Does anyone have any insight into the B.S. Physics program?
YES!!! Currently an incoming junior Physics major (at WM) . What would you like to know?
My son is looking to major in Physics with the goal of going to Grad school. He is looking at William and Mary and I am looking for any information on how good are the Professors, are the classes challenging, are there research opportunities available to undergraduates? Any information would be welcomed, he is impressed with what he has found online so far.
It looks like PHY can help. But with W&M, you can also probably just write directly to the department and get some useful information. https://www.wm.edu/as/physics/contact/index.php .
Professors:
Professors are absolutely amazing!! I have had multiple conversations with my physics friends and they have all agreed that the professors in the physics program are outstanding. Just to name a few of my favorites: Professors Novikova, Armstrong, Erlich, Averett, Stevens, Dudek, Nelson, Vahle. Literally every professor I have had are so nice and intuitive.
Challenging classes:
The classes are hard at times, its Physics ( no Physics course is going to be absolutely easy). Well except for the lab classes you have to take, you just have to do some homework to get an A. Coming from me I didn’t do well in HS ( had a 3.6 weighted GPA with a 1150 SAT score). Yet I am still doing very well in my Physics classes, all it takes is really focusing on homework problems and going to my professors office hours.
Research Opportunities:
Research is available for all students. You just have to ask every single professor personally to see if they have any research positions available. In my case I had to ask about 7 professors to see if they had any spots I could fill in. Lucky enough I did end up getting one. I literally leave in about a week to work on the Theory of Quantum Gravity with Professor Erlich!! (so excited) Sometimes it is hard to get research opportunities over the summer ( I’d say its about an 85% chance) but during the semester you can definitely land a spot with one of your professors.
Other Tips/Advice:
Make sure you do every problem on your homework. Focus on the concept at hand, don’t just do it to get the homework turned in. Pay attention in class, don’t just copy the notes you see on the white board. Join the Society of Physics Students ( I would like to get to know your son ). Physics is hard, but if it was easy I would be bored!
Thank you! This is great information.