, or the SARA 0.9-m telescope located at Kitt Peak National Observatory outside Tucson, Arizona Department faculty also operate the world's largest x-ray array for measuring lightning, co-operate (with UCLA) a chain of 10 geomagnetic field observatories from Central Florida to Maine, and maintain a NASA-qualified clean room. The focus of physics research is our high-bay Physics Experiment Hall where very large research projects are conducted.

  Learning

  Clubs and Organizations: Society of Physics Students,Sigma Pi Sigma - National Physics Honor Society,Students for the Exploration and Development of Space, Student Astronomical Society

  Research: The Astronomy & Astrophysics Group at Florida Tech is concerned primarily with observational and theoretical studies of white dwarf stars, M dwarf stars, and cataclysmic variable systems. The research in condensed matter physics group of Florida Tech covers materials physics, statistical physics, scanning tunneling microscopy and optical spectroscopy of semiconductors, and engineering physics. The experimental High Energy Physics groups work is centered around the L3 and CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid) experiments at the European Center for Particle Physics. The Lightning Research Group in the Geospace Physics Laboratory primarily investigates the role of runaway breakdown in thunderstorms, lightning and in the upper atmosphere. The Space Physics Group works in conjuction with Geospace Physics Laboratory (GPL) at Florida Tech. Current research topics include studying the Solar-Earth magnetospheric and ionospheric interactions, and cosmic ray propagation.

  Internships and Cooperative Learning: Physics degree students have the opportunity to participate in cooperative programs and internships with various agencies and companies such as NASA, DRS Optronics, Lockheed-Martin, Harris and Northrop Grumman. Recently, Florida Tech physics degree students have:

  • Helped to develop and test new night-vision optics used by the U.S. Army in Iraq
  • Worked with the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory
  • Spent the summer at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, working on the CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid) Experiment
  • Interned at the Museum of Natural History in New York City, studying galaxy clusters
  • Monitored the Deep Impact Mission's collision with Comet Tempel using a one-meter-class automated telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory

  Future Outcomes

  Outcomes - Grad School: More than half of physics degree students pursue graduate school after graduating from Florida Tech. In addition to the master's and doctoral programs at Florida Tech, recent graduates have been accepted to and enrolled in graduate studies at schools including:

  • Auburn University
  • CalTech
  • Dartmouth University
  • Johns Hopkins
  • Georgia Tech
  • Ohio STate University
  • Rice
  • SUNY Buffalo
  • SUNY Stony Brook
  • UCLA
  • University of Arizona
  • University of Florida
  • University of Texas
  • Vanderbilt University
  • Yale

  Outcomes - Career and Salary: Physics degree students choosing not to attend graduate school typically enter the workforce in one of the high-tech corporations that have research and development divisions. These include Harris, Lockheed-Martin, Boeing, DRS Optronics, Kennedy Space Center, NASA Goddard and the Space Telescopic Science Institute

Curriculum

Curriculum program plans shown reflect current degree requirements. Previous academic year requirements can be accessed from the catalog page by choosing the appropriate academic year.

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Bachelor of Science in Physics

Physics is the discipline most directly concerned with understanding the physical world on a fundamental level. As such, it covers an extremely broad range of subjects and areas of specialization that seek to unify and understand this diversity in terms of the smallest possible number of laws and principles. A physicist therefore must receive a broad, general training in science. Mathematics, a primary tool, must be mastered as well as experimental laboratory skills. Most important is the development of a variety of problem solving skills and a critical, incisive approach to physical problems.

The curriculum includes core courses in physics, mathematics and related sciences, plus a liberal mixture of applied courses from engineering fields and an enriching selection of humanities as electives. Students considering a career in medicine or other health sciences should consider the physics preprofessional option detailed below. A degree in physics provides an excellent background for entering the health sciences.

Research is a major activity of the department, which possesses good instrumentation required for research in selected areas of physics. Participation in research programs by undergraduates is strongly encouraged. A maximum of six credit hours of research can be used to fulfill technical and free elective requirements.

Degree Requirements

Candidates for the Bachelor of Science in Physics must complete the course requirements listed in the following sample curriculum. Because the subject matter of general physics forms a critically important foundation for all advanced physics courses, the minimum grade for satisfying the prerequisite requirements for a physics major is a grade of C for each of the following courses: PHY 1001, PHY 2002, PHY 2003, PHY 2091 and PHY 2092.

Freshman Year

Sophomore Year

Junior Year

SPRING

Senior Year

*Students will be block registered into Introduction to Space Sciences (SPS 1020). If a student places into Calculus 2 (MTH 1002), he/she is encouraged to take Physics 1 (PHY 1001) in the first semester and SPS 1020 (or SPS 1010) later in the program.

TOTAL CREDITS REQUIRED 129