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

Carla Ramsdell, practitioner-in-residence in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and sustainability liaison for the College of Arts and Sciences, in the SPICE Lab. Photo submitted

Carla Ramsdell debuts Sustainable Physics-Inspired Culinary Education Lab

BOONE, N.C. — Carla Ramsdell, practitioner-in-residence in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and sustainability liaison for the...

Dr. Daniel Caton, professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Appalachian State University

Dr. Daniel Caton discusses recent meteor sighting with WSOC-TV

NORTH CAROLINA — Did a meteor cross the sky in our area early Friday morning? The American Meteor Society received reports from as far west of Kentu...

Dr. Daniel Caton, professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Appalachian State University

Dr. Daniel Caton discusses rare astronomical event on WFAE

Astronomers say we might be on the verge of a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. They predict a star about 3,000 lightyears from Earth in the constellati...

Dr. Rachel Smith, head of the Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Lab at North Carolina Museum of Natural Science and professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Appalachian State University, on Mauna Kea. Photo submitted

Dr. Rachel Smith discusses space and time on North Carolina Public Radio

After talking with a NASA astronaut, we at Due South wanted to learn more about research that’s happening here on Earth....

Dr. Richard Gray, professor emeritus in Appalachian State University's Department of Physics and Astronomy

Dr. Richard Gray's "Birds of Boyden" exhibit on display at Boyden Observatory

Associate Professor Richard Gray from Appalachian State University, who spent six months at the observatory, has captured the beauty of 82 bird specie...