Bachelors in Physics

The Department of Physics and Astronomy at Geneseo provides an opportunity to learn and develop in an environment dedicated to excellence. Professional and personal relationships between faculty and students both in and out of the classroom and laboratory are cultivated through joint departmental governance, departmental colloquium presentations, trips to professional meetings and informal social events.

The Department offers four-year programs in physics and applied physics, and a (five year) 3-2 program in physics and engineering is offered with ten different colleges. Upon graduation, all undergraduate physics majors receive either the B.A. or B.S. degree in physics. The physics program includes at least 12 courses in physics and four courses in mathematics, two in another lab science and one in computer science.

Program Options

The content and requirements of the B.A. degree in physics allow several options in the design of an undergraduate program: preparation for graduate study in physics or related fields such as engineering, certification in secondary physics teaching, preparation for immediate commercial or industrial employment, cooperative engineering programs and interdisciplinary majors in geophysics and biophysics.

The B.S. degree in physics is directed more toward the student who expects to enter the job market immediately upon graduation. In this program, students would minor in either computer science, mathematics or another science field and take more applied physics courses than are required for the B.A. degree.

Career Opportunities

The Geneseo physics program prepares you for a wide range of career opportunities. Two-thirds of our graduates continue their studies in graduate school in the fields of physics, engineering, materials science, computer science, oceanography, and medicine. Recent graduates have been employed in technical companies such as Kodak, Xerox, General Motors and General Electric working as design engineers, productions supervisors, and systems analysts. Other graduates are certified as physics teachers in secondary education and are employed in high schools throughout New York State.