Message from the Chair
Welcome to the website for the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Denver, a medium-sized department that combines the best elements of a small liberal arts college and big research-focused university. A few highlights:
· Most physics and astronomy classes are 10-20 students: small enough that you will have an opportunity to really get to know your professors, and big enough for meaningful discussion and collaborative learning.
· Half of undergraduate Physics majors at DU are women, making ours one of the most gender-balanced in the country.
· Our faculty genuinely care about each student’s success and learning – no weed-out classes or competition to get good grades!
· Our professors are world-leading experts in the areas of: 1.) Astrophysics, 2.) Biophysics, and 3.) Condensed Matter/Quantum physics, so you will get insightful perspective in every class and...
· DU physics majors can do meaningful, field-leading research, in partnership with faculty and graduate student mentors.
· Most Physics majors study abroad!
· Our Society of Physics Students group is a vibrant community that does hands-on outreach in local schools and events at DU’s Chamberlin Observatory.
· After graduation, our majors have gone to a variety of next steps: grad school (in physics or other sciences), teaching, aerospace, engineering, and even business.
• Our department has a uniquely warm and supportive community – which we think is the best way to learn physics!
We offer BS and BA degrees in Physics, minors in Physics, Medical Physics, and Astrophysics, and concentrations in Nano, Computational, and Biological Physics. We also have a growing number of course and research options in Quantum Materials and Information Science (I teaching a class on Quantum Computing next quarter!) and we anticipate offering a quantum minor within the next year.
We look forward to getting to know you more. If you live nearby or will be in town for a campus visit, feel free to email me at mark.siemens@du.edu to arrange a tour of the department and/or meet some current Physics undergraduates and faculty. I’m also happy to answer any of your questions about our academic programs by email or Zoom.
Mark Siemens