Physics will give you a powerful and beautiful way to observe
and understand the world around you. If you like science and mathematics, "physics
also offers challenging, exciting, and productive careers. As a career, physics covers
many specialized fields - from acoustics, astronomy, and astrophysics to medical physics,
geophysics, microelectronics, and vacuum sciences. Physics also offers a variety of work
activities - lab supervisor, researcher, technician, teacher, manager. Physics opens doors
to employment opportunities throughout the world in government, industry, schools, and
private organizations.
A major in physics also provides an excellent foundation for
pursuing a graduate degree. The masters program usually takes two years and may require a
research topic. An additional two to four years may be needed to earn a Ph.D. One of the
most important parts of the Ph.D. program is a piece of original research (either
theoretical or experimental) conducted with the guidance of a faculty advisor. You will
write up the results of your thesis and perhaps publish it in a scientific journal."
Other fields of science are heavily indebted to physics. For
instance, the quantum theory is used by chemists to understand molecular bonding at a
quantitative level. Civil and mechanical engineering use classical mechanics at their
core. Physicians routinely make use of x-ray, ultrasound, and nuclear magnetic resonance
for imaging, as well as the radiation from isotopes or linear accelerators for treating
cancers. More recently, Wall Street has even hired physicists to perform quantitative
modeling of stock and bond trends. So you see, an undergraduate degree in physics may be
the best training for pursuing advanced degrees in many of the sciences.
You should have taken algebra, trigonometry, and
pre-calculus (if it was available) in high school. In college you need to take more
mathematics. After you have taken general physics, with laboratory work, you will
typically study some of the fields within physics such as classical mechanics,
thermodynamics, electromagnetism, relativity, astrophysics, optics, and geophysics. Also,
as in other fields, computers are important tools for physicists. Computer programming
classes will teach you the skills necessary for the modeling and analysis that are
important in physics.
The Department of Physics and Physical Science at Marshall
University would very much like to help you obtain the B.S. degree in physics.
