Bachelor of Science degree in Physics
The Department of Physics at The Citadel provides a comprehensive curriculum leading to a Bachelor of Science in Physics. It also offers undergraduate education in basic physics through calculus-based and non-calculus-based introductory sequences. In addition, some specialty graduate courses are available to support those pursuing advanced degrees in education.
Physics is the fundamental physical science, the foundation upon which all other physical sciences are constructed. It is a vast and comprehensive discipline that studies the entire realm of nature, from the most minute particles, distances, and times imaginable to the most massive stars, the outer limits of the universe, and the eons of duration. It is particularly concerned with those aspects of nature that can be formulated in terms of principles and laws reduced to their essence and expressed in an elegant and concise mathematical form.
Whom the Major Would Interest or Appeal To
Majoring in physics may appeal to students who desire to understand how things work from a fundamental perspective. They often:
- Get excited about being a part of scientific discovery
- Enjoy learning about the tangible and the very abstract
- Like using math to understand the world
- Don’t mind getting their hands dirty in the lab
- Enjoy a challenge and are interested in being at the forefront of technology
What Can You Do with a Physics Degree?
Because of their skills in problem-solving, mathematical modeling, data analysis, and experimentation, graduates from our department have a broad array of career options. For example, recent graduates work as engineers in industry, are in graduate school for physics and related fields, or enter the military. For those who enter the military, two common interests are the nuclear Navy and careers as pilots.
The department sponsors a section of the Society of Physics Students and the honor society Sigma Pi Sigma to provide fellowship for physics majors and other students of similar interests and to make available extracurricular activities that illustrate that physics in practice is a vital and active discipline.