Overview of the Physics Department
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.
- 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 subjects 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.
Careers of some of our recent graduates
Where our students go after graduation depends largely on which "flavor" of physics degree they get. Below are a few recent examples of programs, companies, and institutions that our students have gone to after graduating from SUNY Cortland.
PHY - the classic physics degree program
Companies/government: IBM, Lockheed-Martin, ConEdison, NY Department of Transportation
Graduate programs: CU Boulder, SUNY Buffalo, Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT)
PEN - physics leading to engineering (aka, the 3+2 program)
Engineering schools: Clarkson, SUNY Polytechnic, SUNY Binghamton, SUNY Stony Brook
APM and APH - our adolescence education programs for high school teachers
High schools: Archbishop Mulloy HS (Queens), Hicksville HS (Long Island), Homer HS (Cortland County), McGraw HS (Cortland County)