The Physics Department in a Nutshell
The Physics Department at SUNY Cortland offers a student-centered experience and a philosophy of pushing our students to realize their highest potential. Some features of our program:
- Small class sizes: A typical upper-division physics class at SUNY Cortland has about 10 students.
- Our planetarium: We are one of a few campuses in New York that has the ability to navigate the universe in HD under a full dome planetarium.
- Personalized advising: You will have a meeting with your academic advisor (a faculty member in the Physics Department) each semester to check your degree progress and plan courses for the next semester.
- Opportunities to conduct research with professors: The Physics faculty are actively engaged in a broad range of research topics and frequently work with students.
- Combination of theoretical and hands-on experience: Our curriculum features a combination of advanced theoretical courses and hands-on experiences that provide a well-rounded education.
- Challenge: We believe that it is our duty to prepare you for demanding career paths and graduate programs by giving you a challenging college experience with strong support along the way.
- Student club: The Physics and Engineering (PEN) Club is an active, interdisciplinary group of students who host social events and work on engineering projects together.
- Location and Activities: SUNY Cortland is less than a 4 hour drive from NYC, has many opportunities for outdoor experiences in the Adirondacks and the Finger Lakes region (including multiple downhill ski resorts within half an hour of Cortland), has an amazing Student Life Center, a reputation for strong sports teams, and has a lively social scene with many on-campus events.
Overview of our Physics Curriculum
Your study of physics will vary somewhat depending on which specific program (PHY, PEN, APH, or APM) you select, but there is a common core of classes, described below (assuming a 4-year plan).
Introductory physics: You will start in the fall of your freshman with PHY 201, which examines Newtonian mechanics and is the foundational course for all subsequent physics classes. The introductory sequence (201, 202, 203) is calculus-based and covers mechanics, electricity and magnetism, electronics, optics, waves, and thermodynamics.
Intermediate physics: Following the intro sequence, you will begin taking upper-division physics courses. The courses in the intermediate level are Intermediate Lab (PHY 357), Scientific Programming (PHY 386), Modern Physics (PHY 410), and Electronics (PHY 440).
Advanced physics: The 400-level courses we offer span a range of topics, from foundational courses like Classical Mechanics (PHY 420, which is similar to PHY 201 but at a deeper level) to elective courses like General Relativity (PHY 445) and Quantum Mechanics (PHY 475).
Chemistry: Our program requires two semesters of introductory chemistry with lab.
Mathematics: Ideally, you will take Calculus I (MAT 135) along with PHY 201 in your first semester, but we work with students who are not quite ready for calculus and prefer to take pre-calculus as a first course. The full mathematics sequence requires students to take 3 semesters of calculus (MAT 135, MAT 236, and MAT 237), one semester of linear algebra (MAT 272), and for all physics majors except for APM, one semester of differential equations (MAT 336).
NOTE: The PHY major includes a number of free electives that can be used to explore other subjects of interest, get a minor, or even a double-major. Many of our PHY majors elect to use their free electives to double-major in Physics & Mathematics by taking 4 additional math classes, and those that don't do that often get a minor in Mathematics with one additional class (MAT 224 - Methods of Proof).