College of the Pacific
Why choose a Physics degree at Pacific?
There are several reasons to get your physics degree at Pacific.
Exceptional Faculty with Exceptional Expertise
First and foremost, you will get a very high quality education here. The faculty in the Physics Department are exceptional teachers and world famous researchers in their fields of study, selected to become members of our department by the most rigorous standards.
We Focus on Undergraduate Students
Our department is smaller than departments at larger research-focused schools, which means we get to know our students on an individual basis. We know their personal strengths, needs and interests. In larger departments at other universities, the faculty work primarily with their graduate students, leaving undergraduates at a distance. At Pacific, we work closely with our undergraduate students, mentoring them through the most formative time in their career, their bachelor’s degree.
Research Opportunities: Explore with Us
Our small size does not limit our ability to expose students to cutting-edge research. Our department has several faculty working on research in particle physics and computational simulation.
- Professor Birmingham is an expert in black hole physics and aspects of the quantum mechanics of these objects, including string theories.
- Professors Juge, Holland and Hetrick study the physics of quarks and other such subatomic particles which are investigated at large accelerators.
These faculty carry out very large scale simulations using some of the world's largest supercomputers to understand and predict the behavior of these particles.
If your interests are in these areas, we can offer undergraduate research opportunities. Such hands-on learning is exciting and challenging, motivating students to pursue lifelong learning. Undergraduate research opportunities such as these prepare serious students for very successful Ph.D. programs.
