Physics is a lot like chocolate—it goes with everything. That may be one reason so many of MTSU's physics majors started out in pursuit of a different degree (in recording industry, pre-medicine, music, etc.) only to discover that it was the physics of it all that fascinated them. Physics may take them on a different road back to their original interest—a career as a medical physicist, for example.
Originally a Biology major, Lauren Rigsby planned to go to medical school until a math professor pointed out she might be bored by the memorization and lack of applied problem-solving. Now, she's set her sights on career as a medical physicist. (Among other things, medical physicists help create treatment plans that ensure patients receive the right radiation dose in the correct area.)
After teaching the phases of the moon and planets to a second grade class during an outreach program, physics major Hillary Ball decided to choose teaching over graduate school. “I loved the eureka moments,” she says, “the looks on their faces when the light went on.” She is fascinated with the wonders of physics and the beauty of what it reveals and found support for her desire to teach through the College of Education.
There's almost no field of endeavor that doesn't have some part of it touched by physics. Not surprisingly, a B.S. in Physics can be that first step to any number of diverse careers! Examples include
Students in the Physics program can pursue a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Physics with concentrations in Applied Physics, Astronomy, Physics Teaching, or Professional Physics. Within the Professional Physics concentration are tracks in medical physics and astrophysics.
For complete curriculum details, click on the REQUIREMENTS tab above.
Undergraduate students can pursue a minor in Physics or Astronomy.
A minor in Physics is available for graduate students, as well.
The Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) College of Education’s teacher licensure preparation programs are accredited by the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and are eligible for accreditation by the Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP). The Bachelor of Science (B.S.) in Physics with teacher licensure program at MTSU is designed to meet the licensure requirements set by the Tennessee Department of Education. Students should be aware that licensure requirements vary from state to state and are subject to change. MTSU has not made a determination whether a specific program will meet all of the requirements of another US state or territory. MTSU recommends that students who plan to seek licensure outside the state of Tennessee contact the appropriate licensing agency and discuss their plans with their advisor. To obtain current information about each state’s and territory’s licensure requirements and any additional regulations, students should consult the US Department of Education’s website for state contacts at https://www2.ed.gov/about/contacts/state/index.html.
Our adjunct faculty bring outstanding professional experience to our programs. Many are industry leaders with decorated careers and honors. Importantly, they are innovative educators who offer hands-on learning to our students to prepare them to enter and thrive in a dynamic, and oftentimes emerging, industry and professional world. They inspire, instruct, and challenge our students toward academic and professional success.
Introduces new physics and astronomy students to the physics major. Topics include degree requirements, faculty resources, research opportunities, and career options. Half of the meetings will involve one hour lectures during class, and half will involve attending talks, some of which may occur outside the scheduled class meeting time.
Prerequisite: MATH 1710, MATH 1730, or MATH 1630. Uncovers the fundamental concepts of physics in a hands-on approach that involves observations, measurements, forming hypotheses, and validation of ideas in groups of students' peers. Combined lecture/laboratory sessions.
Prerequisite: MATH 1710, MATH 1730, MATH 1810, or MATH 1910 or consent of instructor. The physics of music, acoustics, and sound for students without prior physics background.
