The Departmental of Physics curriculum combines fundamental physics courses with hands-on laboratory training and research projects.

We have a dedicated faculty and staff that support such student participation with state-of-the-art research laboratories, observatories and other educational programs that will enhance the students' future professional prospects.

The flexibility of the curriculum permits interdisciplinary exploration, not only among the physics and astronomy disciplines, but also the other STEM fields such as biology, chemistry, geology, environmental sciences, mathematics and computer science.

We expect our curriculum to result in physics graduates who are capable of applying and adapting their undergraduate education in a variety of scientific, teaching or engineering professions, as well as future educational endeavors.

News

CAS Corps member Cade Tischer is a senior applied physics major from Cary. Photo submitted

Physics major Cade Tischer joins CAS Corps

The College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) Corps are chosen to serve as representatives to all constituents of CAS and to create, promote and execute oppo...

Dr. Dan Caton

Lights Over Linville: Brown Mountain’s Enduring Mystery [faculty featured]

Daniel Caton has spent most of his life explaining the night sky. As an astronomy professor at Appalachian State University, he can tell you which dot...

Carla Ramsdell is the practitioner-in-residence in the Appalachian State University Department of Physics and Astronomy and sustainability liaison for the College of Arts and Sciences. Photo by University Communications

Carla Ramsdell debuts hurricane preparation series "The Resilient Kitchen"

BOONE, N.C. — On the first anniversary of Hurricane Helene hitting Western North Carolina, Carla Ramsdell, practitioner-in-residence in the App...

World-renowned physicist Dr. Sylvester James Gates Jr., of the University of Maryland, will headline the 2025 Morgan Science Lecture at Appalachian State University. Photo submitted

Physicist Dr. Sylvester James Gates Jr. to headline Appalachian's Morgan Science Lecture Series on October 21

BOONE, N.C. — Appalachian State University's College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) and Department of Physics and Astronomy are plea...

According to the National Weather Service, Hurricane Helene made landfall in the Big Bend area of the Florida Gulf Coast as a Category 4 storm late in the evening of Sept. 26, 2024. The storm reached the Southern Appalachians on Sept. 27, 2024, causing widespread flooding, landslides, downed trees and power outages. Image courtesy of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere

What made Hurricane Helene a historic storm?

BOONE, N.C. — In September 2024, Hurricane Helene brought record-breaking rain and wind to the High Country, leaving a lasting impact across the reg...