BGSU masters in astronomy and physics students help to interpret the Solar Eclipse for students and our Ohio community.

Master of Science (M.S.)

Physics

The BGSU Master of Science in Physics program advances specialist knowledge and introduces doctoral-level research work.

BGSU is a top choice for advanced study of physics in Ohio. This program boasts small classes – taught by award-winning faculty, scholarships, assistantships, and high placement rates into Ph.D. programs and industry jobs.

Depending on your goals, you may choose either the thesis or exam pathway for earning your master’s in physics. As a terminal degree, a master’s of science can prepare you to enter a wide range of exciting careers in industry and scientific research. 

Financial support, including tuition and a teaching or research assistantship stipend are available for graduate students in good standing. BGSU's Department of Physics and Astronomy is a small, supportive and friendly group of faculty, graduate and undergraduate students focused on success in teaching and research in our fields.

From the vastness of the cosmos to the nature of subatomic particles.

As a BGSU master’s student, you will actively perform cutting-edge scientific research in areas like materials science, nanoscience, solid-state physics, computational physics and astrophysics alongside our internationally recognized faculty in physics and materials science.

The BGSU materials physics group is interested in the experimental investigation of electrical, magnetic and optical properties of solids, with particular attention paid to those materials which have application in device technology.

Much of the department's research efforts center around materials physics from the atomic to macroscopic scales. Members of this group are interested in applying the methods of experimental and computational physics to a wide variety of research areas, including nanotechnology, renewable energy, semiconductor devices, and using antimatter to probe the nature of material defects.

 

The program has a strong link to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Career opportunities

Physics has helped us understand our place in space-time and have led to many new technologies.  

Physicists are exceptional problem solvers with skills that are in high demand, and progress in energy, telecommunications, energy efficiency and transport technologies have accelerated the demand for trained physicists. The Bureau of Labor Statistics finds job numbers for physicists will grow eight percent over the next decade. The median annual wage in May 2020 for physicists was $129,850.

As well as careers in research after a Ph.D. program, BGSU physics masters’s graduates have gone on to work in a wide range of scientific and engineering careers in industry, academia and government.

Information on careers in physics can be found through the American Physical Society and Physics World International.

Career paths

  • Staff Physicist - U.S. National Laboratories
  • Computational Physicist
  • Research Physicist
  • Experimental Physicist
  • Medical Physicist
  • Polymer Physicist
  • University Professor

Quick Facts from the Bureau of Labor Statistics

View Average Salaries

Curriculum

The BGSU master’s in physics builds on an understanding of basic science and examines the foundations of quantum mechanics and electrodynamics, where applications to current problems in physics are explored.  

This program’s thesis option provides more research experience, which is invaluable if your goal is to enter a doctoral program. Our Masters students focusing on materials science may continue their research in BGSU's Ph.D. program in Photochemistry.

Required courses

The Energy Lab at BGSU, led by A/Prof Farida A. Selim, often works with Physics and Astronomy MS students at our Ohio campus.

Sample courses

  • Techniques of Experimental Physics 
  • Advanced Classical Mechanics
  • Research Seminar
  • Statistical Mechanics
  • Advanced Quantum Mechanics
  • Techniques of Computational Physics

 

Weekly physics seminars introduce visiting scholars and homegrown research throughout the semesters.

 

Facilities and equipment

Research facilities include a femtosecond non-linear optics facility, a fully-equipped low-temperature laboratory, a CCD-based imaging system, Fast Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer for optical measurements on thin films, and a clean ultra-high vacuum evaporation system with resistive and electron-gun evaporation systems.

Updated: 09/26/2024 09:02AM