The Applied Physics program combines a core physics curriculum with research and study in areas that also includes the application of physics to the broader scientific and engineering communities. Students in applied physics may pursue research in any one of several broad areas, including nanoscience, advanced materials, condensed matter physics, renewable energy, quantum information and photonics, biological physics, astrophysics and plasma physics. The Ph.D. program in the graduate field of Applied Physics (AP) is a flexible, research-oriented doctoral program tailored to individual interests. AP combines a core physics curriculum with research and study usually in one of the areas discussed above. Graduate students can engage in a wide range of cross-disciplinary research activities, bringing their expertise as an applied physicist to bear, often in a collaborative environment. Instead of a qualifying exam, students are expected take classes in a common core of physics subjects, being quantum mechanics, electrodynamics, statistical mechanics, and advanced laboratory techniques.
The Ph.D. program in the graduate field of Applied Physics is a research-oriented doctoral program tailored to individual interests. The program combines a core physics curriculum with research and study in one of several areas that deal either with the application of physics to a technical discipline or with the interface between physics and another area of science. Students who have majored in physics, in another physical science (for example, chemistry), or in an engineering field are eligible for the program.
Nanoscience, the behavior of physical systems when confined to near atomic, nanoscale dimensions together with the physical phenomena that occur at the nanoscale, is currently one of the most dynamic and rapidly developing areas of interdisciplinary research in applied physics. Nanotechnology is the branch of technology that deals with dimensions and tolerances of less than 100 nanometers, especially the manipulation of individual atoms and molecules. Applications are wide and varied, including energy production and storage, drug delivery, materials science, and many others.