Majors and Minors
Physics Major (B.A. or B.S.)
Our Physics major provides a rigorous grounding in fundamental physics,
fosters critical thinking and creative problem solving, and provides
broad practical training in science and technology. It is designed to
prepare students for advanced study in physics, engineering, or other
technical disciplines, for employment in industry, or for a teaching at
the secondary level.
The Physics major provides a rigorous grounding in fundamental physics,
fosters critical thinking and creative problem solving, and provides
broad practical training in science and technology. It is designed to
prepare you for advanced study in physics, engineering or other
technical disciplines, for employment in industry, or for teaching at
the secondary level. Physics graduates are in high demand in any area
where analytical thinking and problem solving are important, and our
students have also gone on to careers in computer programming, finance,
law, and medicine.
All physics majors complete a core of courses covering the foundations
of the discipline: classical mechanics, statistical mechanics and
thermodynamics, electrodynamics, and quantum mechanics. Electives allow
more specialized areas to be explored in greater detail, for example
condensed matter physics, particle physics, optics and general
relativity. In the advanced and electronics laboratories, you have
access to state-of-the-art instrumentation, and gain experience in
experimental design and data analysis.
You are also encouraged to participate in research with a faculty
member, which, depending on interests, may start as early as the
freshman year. Physics faculty members have active research programs in
experimental condensed matter physics, experimental particle physics,
and theoretical and computational particle physics. Experimental
research is carried out in part at the Lawrence Berkeley National
Laboratory and at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, and
students have the opportunity to visit and work at these prestigious
facilities.
Physics Major with 3+2 Cooperative Engineering
Majoring in Physics with a 3+2 Cooperative Engineering allows you to pursue a
physics major while at Otterbein and complete an engineering degree at a
cooperating institution.
This program gives you the opportunity to study at Otterbein for three
years and then pursue engineering for two more years at either Case
Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio or Washington University
in St. Louis, Missouri (your choice). At the end of five years, you will
earn a B.A. in physics from Otterbein and a B.S. in the selected field
of engineering from the partner school. In order to receive the
Otterbein degree, the student must submit an official transcript from
Case or Washington showing completion of the engineering degree. Hours
will be transferred to the Otterbein transcript record in order to
fulfill total hours needed for the Otterbein degree.
Students in this program are liberally educated engineers, benefiting
from both the focus on the liberal arts and sciences at Otterbein and
the specialized training available at a large university. In many ways
it is the best of both worlds. An advantage of this program over
traditional engineering programs is that you need not commit yourself to
the study of engineering in the freshman year. This flexibility is
especially useful for students whose interests may span several areas;
it allows you to explore multiple options before committing to a
specific course of study.
The program is rigorous, and to complete it in five years, you must
qualify to take Calculus I (MATH 1700) in autumn semester of your
freshman year. Interested students are strongly advised to contact the
department before the start of their freshman year to make sure they are
on track for the program.
Physics Major with Secondary Teaching Licensure (grades 7-12)
Adding a Secondary Teaching Licensure component to your Physics major prepares you for teaching physics at the secondary level.
Requirements for students seeking licensure in physics are listed in the
Teacher Education Programs handbook available in the Education
Department. Students must meet both the requirements for a BA in physics
and the requirements for teacher licensure. To be recommended for
licensure a student must have a cumulative grade point average of 2.5 or
better, have a 2.5 grade point average in the teaching area, be in good
standing with the Education Department, have positive recommendations
from student teaching, and have successfully passed the Praxis II exam.
Physics Minor
Introductory physics is also taken by students majoring in Chemistry and
Life Science who wish to understand the physical principles applied in
their own disciplines.