Gonzaga's Department of Physics is solely dedicated to its undergraduate students, offering a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Arts degree. Students with an interest in physics but who wish to major in another field may pursue a Physics minor.
The department's student-to-faculty ratio of approximately three-to-one, which often results in upper-division courses with just five students, allows for personalized instruction. Physics majors often participate in summer research projects funded by the National Science Foundation, either on Gonzaga's campus or at other research institutions.
A Physics major prepares graduates for diverse careers — from academia, industry, and government, to medicine, insurance, law and more — and our program allows students flexibility in their study depending on their academic and career goals. Course topics include mechanics, electricity and magnetism, optics, statistical physics, nuclear physics and quantum mechanics. Students develop their understanding of experimental procedure and analysis through laboratory work and their understanding of computer programming and computational physics methods.
The Physics major is a 54-credit program. Students intending to major in physics are expected to declare their freshman year; students in their sophomore year and students in the Florence program, however, can be accommodated by special arrangement with the department. The Physics minor is 27 credits.