The BIS in Astrophysics includes fulfilling the requirements for a minor in math, physics and astronomy and astrophysics along with the standard general studies curriculum. In addition to employment in the public/private sector (see below under physics), this program prepares students to continue their graduate education in mathematics, physics, astronomy, and astrophysics. The Center for Relativity and Cosmology at Troy University will play a pivotal role in your training. Beyond the required courses, you may choose to take advanced courses in relativity, computational physics, and quantum mechanics, just to name a few, in the Area V portion of your curriculum. The BIS in astrophysics will serve as the flagship program in this area. Students interested in the BIS in astrophysics should reach out directly to the department here.
Physics is the most fundamental of the sciences. The theories and laws of physics attempt to give a complete description of the observable and measurable universe, while experiments are conducted to test these theories and occasionally to make discoveries that are beyond them. The observable universe appears to follow the principles of relativity and quantum mechanics. Nevertheless, the details are not fixed: new particles/fields are predicted and then sometimes observed—the Higgs boson is a recent example, as is the detection of gravitational waves—while other predictions await verification. Alternatively, observations are made that provide evidence for phenomena that are not accounted for in the standard model: dark matter and dark energy are hypotheses for observation that fall into this category.
In addition to the primarily academic interests of physics, there are several practical applications and a variety of technologies that can be developed from these principles. For example, the principles used to develop large particle colliders like the LHC are also used to make particle accelerators for radiation therapy and deposition techniques for computer chips. Physics has applications in superconductivity, materials science, quantum computing, thin-film production, spintronics, medical physics, and electronics (just to name a few). The list here is endless, and can indeed extend into the other sciences. There is much work yet to be done, and most of this will fall into the hands of the future generation of physicists.
Physicists/Astrophysicists find work in high-tech companies/institutions like NASA, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Intel, IBM, Amazon, Pandora, GE, AT&T, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and Google (once again, just to name a few). The national research labs and the military seek physicists to develop the next generation of technology. Then there are the career physicists/astrophysicists who seek employment in various research and teaching universities. Beyond the technical industries, physicists and astrophysicists with a computational background are coveted in the financial market space.
Latest Employment Data for Physicists and Astronomers: Click here for more information.
Click here to learn more about the physics curriculum at Troy University.
Solar Eclipse, 8/21/2017. Photo taken by Dr. Maurice Clark.