The Department of Physics & Astronomy is an acknowledged national leader in physics education for developing the Workshop Physics program, an innovative activity-based method for learning introductory physics. In classes, from the most basic to the most advanced, students engage in activities and projects complemented by interactive lectures.
All upper-level students do research in a state-of-the-art building with facilities for projects in optics, nonlinear dynamics of complex systems, plasma physics, pattern formation in magnetic fluids, material science, environmental physics and astronomy.
Students interested in astronomy help run the Kanev Planetarium and conduct research on the 24-inch telescope of the college’s Michael Britton Observatory.
Wellman Center for Photomedicine at Massachusetts General Hospital
Decisive Analytics Corporation
Graduate Schools:
University of Illinois
Dartmouth College
University of Colorado
Arizona State University
University of Florida, Gainesville
University of Michigan
Harvard
MIT
Columbia University
Carnegie Mellon University
University of Pittsburgh
University of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania State University
Wesleyan University
University of California, Berkeley
Clemson University
Where Our Students Have Done Research
Coherent, Inc.
Vassar College
University of Monash (Australia)
Princeton University
Lehigh University
Wellesley College
Oak Ridge National Lab
Fermi National Accelerator Lab
University of Maryland
Cornell Laboratory for Accelerator-based Sciences and Education
Kanazawa University
NASA/JPL
Student Perspective
"The Dickinson physics curriculum—shout out to the incredible faculty!—uses small-group, inquiry-based courses to allow students to take ownership of the concepts covered during lectures through hands-on experimentation. Throughout my time at Dickinson, the physics department pushed us to make connections between the coursework concepts and the world around us. This approach provided me with the tools and knowledge necessary to explore a range of topics creatively and from different perspectives, and the liberal arts are an important aspect of this balance.”
NASA's John Mather Delivers 71st Priestley Award Lecture
Nobel Prize-winning astrophysicist meets with students and discusses his nearly 30 years of work as the senior project scientist on the groundbreaking James Webb Space Telescope.