Departmental Support and Activities
Advising
Every student majoring in Physics has a faculty advisor within the department. (See page 3 of this document.) In the Physics Department, advisors are assigned to the students of a given class, so that physics majors have the same advisor from the time they enter the program until they graduate.
Normal counseling periods are during Fall and Spring preregistration. Students should discuss their programs with their advisors at this time. Students will not be cleared for registration until they meet with their faculty advisors. Student should keep this in mind as the preregistration period approaches. Advisors, and the Undergraduate Program Director, are available at other times to provide academic guidance.
The advisors are responsible for guiding their students in the choice of courses and in the completion of Physics major, college, and university requirements. Students should use the SPIRE system to verify their progress towards meeting university, college, and departmental requirements.
At the end of this handbook, there are one-page checklists for the three Physics degree tracks (Professional, Applied, and General). During the first advising visit with your academic advisor, any applicable courses you have taken will be marked on the checklist, and the list placed in your academic file. The checklist is updated every semester during advising visits. It is particularly important that students intending to follow the Applied or General tracks have their 18-credit area concentrations approved by their advisors before the senior year, preferably before the junior year.
Independent Study
Physics students may occasionally wish to concentrate on topics of their choice outside of the structured setting of traditional lecture classes. Opportunities for this sort of investigation exist by way of Independent Study courses. These courses are arranged privately, on a semester basis, between an individual student and a professor. Depending on the course load involved, these classes generally range from 1 to 3 credits. These courses are listed in the Undergraduate Catalog under the numbers 196, 296, 396, 496, and 596, corresponding to all of the possible undergraduate levels.
Arrangements for Independent Study should be carried out between the student and the instructing professor at some stage during the semester prior to the planned investigation. The Undergraduate Program Director must then approve enrollment in the course.
Undergraduate Research
Engaging in cutting-edge research is a valuable experience that can help you decide what you want to do for your career and likely enhance your excitement about studying physics. Research provides valuable training that complements your coursework and is an important component of your resume if you apply for graduate school or technical jobs.
In general, research opportunities can be found here on campus, or at nonprofit institutions, government-run national labs, private companies, or other universities. There are a great many programs because so many institutions value the opportunity to train and recruit students like you. Research positions are generally paid, last for a summer (9–10 weeks), and sometimes are continued the following summer. Sometimes internships at companies or national labs lead to job offers. Internships can be taken by undergraduate students or graduate students.
A summary is below. For more information: https://www.umass.edu/physics/undergraduate
Internships are most often in research or development but they could also be in teaching or other areas. If you are looking for teaching opportunities, then you can find more information from Brokk Toggerson (who teaches a class on teaching physics, Phys390T), or the UMass School of Education, or the Amherst Regional Public Schools or other local public school systems.
Here at UMass, joining an on-campus research group in physics is very common. (The graduating class of 2016 reported that 70% of students had a research experience here on campus.) The Physics department has approximately 30 faculty, and most of them engage in original research. Most of the faculty work with undergraduate students either part-time during the semester or full-time during the summer (or both). During the semester, research experience is most commonly arranged as an Independent Study course (Physics 196, 296, 396, or 496) for academic credit. Sometimes these projects are full-time during the summer for pay. These experience are effectively internships, even though we do not always refer to them as such.
The Commonwealth Honors College Capstone Experience (essentially a senior thesis) is one excellent way to gain research experience. (Participation in research, however, is not limited to Commonwealth College students.) Commonwealth Honors College also provides funds for undergraduate research on a competitive basis. The department also offers the Edward S. Chang and Kenneth Langley endowed funds to support summer research. Proposals are due annually in February.
Finding on-campus research opportunities is not difficult, but it is quite different from signing up for courses. The main difference is that you have to take the initiative in reaching out to professors. Here is what we recommend:
- Take Physics 185 to get an overview of research and to see some details about some of the faculty. Also look at the department’s web page and follow the research link. You will see a fairly brief (but vague) listing of faculty by the broad areas of research. You can also look at other departments; physics students have worked in Chemistry, Polymer Science and Engineering, and various departments in our Engineering college.
- When you find something that looks interesting (even if you don’t know much about it and don’t know if you are qualified!),send an email to the professor. In your email, express an interest in the general topic of research, summarize courses you have taken (if any), and ask for a time to meet in person so that you (the student) can learn more about the science. Feel free to send more than one such letter in parallel. If you don’t receive a reply, then write again a few days later and/or stop by the professor’s office.
- After you meet with the professor and talk about the science, then decide if you want to ask for an independent study and/or summer job. Go ahead and ask. Many groups work with first-semester freshmen, so don’t second-guess your experience level. Again, you can ask more than one professor and then choose if you receive multiple offers. No one will feel insulted if you turn down an offer.
- To sign up for an independent study (if this is the mechanism you and your research advisor choose), first make a plan with your research advisor, who will then help you arrange it with the Undergraduate Program Director.
Society of Physics Students and Sigma Pi Sigma
The Society of Physics Students (SPS) is a national organization for undergraduates interested in studies connected to physics. The Department of Physics has a local chapter, which participates in the regional activities of the national organization. Our chapter sponsors and assists student- led research groups, engages in outreach projects to local schools, sponsors informational evenings on subjects such as careers and summer internships, and holds social activities for its members.
All majors are invited to become members of the organization. Membership in the national organization is not mandatory, though information on how to become a national member is available from the officers of the local chapter. For more information on SPS see the contact list near the front of this handbook.
Sigma Pi Sigma, an adjunct to the Society of Physics Students, is a national honors society for physics majors. Information on how to become a member is available from the faculty advisor of the SPS.
Exchange Programs
Undergraduates in Physics may wish to pursue a portion of their studies while in residence at another institution. Arrangements for this opportunity should be made through the appropriate exchange program at the University. The International Programs Office, www.umass.edu/ipo/, is the center for information about study abroad. The Domestic Exchange Program, http://ualc.umass.edu/domestic_exchange/, is the resource center for study at other universities in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico.
