Physics

Degrees Offered:

• B.A.: Physics
• B.S.: Physics
• Minor: Physics

Course Listings

• Click here to read complete descriptions of the Physics courses offered at Wittenberg in the current academic catalog.

Degree Overview:

Does the origin of the universe and its ultimate fate interest you? Do you want to know how space and time are related and if quarks are fundamental particles? If so, join the company of physicists who enjoy studying such fundamental questions. Do you have a desire to understand how devices operate? How efficient an engine can be? How to design a digital circuit to interface a computer to an instrument? How fiber optics can be used to transmit signals across the continent? These are practical questions that can be addressed using physics. Physics is the science that explores the fundamental behavior of nature.

Fascinating questions such as these provide the stimuli for physicists, yet the quest begins in an ordinary laboratory, learning that nature is orderly and its patterns can be discovered and comprehended. The behavior of ordinary particles and waves needs to be mastered before more complicated systems are examined. Concepts such as forces and energy provide the context for such explorations, and the results are far reaching. Broad areas such as astrophysics, high energy physics, condensed matter physics, nuclear physics, optics and acoustics have provided primary insights into the essence of nature. These results have in turn been applied by many other disciplines such as medicine, geology, chemistry and biology. Many fields of engineering such as electrical, mechanical, nuclear and aeronautical are based on the principles developed in physics. Training in physics provides a broad basis for careers in a vast number of science and engineering disciplines.

Our graduates often continue their studies in graduate school, furthering their education in a specific branch of physics or another science. Others seek careers in disciplines such as geophysics, oceanography, mathematics, computer science and engineering. In addition, some find areas such as law, business and education to be attractive. These are professions for which the technical information and the quantitative patterns of thinking learned in physics are highly relevant. Physicists are regarded as the generalists of the scientific community with the knowledge and skills that are applicable to a wide range of professions, and consequently, are always in demand.

Degree Requirements:

• See the academic catalog for definitive requirements for the Physics Majors and the Physics Minor (https://www.wittenberg.edu/administration/registrar/academic-catalog)
• Checklist of course requirements for B.A./B.S. in physics

Department of Physics - Course schedules

When are the 200-level courses offered?

Typical first-year courses for physics or pre-engineering majors:

• Option 1 (for students ready to take MATH 201):
• Fall: PHYS 201, MATH 201
• Spring: PHYS 203, MATH 202 and possibly COMP 150

Option 2 (for students who can start with MATH 202):

• Fall: PHYS 201, COMP 150 or Math 202
• Spring: PHYS 203, MATH 202 or COMP 150