Physics (BA)

Department Website

Program Description

Physics is the most basic of the natural sciences. It is concerned with understanding the world on all scales of length, time, and energy. The methods of physics are diverse, but they share a common objective to develop and refine fundamental models that quantitatively explain observations and the results of experiments. The discoveries of physics rank among the most important achievements of human inquiry and have had an enormous impact on human culture and civilization. Members of the department conduct research in the fields of astrophysics, biophysics, cosmology, elementary particle physics, gravitation, hard and soft condensed matter physics, and statistical physics, carrying out experimental work in state-of-the art laboratories in the department and at such national and international facilities as the Large Hadron Collider at CERN and large astronomical observatories.

The educational programs of the department are aimed at providing a range of courses to meet the needs of different student groups. For undergraduate Physics majors, there is a rigorous core program, exposure to current frontiers, and opportunities for research. For science majors outside of Physics, there are technical courses that emphasize the fundamental physical laws that underpin other sciences; and for other majors, nontechnical courses introduce some of the most important concepts of physics and their impact on the contemporary world.

Honors Program

Students who have completed at least 64 credits of graded work in the College may be awarded degrees with departmental honors in Physics if they meet all requirements of the major, complete the designated honors requirements, and maintain the requisite grade point average of 3.65 both in the major and overall.

The honors program must minimally be a two-term (8-credit) research experience that includes a capstone research project. The capstone project, which typically culminates in a thesis, should reflect sustained original research over two semesters. A committee of three faculty members of the Department of Physics is created for each honors student. The honors thesis must be approved by the committee, who will judge if the research is of sufficient quality. Publication in a recognized research journal of an article reporting research done primarily by the student is prima facie evidence that the research is deserving of honors. Because of inevitable delay in publication, an article submitted for publication may not be published in the time available, and the thesis committee may express its opinion that the thesis is of publishable quality.

All students completing departmental honors must make public presentations of their work, which may be at the CAS Undergraduate Research Conference (URC) held at the end of the academic year, or in a departmental forum (e.g., oral defenses or presentations), or at a recognized physics conference.  Students should apply at the latest by April of junior year.  For more information, visit the Physics website.

Admissions

New York University's Office of Undergraduate Admissions supports the application process for all undergraduate programs at NYU. For additional information about undergraduate admissions, including application requirements, see How to Apply