BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN ENGINEERING PHYSICS
As our understanding of the physical world has developed, so have the resulting ideas and discoveries provided the driving force behind much of our rapidly changing technology. To be able to understand and to move with these changes--to initiate and press through such changes--an individual must have a strong grasp of the underlying fundamental principles. Engineering Physics (EP) offers an opportunity at the undergraduate level to develop a deeper understanding of these fundamentals through an extensive physics and mathematics program in an engineering context (FAQs). Through a combination of electives as well as various laboratory courses, this enhanced knowledge of fundamentals can easily be combined with the practical aspects of a conventional engineering discipline.
The undergraduate program in Engineering Physics stresses the basic physics that underlies most developments in engineering, and the mathematical tools that are important to all engineers and scientists. This emphasis, combined with hands-on experience with modern computers, electronics, and lasers, is an excellent preparation for a broad range of careers. The program is challenging, with a curriculum designed to stretch the mind. It is intended for men and women with a strong aptitude in science and mathematics who wish to apply these fundamental subjects to technical problems without regard for the historical divisions among disciplines.
Undergraduates who wish to do so may carry out their own research projects during the junior and senior years. An internationally recognized faculty with very diverse interests, coupled with sizable funding for research, permits the study (both theoretical and experimental) of a wide range of subjects, including integrated-circuit technology, wave-function engineering, electron and ion-beam microfabrication, lasers and optics, superconducting devices, plasma physics, thermonuclear fusion, biological physics, materials physics, and x-ray physics.
WHO SHOULD GO INTO ENGINEERING PHYSICS?
Engineering Physics is primarily for the student with a strong interest in and aptitude for science and mathematics and the desire to apply these disciplines to technical problems without regard to formal or historical boundaries between various fields of engineering and physics.
It is usually easier for students to recognize their aptitudes than it is to determine specialized areas in which they eventually want to work. The EP curriculum recognizes this fact and focuses on allowing students to extend themselves and to develop broad skills in the physical sciences. The primary emphasis in our curriculum is to foster mastery in areas of basic physics and related skills which have in the past proven of universal importance. It is our opinion that excellence in physics--particularly developing the capability to do physics rather than just awareness and knowledge of physics--is of vital importance for a practicing scientist or engineer, in particular in pushing the forefront of an engineering area. An important aspect of this excellence is the development of experimental skills to complement the formal course work. Towards this end, the EP program offers five experimental courses in the areas of computers, lasers, optics and electronics. The basic EP program, combined with properly chosen specialty courses in various areas, enables students to choose their future directions wisely.
If you want to have a broad technological and scientific base from which to operate, regardless of your specific interests, you should choose an upperclass department with a broad fundamental program. It is more difficult to broaden your options at a later date if you have chosen a narrowly defined field to study as an undergraduate.
WHERE DOES IT LEAD?
Engineering Physics alumni have found the dual emphasis on fundamentals and engineering applications to be extremely valuable for wide-ranging careers in industry, government, academia, and professional practice in law, medicine, and business administration. About half of the B.S. degree graduates take positions in high-technology industries, at starting salaries at the top end of the salary scale for engineers. The other half of the graduates continue on to either graduate school or to professional programs in engineering, law, medicine, and business administration; the outstanding reputation of the engineering physics program makes graduates extremely attractive candidates for admission and financial support at the graduate level in a variety of different disciplines. Most engineering physics graduates develop careers in industry as staff engineers or scientists or technical directors; in research and administrative positions in nonprofit and national laboratories; as professors in almost all engineering and scientific disciplines at major universities; as consultants; or as physicians or lawyers.
WHAT IS THE PHILOSOPHY BEHIND THE EP PROGRAM?
As the name implies, Engineering Physics is a curriculum and a discipline stressing the basic physics underlying most of the modern engineering developments. Although not specifically in the name, mathematics is emphasized almost as strongly as physics because it is an important tool for both the engineer and the physicist. Studying these subjects in an environment that lets you see the engineering applications provides the best of two worlds. If you want to go on to work in "pure" science, the "practical" aspects of the EP program can only help. On the other hand, good training in physics and mathematics provides an excellent base from which you can branch out into many engineering and applied science disciplines.
In short, Engineering Physics is an apprenticeship on the broadest and most fundamental level for a career in engineering, the basic sciences, or any discipline requiring technical training.
QUALITY OF THE PROGRAM
The EP program was recognized in the 2008 edition (August 2007 release) of the US News & World Report as the #1 ranked engineering physics / engineering science program in the nation. Because of the nature of the EP program, the entering junior class tends to come from the better students in the College. The program has generally around 25-40 students per graduating class resulting in a very low student/faculty ratio (~ 3 to 4 students per faculty member). The result is an intimate program where most students know one another and the faculty know the students. The program stresses individualized attention as much as possible, and faculty are always willing to offer help on academic and career choices as well as on other matters. There is also an EP student club called the Cornell Applied and Engineering Physics Society (CAEPS). CAEPS organizes visits by former alumni to describe the type of work they do and how the EP program prepared them for their careers. In addition, there are informal lectures by members of the EP faculty to describe their field research. CAEPS also organizes various types of social activities.
WHOM TO SEE AND WHERE
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Sometimes freshmen and sophomores need advice on electives and planning for their upperclass years. In such cases, do not hesitate to contact Kelli Hulslander by email.
