Typically, there are no more than ten students per advanced physics class, allowing professors to get to know all the students in the course and to provide individual help in and out of the classroom. Even for our larger introductory seminar courses, we’ve adopted personalized “clickers” (instant response technology) and other methods to turn lecture classes into interactive learning environments.

You’ll also have easy access to specialized computer programs and modern scientific equipment. (With assistance from the National Science Foundation, the College has spent over $150,000 to modernize instructional lab equipment since 2005.) With diode lasers, for example, we can conduct fundamental tests of Quantum Mechanics right in our labs.

Most importantly, you’ll be involved in research on cutting-edge subjects under the mentorship of Augustana faculty. Nearly all students complete at least one independent research project. Recent articles co-written by undergraduates include “Magnetically Driven Chaotic Pendulum” and “Closed-Loop Control of Intense-Laser Fragmentation of S₈.”

Read more about the undergraduate research work done in the department.