Physics at Alfred University

Program Description

The Physics program at Alfred University is a blending of elements from larger, research oriented institutions and the favorable faculty to student ratio of smaller colleges.

A signficant part of our mission is introductory physics education for students from other sciences as well as engineering students from the Electrical, Mechanical, and Ceramics/Materials programs here at Alfred. Because of this, the first few courses in the physics sequence have enrollments of 30 to 50 students per section. However, for the higher-level courses, as the material gets more complex the classes get smaller, usually consisting of physics majors and minors and some students double majoring in physics and one of the other technical disciplines. From 5 to 10 students make up a typical upper-level physics course. This means that there is a lot of interaction between the physics faculty and students.

In addition to their experiences here, our best students usually spend at least one summer at one of the many paying summer research programs at institutions around the country. For example, we've had students at Maria Mitchel Observatory, CREOL, Kent State Liquid Crystal Laboratory, Goddard Spaceflight Center, and the Naval Research Labs.

Each year we graduate from 2 to 8 physics majors or double majors. Out of those, many go on to graduate school. We have placed students in programs at schools like University of Rochester, New Mexico Institue of Mining and Technology, Virginia Tech, and others. Some go directly into industry, usually into engineering/applied physics positions, although some wind up in other quantitatively-oriented positions. For example, while one of our recent grads is doing applied physics in an industrial lab, another classmate of his is working as an actuary. The last few years have shown significant growth in the number of students majoring, double majoring, and minoring in physics. Right now we are instituting a program that will make it easier for students to earn a B.A. in Physics while also earning a B.S. in one of the engineering disciplines. We also participate in a 3-2 program with the engineering programs at Columbia University.

Physics at Alfred University

Program Description

Details on the evolving Physics Major at A.U.

Our Faculty

Our Facilities

Physics Major Sequence