Department Resources
Physics & Astronomy Department
Advising
As a physics or astronomy major, you benefit from one-on-one advising from Valpo faculty, who help you navigate University requirements and degree options, as well as research opportunities and career decisions. Your advisor will advise you through your entire time at Valpo, providing consistent support. And because the department typically has fewer than 10 students per class, each of the department’s faculty members gets to know each student very well.
Each year, physics and astronomy students converse with their advisors about goals, academic progress, and experiences at Valpo. It can be very helpful to fill out a Personal Inventory Worksheet (.doc) in preparation for these advising sessions.
Faculty support students’ aspirations through personalized and thoughtful letters of recommendation. Students applying to graduate school should fill out the Recommendation Request Form (.xls) »
Physics & Astronomy Department
Helpful Sources
Physics & Astronomy Department
Your Path: Our Purpose
The Valparaiso University Department of Physics and Astronomy offers four majors, three concentrations, and two minors — and the chance to expand your understanding of the universe. You can find your path here.
Measure the speed of light and the lifetime of a cosmic-ray muon. Observe waves forming in plasma, gamma rays from positron-electron annihilation, and distant spiral galaxies. And top that (and much more) off with a senior project that you design, execute, analyze, and communicate (with help, of course!). Our lab explorations give you the experiential science training you need to understand science and to get prepared for your next steps after Valpo.
You also get to experience cutting-edged, current research in physics and astronomy when you work with our faculty, helping them with experiments, solving mysteries, and pushing our knowledge forward. We hire around 10 students each summer to work with us on projects involving
- observational astronomy
- computational condensed matter
- nuclear and particle physics
- and nanoscience
With these experiences, Valpo physics and astronomy majors graduate with the lived experience of scientific discovery and a solid foundation for any career they pursue.
Physics & Astronomy Department
Academic Support
Physics and astronomy courses at Valpo are demanding, and the department wants every student to succeed.
Professors in the Department of Physics and Astronomy use their office hours to work with students who need more help with course material. Students who need additional support can also take advantage the following resources:
The Academic Success Center coordinates free group review sessions, led by experienced physics students. The classes that they review change each semester and are listed on the Academic Success Center schedule.
The Society of Physics Students maintains a list of physics students who are available for one-on-one tutoring for an hourly fee.
The Society of Physics Students (SPS) is a national organization designed explicitly for students. Membership, through collegiate chapters, is open to anyone interested in physics.
From the national website: The SPS exists to help students transform themselves into contributing members of the professional community. Course work develops only one range of skills. Other skills needed to flourish professionally include effective communication and personal interactions, leadership experience, establishing a personal network of contacts, presenting scholarly work in professional meetings and journals, and outreach services to the campus and local communities.
Valpo’s Chapter
President: William Bakke