Department of Physics
Location: Building, 50, Room 2600
Phone: (904) 620-2729
Fax: (904) 620-1989
Web Address: www.unf.edu/coas/physics
Dr. Greg Wurtz, Chair
The Program
The Department of Physics offers a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Physics, a Bachelor of Science (BS) in Astronomy, and a Master of Science (MS) in Materials Science and Engineering. The department’s faculty are committed to providing a transformative training experience to their students that is grounded in high-impact practices in the classroom, undergraduate and graduate research, internships, mentorship, and student clubs. The BS in Physics is available with tracks in physics, engineering physics, astrophysics, computing, and premedical physics. A minor in physics is also offered. Interested students may decide to major in physics while choosing the physics teaching option which combines the physics baccalaureate degree with an education minor.
Undergraduate students in the physics program actively participate in research conducted by our faculty in various fields, including astronomy and astrophysics, condensed matter physics, and physics education research. Many physics students receive financial support from faculty research grants (e.g. National Science Foundation, Research Corporation, and NASA), and university grants and scholarships to support their research activities under the mentorship of the faculty.
Additionally, students are regularly employed by the university and the department as teaching assistant as well as peer mentors, and receive scholarships to support their education.
Finally, our majors often join two active student clubs: the Society of Physics Students and the Astronomy Club.
Through an innovative curriculum that leverages active learning to enhance student engagement and foster the development and retention of transformative skills, the department aims to graduate students well-prepared to navigate a lifelong dynamic professional landscape in areas such as data science, academia, medical physics, and engineering. The increased use of complex technologies in nanoelectronics, environmental physics, optics, space and renewable energies, defense, health care, advanced manufacturing and other industries, provides ample evidence that the value of understanding physics will continue to be important for individuals and society. Physics provides a strong foundation of skills which allows many of our students to also enter professional and graduate studies both within and outside the physics discipline.
Moreover, the Department of Physics participates in a research-focused Masters of Science in Materials Science and Engineering. In this multidisciplinary graduate program, students study materials from their fundamental make-up, and associated properties, to their processing and integration in the design and development of new composite materials and devices. This degree is offered in partnership with the School of Engineering, the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and the Department of Biology.