Physics Students

A degree in Physics provides a path to success after graduation. One year after graduation 95% of Physics Bachelors are employed or working toward a PhD or Masters. In the private sector, about 35% do engineering, 25% do computing or information, and 15% take other STEM-related jobs, with an average starting salary around $55K. Physicists are valued in the workplace as creative problem solvers with strong quantitative analytic reasoning abilities. Physics graduates from Sam have gone on to become NASA Instrument Managers, National Security Specialists, Petroleum Field Engineers, Factory Efficiency Consultants, Particle Physicists at the Large Hadron Collider, Nuclear & Radiation Engineers, Seismic Data Specialists & High School Teachers!

Plan your future. At Sam you design a degree to fit your goals, with concentrations in astronomy, secondary education, applied physics (geo, bio, computational or materials), and theoretical physics. Our dual degree and pre-engineering tracks are a great foundation to support an engineering career.

Physics provides research and scholarship opportunities. You'll love the small class sizes and attentive faculty, and build a resume as a research assistant and lab instructor. We have great scholarships to support outstanding students.

Physics Bootcamp as a springboard to success. All freshmen considering the physics major or pre-engineering program enroll during their first semester at SHSU in “Physics Bootcamp”. Goals are: 1) offering students the chance to "try out" these majors as early as possible with no prerequisites, 2) ensuring that the required quantitative and computational skills for success in the regular physics classes, 3) integrating students into the department’s culture with an active support network of peers. In the Bootcamp, a variety of quantitative subjects are addressed in ways applicable to physics and engineering, favoring the context of real examples. Starting with a gentle pace, we fix common math background shortcomings, and build up to more advanced topics. In the associated laboratory, teamwork is emphasized with collaborative practice examples. Students have proven to develop very rapidly in this setting, becoming more confident and competent, while also building camaraderie and team interaction skills (including direct peer mentoring).