About
The Department of Physics at VCU is a leading institution that prides itself in providing a great learning experience to our undergraduate and graduate students.
Our professors and students are co-workers engaged in the latest scientific discoveries leading the way to tomorrow’s world, and every day brings a new scientific discovery, excitement and challenge.
We offer an undergraduate program leading to the Bachelor of Science in physics. Many of our majors combine their physics B.S. with majors in mathematics and other disciplines. In addition, we offer a unique double major with the School of Engineering.
We also offer a graduate program leading to the Master of Science in physics and applied physics and, in cooperation with the Department of Chemistry, a graduate program leading to the Ph.D. in nanoscience and nanotechnology.
Our faculty are engaged in studies of:
- Nanostructures
- Atomic clusters
- Cluster-assembled materials
- Semiconductor defects and surfaces
- Spintronic materials
- Biophysics and biomaterials
- Medical physics
- Gravitational theory and cosmology
The department has an active research program with approximately $1.6 million annually in research expenditures. Our weekly colloquia program brings distinguished speakers to the department from academia and industry.
Mission Statement
Our mission is the generation and dissemination of knowledge about the discipline of physics and the training of students in the basic skills of that discipline.
We prepare our undergraduate students for a wide variety of careers in technical disciplines. To graduate students, we teach advanced concepts, applications and skills that reach to the frontiers of current research in physics.
Our research activities keep our faculty at the frontiers of knowledge and offer both undergraduate and graduate students opportunities to participate in advancing those frontiers.