Why Study Physics at HMC?

The physics program at Harvey Mudd College prepares students for employment or advanced study in physics and other areas of science and engineering. The faculty are committed to undergraduate education that includes research with undergraduate students. All physics majors undertake a senior capstone experience, either working on a research project under the supervision of a faculty member and culminating in a thesis, or on a clinic project with a team of students under the sponsorship of an outside organization and under the supervision of one or more faculty members.

Our program provides great hands-on experience — Our curriculum features laboratory courses that teach you how to be a careful, efficient, and successful experimentalist, how to design your own experiments, and how to analyze your observations thoroughly. Plus, you will do a year-long senior thesis or clinic project under the supervision of a faculty member (not a graduate student or post-doc).

We value flexibility — There are nine optional programs for the physics major, allowing you to concentrate on your interests. You also have a slot for an entirely unconstrained elective each semester, so you can readily pursue your other interests while you study physics. See the Academic Overview page for more details.

We have critical mass — With an average of about 20 majors per year, we educate more physics majors than just about any other undergraduate institution in the country. Your chances of finding a group of friends to work with and learn from is much greater. And the variety of research opportunities in the department ranges from astrophysics to magnetism, biolocomotion to quantum optics, laser-induced fusion to string theory, and more. See the Research page for more details.