Physics Department Goals

• Physics majors should acquire familiarity with fundamental theories and methodologies in physics. Both theory and experiment are essential in physics.

• Students' understanding of physics should be characterized both by depth and breadth.

• Students should be able to communicate their knowledge of physics both in written and oral presentations; they should be adept at presenting ideas conceptually and in specific detail, as demonstrated, for example, through solutions to homework problems.

• Students should be able to easily recognize applications of physics, learned in the classroom or lab, and in every-day life.

• In approaching a problem, students should be able to find, understand, and integrate previous knowledge, and also recognize what to ignore.

• Students should develop an attitude of empirical enquiry and critical thinking, open-mindedness, and empiricism.