Mission Statements

B.A. in Physics
The B.A. program is designed for students who are interested in physics, but would like to have a broader education. The mission of this program is to provide students with working knowledge of fundamental laws of physics sufficient to pursue careers in allied fields while ensuring that they are prepared to pursue graduate studies should they choose this path.

B.A. in Applied Physics
This program is focused more strongly on developing the knowledge base and laboratory skills towards an applied science/technology career. Students enrolled in this program are not required to take matrhematically heavy theoretical courses, which are substituted with mandatory technology oriented courses. This program is ideal for students who want to proceed with a degree in engineering as a part of the 3-2 program with Columbia University or to work toward an M.S. degree in Photonics. Within the 3-2 program with Columbia University, students will spend three years at Queens receiving a BA degree in a liberal arts field, and two years at Columbia obtaining a B.S. in an engineering discipline.

B.S. in Physics
The mission of the B.S. program is to prepare students for professional careers in physics and related disciplines and prepare them for pursuing advanced degree in physics. To fulfill this mission, the curriculum of this program includes the courses covering the most fundamental areas of Physics (Classical Mechanics, Optics, Electrodynamics, Statistical Physics and Thermodynamics, Quantum Mechanics, Mathematical Methods for Physicists), and a number of more specialized courses reflecting research specialization of the faculty members. Students in this program are strongly encouraged to take advantage of multiple research opportunities provided by the faculty members.

Minor in Physics
The mission of the Minor in Physics is to provide maximum flexibility to satisfy the needs of a highly disparate population of students with majors in other departments, who still would like to gain some knowledge of basic physics either to complement their major or to satisfy their human curiosity.

The mission of the M.S. degree in Photonics is to respond to the growing demand for qualified workers in the field of Photonics and adjacent disciplines, as well as to the expectation of students that an advanced college education will lead to rewarding professional careers. Multiple employer surveys point to a wide gap between the set of skills possessed by college graduates and those sought by employers. The professional training appropriate for industrial employers is not provided by the current academic curricula of traditional science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs. The Master of Science in Photonics degree offered by the QC Physics department is an innovative program developed to fill this gap. This program, which includes extensive lab work, additional business courses, industrial internships, and team projects, provides students with rigorous academic training with an emphasis in photonics and with additional skills in preparation for future employment. Developed in close collaboration with program’s Industrial Advisory Board that includes representatives of companies of different sizes – from small start-ups to multinational corporations, it has been certified by the Council of Graduate Schools as a Professional Science Master’s (PSM) program. This cetification confirms that the design of the program corresponds to its main objective, which is to prepare students for immediate employment in the rapidly growing photnics related sector of economy.

The mission of the M.A. program in Physics is to provide advanced knowledge of fundamental laws of physics essential for understanding the modern technological world as well as to develop essential quantitative and problem solving skills. This mission is achieved by designing a curriculum to serve students with a basic undergraduate degree in physics (or related areas with sufficient physics course work), but with diverse career goals. This program is designed to work, first, as a bridge between students possessing undergraduate degrees in physics and related areas and Ph.D. level graduate physics programs; second, as a way for students to attain more advanced understanding of fundamental physics principles and quantitative methods of physics required for careers in medical fields, patent law, scientific journalism, finance, actuary sciences, etc.; and third, to help aspiring high school teachers to attain their accreditation goals.

Physics lies at the core of all scientific and technical disciplines. Our department has a two-fold mission –to provide students who will make a wide range of career choices with an outstanding learning experience in which they develop strong analytical, quantitative, and problem solving skills with a deep appreciation of the role physics plays in technical innovations, and to foster cutting-edge research that expands the horizons of science and technology.

This mission will be accomplished by:

• providing students with rigorous and comprehensive courses that allow them to perform at a high level
• fostering curiosity and excitement about the physical world
• providing an exciting learning opportunity for non-physics and non-science majors that provides basic understanding of physics and problem-solving skills
• maintaining a research environment, in which key scientific and technical innovation are generated
• providing undergraduate and master’s students research experience, through which they contribute to the scientific enterprise
• Maintain healthy level of external research funds allowing us to provid financial support for PhD student during their thesis research and prepare them to academic, research, and industial carriers
• having faculty bring exciting and current research perspectives to the classroom
• preparing undergraduate physics majors and pre-engineering students for graduate studies or technical careers
• providing an M.A. program, which helps students expand their career goals, and a M.S. (PSM) program that would prepare students for rewarding employment in photonics related industries
• providing service and outreach activities to the college and broader community
• maintaining machine and electronics shop facilities that enhance undergraduate, graduate and research laboratories in the College