Prerequisite: MATH 1710, MATH 1730, MATH 1810, or MATH 1910 with a minimum grade of C (2.0). Required corequisite: PHYS 2011. Web-based discussion class to be taken in conjunction with cooperative-learning based problems lab PHYS 2011. Classical mechanics traditionally covered in a first-semester college physics course. Kinematics, forces, momentum, angular motion, calorimetry, and sound waves. Class time used for discussion of the Web-lecture material and for the administration of exams. TBR Common Course: PHYS 2010
Prerequisite: MATH 1710, MATH 1730, MATH 1810, or MATH 1910 with a minimum grade of C (2.0). Required corequisite: PHYS 2010. Group-oriented problems course taken in conjunction with the Web-based discussion class PHYS 2010. Students work in groups with the topics presented in the PHYS 2010 discussion class. Covers kinematics, forces, momentum, angular motion, calorimetry, and sound waves. Skills associated with the development of experimental investigations including graphical analysis and estimation of uncertainties emphasized. Two two-and-one-half-hour laboratory sessions. TBR Common Course: PHYS 2011
Prerequisite: PHYS 2011. Required corequisite: PHYS 2021. Web-based discussion class taken in conjunction with the cooperative-learning based problems lab PHYS 2021. Fundamentals of optics, modern physics, and electronics traditionally covered in a second-semester college physics course. Reflection and refraction, vision, diffraction effects, quantum mechanics, atomic and nuclear physics, and analog and digital electronics. Scheduled class time is used for discussions of the Web-lecture material and for the administration of exams. TBR Common Course: PHYS 2020
Prerequisite: PHYS 2011. Required corequisite: PHYS 2020. Group-oriented problems course to be taken in conjunction with the Web-based discussion class PHYS 2020. Students work in groups with the topics presented in the PHYS 2020 discussion class. Optics, modern physics, and electronics traditionally covered in a second-semester college physics course. Reflection and refraction, vision, diffraction effects, quantum mechanics, atomic and nuclear physics, and analog and digital electronics. The skills associated with the development of experimental investigations including graphical analysis and estimation of uncertainties emphasized. Two two-and-one-half-hour laboratory sessions. TBR Common Course: PHYS 2021
Prerequisite: MATH 1910 with a minimum grade of C (2.0). Corequisite: PHYS 2111. A calculus-based introduction to mechanics and wave motion. One and one-half hours lecture. TBR Common Course: PHYS 2110
Prerequisite: MATH 1910 with a minimum grade of C (2.0). Corequisite: PHYS 2110. Laboratory course to accompany PHYS 2110. Experiments in mechanics, waves, and thermodynamics. Data reduction, error analysis, and report writing. Two three-hour sessions. TBR Common Course: PHYS 2111
Prerequisites: PHYS 2111; MATH 1920 with a minimum grade of C (2.0). Required corequisite: PHYS 2121. A lecture course that supplements the discussion in PHYS 2121. Topics include a microscopic view of electrical force and field, polarization, electric circuits, magnetic force and field, electric potential, symmetries of fields, Maxwell's equations, electromagnetic radiation, optics, and wave phenomena. One and one-half hours lecture.
Prerequisites: PHYS 2111; MATH 1920 with a minimum grade of C (2.0). Required corequisite: PHYS 2120. A laboratory-based course to accompany PHYS 2120. Includes discussions, group problem solving, and hands-on activities. Two three-hour sessions. TBR Common Course: PHYS 2121
Prerequisites: PHYS 1600 and MATH 1910. Detailed overview of acoustics including an introduction to digital signals and their analysis. Application areas include architectural, musical, and environmental acoustics. Intended for students interested in the technical side of the music industry.
Prerequisites: PHYS 2021 or PHYS 2120 and approval of department chair. Individualized intensive study of a specific topic in physics not normally covered to the extent desired in the standard curriculum. Arrangements must be made with an approved faculty member prior to registration.
Prerequisites: PHYS 2021 or PHYS 2121 and MATH 1920. Introduction to the concepts of twentieth-century physics. Discusses fundamental concepts of modern physics including relativity, atomic physics, wave optics, and quantum mechanics. Not intended to prepare students for graduate school in physics.
Prerequisite: PHYS 3070 or PHYS 3100. Introduction to the concepts of twentieth-century physics. Discusses the fundamental concepts of modern physics including molecular physics, statistical distributions, solid state physics, and nuclear particle physics. Not intended to prepare students for graduate school in physics.
Prerequisites: PHYS 2021 or PHYS 2121 and MATH 1920 with a minimum grade of C (2.0). Introduction to the fundamental principles of modern physics (special relativity and quantum mechanics) and their application to atomic physics.
Prerequisite: PHYS 3100. Survey of major topics including molecular physics, statistical physics, solid state physics and solid state devices, nuclear models, nuclear decay and reaction, and elementary particle physics.
Prerequisite or corequisite: PHYS 3100. Concepts and ideas which formed the basis for an understanding of the atom and atomic phenomena. One hour lecture and one three-hour independent study laboratory.
Prerequisites: PHYS 2021 or PHYS 2121 and MATH 1920 with a minimum grade of C (2.0). Theoretical techniques used for problem solving in physics. Reference frames and coordinate systems, approximation techniques, solution of electrical circuits and mechanical systems, simple harmonic motion and wave motion, Maxwell's equations.
Prerequisite: PHYS 3150. A continuation of PHYS 3150. The Schroedinger equation, heat flow, diffusion, the Lagrangian description of motion.
