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Physics
College of the Sciences
Physics Teaching Endorsement
College of Education and Professional Studies
Physics/Engineering Dual Degree
College of the Sciences
Physics
Degree Type:
Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science
Department Contact:

Deanna Marshall
509-963-3005
deanna.marshall@cwu.edu

Department Website: http://www.cwu.edu/physics
Introduction

Unlike some other universities—where physics teaching is heavy on listening but light on doing—CWU physics undergraduates work one-on-one with award-winning professors, performing research in state-of-the-art facilities, and presenting results at national and international conferences.

Opportunities

Physics is the study of everything in the universe both big and small. It’s the pathway to careers in chemistry, oceanography, seismology, astronomy as well as medicine and biology. It prepares you to work in the forefront in science and technology.

Why this program?

It’s pretty simple—we have great physics professors at Central who have gained national and regional recognition for their teaching and research. And because our focus is on undergraduate teaching, you learn directly from those professors!

Close
Physics Teaching Endorsement
Degree Type:
Bachelor of Arts
Department Contact:

Deanna Marshall
509-963-3005
deanna.marshall@cwu.edu

Introduction

Unlike some other universities—where physics teaching is heavy on listening but light on doing—CWU physics undergraduates work one-on-one with award-winning professors, performing research in state-of-the-art facilities, and presenting results at national and international conferences.

Opportunities

Physics is the study of everything in the universe both big and small. It’s the pathway to careers in chemistry, oceanography, seismology, astronomy as well as medicine and biology. It prepares you to work in the forefront in science and technology.

Why this program?

It’s pretty simple—we have great physics professors at Central who have gained national and regional recognition for their teaching and research.

Close
Physics/Engineering Dual Degree
Degree Type:
Bachelor of Science
Department Contact:

Deanna Marshall
509-963-3005
deanna.marshall@cwu.edu

Introduction

This dual degree program enables students to receive a baccalaureate degree in physics from CWU and a Bachelor of Science from an appropriate engineering institution in a respective engineering discipline.

Opportunities

Physics is the study of everything in the universe both big and small. It’s the pathway to careers in chemistry, oceanography, seismology, astronomy as well as medicine and biology. It prepares you to work in the forefront in science and technology.

Why this program?

It’s pretty simple—we have great physics professors at Central who have gained national and regional recognition for their teaching and research. And because our focus is on undergraduate teaching, you learn directly from those professors!

Close

Why physics at CWU?

At CWU, physics students work side-by-side with award winning professors using state-of-the-art equipment.

The Physics Department at CWU is housed in a brand new $64 million state-of-the-art science building that offers students the chance to work and learn in a planetarium and observatory tower, and in specialty laboratories for optics and laser research—and much, much more.

According to PayScale.com, the mid-career median salary of a physics major is $108,000.

 

 

Connect with CWU Physics

Undergraduates partner up with faculty on research that other institutions reserve for graduate students. They’re analyzing data from flagship NASA missions, making observations with the new 24-inch CWU telescope, and using fluorescence microscopy to study the self-organization of molecules within cells. Physics students are teaming up with faculty to study the acoustics of musical instruments in an anechoic chamber, investigate unusual properties of matter at very cold temperatures, and study quantum mechanics and special relativity with entangled photons. Students are interning at the nation’s top research facilities including Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Merck, US Department of Energy, Energy Northwest, and Battelle.

Career Opportunities

Teaching matters. And no university offers better undergraduate physics instruction than CWU. Graduates find jobs as:

Aerospace Engineers

Astronomers

Astronauts

Astrophysicists

Climatologists

Computer Engineers

Nuclear Physicists

Teachers

Experience Physics at CWU

Points of Pride

Physics professor Bruce Palmquist has been recognized as the Washington State Professor of the Year as well as a Crystal Apple Award winner. He also has been honored as a Distinguished Professor for Teaching at CWU.

Physics professor Sharon Rosell was honored as Outstanding Chapter Advisor by the national Society of Physics Students.

Physics professor Darci Snowden was recently awarded $184,165 from NASA to study data from the Cassini Solstice space mission that focuses on about Titan, the largest of Saturn’s moons.

Take the Next Step to Becoming a Wildcat.

Admissions@cwu.edu