Prerequisites: MATH 1920 and PHYS 2021 or PHYS 2120 or PHYS 2121 or consent of instructor. Techniques of computational physics as applied to the solution of scientific problems.
Prerequisite: PHYS 3110 and MATH 3120 or PHYS 3150. Mechanics (including statics and dynamics) of particles in three dimensions using vector analysis, motion of rigid bodies, Lagrangian mechanics, and Hamilton's equations.
Prerequisite: PHYS 2021 or PHYS 2121 or ET 3610. Investigates applications of modern digital technology. Fundamentals of logic gates and programmable devices examined along with contemporary integrated circuits for use in data acquisition and the control of scientific experiments. Sound cards, alarm systems, and laboratory measurement circuits typify projects constructed in the hands-on laboratory. Two hours lecture and one three-hour laboratory.
Radiation protection methods, dosimetry techniques, and survey instruments. Practical knowledge of the methodology for paramedical personnel, industrial workers, and others who deal with radioisotopes and X-ray equipment. Two hours lecture and one three-hour laboratory.
Prerequisite: PHYS 2021 or PHYS 2121 or ET 3610 with C or better. Introduction to contemporary analog electronics utilizing integrated circuits to treat traditional circuits, power supplies, operational amplifiers, comparators, and multivibrators. Conversion of analog to digital signal for interfacing to microcomputers. Emphasis on practical applications. Three hours lecture and one three-hour laboratory.
Prerequisite: PHYS 2021 or PHYS 2121 and MATH 1920. Provides an intermediated treatment of the principles of thermodynamics, electromagnetics, and oscillatory behavior with applications. Course is not intended for physics majors participating in the Professional Physics concentration. Three hours lecture.
Prerequisite: PHYS 3080 or PHYS 3110. Introduction to the concepts of thermodynamics and statistical mechanics. Discusses the fundamentals of thermodynamics from both the macroscopic and microscopic points of view including entropy, enthalpy, heat engines, Helmholtz and Gibbs free energy, the partition function, and quantum statistics. Not intended to prepare students for graduate school in physics.
Prerequisites: PHYS 2021 or PHYS 2121 and MATH 1920 both with a minimum grade of C (2.0). Optical science with applications. Addresses geometrical optics and wave optics with a focus on real world applications from the very large to the nanoscale.
Prerequisites: MATH 1910 and a one-year introductory sequence in physics. Introduction to field of radiation oncology physics, including a discussion of fundamental physics and techniques associated with the diagnosis and treatment of cancer using electromagnetic radiation and particle beams. Includes experiences in a radiation oncology clinic and interactions with practicing medical physicists.
Prerequisite or corequisite: PHYS 3600. Real-world/clinical applications of concepts and theory from PHYS 3600, especially those associated with detectors and dosimetry. May include hands-on activities at the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center.
Prerequisite: PHYS 3110 and PHYS 3150 or MATH 3120 or consent of instructor. Introduction to statistical physics, kinetic theory, and thermodynamics from a unified microscopic point of view. Selected applications to various systems of interest presented.
Prerequisite: PHYS 3100. Develops and refines inquiry, communication, and presentation skills through exposure to new developments in physics, technical brief writing, and resume and job interview preparations.
Prerequisite: PHYS 3100 and consent of instructor. Refines thinking, communication, and interpersonal skills through exposure to on-the-spot technical questions and a laboratory teaching experience as an assistant in an introductory physics laboratory. One hour lecture and two two-and-one-half hour experiences as a teaching assistant to be scheduled with department faculty.
Prerequisites: PHYS 2021 or PHYS 2120 and PHYS 2121. The skills, art, and physics important in pursuing independent research. Experiments dealing with mechanical, optical, or thermodynamic principles explored. Report writing, literature research, and the use of analysis tools emphasized. One hour lecture and one three-hour independent study laboratory.
Prerequisites: PHYS 2021 or PHYS 2120 and PHYS 2121. The skills, art, and physics important in pursuing independent research. Experiments dealing with mechanical, optical, or thermodynamic principles explored. Report writing, literature research, and the use of analysis tools emphasized.
Prerequisite: PHYS 2021 PHYS 2121 and MATH 1920 with C or better. Introduces physics teaching pedagogies resulting from physics education research. Methods studied to include inquiry, discovery, and modeling-based approaches. Seminar meeting will be supplemented with extensive experience as a learning assistant in a hands-on cooperative-learning and/or discovery-learning based introductory physics course.
Prerequisites: PHYS 2021 or PHYS 2121 and MATH 1920 with C or better. Develops skills of reasoning and articulating physics concepts for improved understanding and performance on physics exams and upper-level courses. Focuses on topics typically covered in the first semester of introductory physics. One one-hour, twenty-five minute lecture per week.
Prerequisites: PHYS 2021 or PHYS 2121 and MATH 1920 with C or better. Develops skills of reasoning and articulating physics concepts for improved understanding and performance on physics exams and upper-level courses. Focuses on topics typically covered in the second semester of introductory physics. One-hour twenty-five minutes lecture per week.
Prerequisites: MATH 3110 and MATH 3120 and PHYS 3110 or PHYS 3160. Topics including electric and magnetic fields, electrostatic potential, and potential energy and fields in matter, discussed in a mathematically rigorous manner. A variety of good applications of mathematical methods in physics.
Prerequisite: PHYS 3160 and PHYS 4310. Topics include theory of electromagnetic radiation, production and propagation of electromagnetic waves, and the solution of boundary-value problems with applications to optics, wave guides, and lasers.
Prerequisites: PHYS 3110 and MATH 3120 and (PHYS 3110 or PHYS 3160). Topics include both one- and three-dimensional solutions to the Schroedinger equation, including the infinite square-well, finite square-well, tunneling, the harmonic oscillator, and the hydrogen atom with a discussion of angular momentum at a mathematically rigorous undergraduate level.
Prerequisite: PHYS 3160 and PHYS 4380. Advanced topics in quantum mechanics, including time-independent and time-dependent perturbation theory, systems of indistinguishable particles, the Aharonov-Bohm effect, Fermi's Golden Rule, and an introduction to quantum field theory.
Prerequisites: PHYS 3110 and PHYS 3160. Topics in medical physics at an advanced undergraduate level. Possible topics include charged-particle interactions and equilibrium in matter, cavity theory, dosimetry, CTs, and MRIs.
Prerequisites: PHYS 3110 and PHYS 3150. Includes crystal structures, lattice dynamics, statistics of conductors and semiconductors, thermal properties, the metallic state, free electron theory, band theory of solids, dielectric and magnetic properties of solids, and the low temperature behavior of matter, particularly solids. Three hours lecture.
(Same as ABAS/BIOL/GEOL/CHEM/MATH 4740.) Prerequisite: YOED 3520. Provides secondary science and mathematics teacher candidates with the tools that scientists use to solve scientific problems. Students will use these tools in a laboratory setting, communicate findings, and understand how scientists develop new knowledge.
Prerequisites: PHYS 3110 and PHYS 3160; an extensive physics background and permission of instructor. Detailed study of a selected topic of current interest in physics not normally covered in the regular undergraduate physics curriculum. Possible topics include advanced atomic physics, high-energy physics (nuclear and elementary particles), scattering theory, astrophysics, and general relativity.
Prerequisites: PHYS 3110 and PHYS 3160; an extensive physics background and permission of instructor. Detailed study of a selected topic of current interest in physics not normally covered in the regular undergraduate physics curriculum. Possible topics include advanced atomic physics, high-energy physics (nuclear and elementary particles), scattering theory, astrophysics, and general relativity.
Prerequisite: PHYS 3110 and consent of instructor. Independent study of a selected research problem in physics. Includes experimental and/or theoretical investigation of an important, yet unexplored, problem. Includes literature research, experiment design/problem formulation and execution, resulting in oral and written presentation of results suitable for submission for publication in a suitable journal. One hour lecture and significant time working with research mentor.
Prerequisite: Consent of instructor. Independent study of a selected research problem in physics. Includes experimental and/or theoretical investigation of an important, yet unexplored, problem. Includes literature research, experiment design/problem formulation and execution, resulting in oral and written presentation of results suitable for submission for publication in a suitable journal. One hour lecture and significant additional time working with research mentor.
Prerequisites: PHYS 4850 or PHYS 4860 and consent of department chair. Brings undergraduate experience to focus on a specific research problem; chosen with the consent of the thesis committee and with the potential for original discovery or for creative development of a tool or technique applicable to scientific research. Independent pursuit of research objectives outlined in a research proposal results in a written thesis whose approval will include an oral defense. One hour lecture and independent writing of thesis.
This program is available .
Contact your department / program coordinator or advisor for more details about the program OR work one-on-one with your advisor to explore your options.
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