Students studying physics at UCF learn about the forces and rules that govern our universe, both beyond the Earth’s atmosphere and on the tiniest atomic scale. Faculty are considered experts in their field, pioneering research into everything from asteroids to securing the global food chain through fertilizer synthesis.
By the Numbers
Undergraduate degrees:
Physics BS Physics BAGraduate degrees:
Spring 2023:
Undergraduate students: BS 204, BA 13
Graduate students: MS 10, PhD 92
Faculty: Tenured and tenure-earning 43, Instructor/Lecturer 9
What Kind of Classes Will I Take?
Undergraduate Classes:
Intermediate Physics Lab (PHY3802L)
Who is it designed for?
The Intermediate Physics Laboratory is designed for students interested in exploring foundational physics concepts experimentally. The topics of the course are selected to present a range of experiments relevant to optics, condensed matter, spectroscopy and more.
What will I learn?
Students will learn to formulate an hypothesis, develop a experimental plan, acquire data, analyze the data and interpret it. All the experimental work is performed in groups. Throughout the semester, many opportunities arise to assess the experimental work, troubleshoot and explore potential source of experimental noise and other experimental variations.
When is it offered?
The course is offered most Fall and Spring semesters.
Quantum Information Processing (PHY4932)
Who is it designed for?
The course is designed for majors in computer science, engineering, natural science, math and optics & photonics who are interested in learning the fundamentals of quantum information processing – a novel way to compute, transmit and collect information using quantum mechanics. This area is undergoing enormous growth in academia and government, but even more so in industry. Applications range from biomolecular synthesis to finances to machine learning.
What will I learn?
The course is self-contained and covers the foundations of quantum mechanics, the basic elements of quantum computing, including circuits and algorithms and some applications. Students also learn about quantum communications and cryptography. The course includes hands-on activities with quantum computer simulators.
When is it offered?
Once a year in the Spring.
Graduate Classes:
Extra Solar Planets and Brown Dwarfs (AST5334)
Who is it designed for?
The class is designed for students who wish to learn more about exoplanets and their “cousins” brown dwarfs.
What will I learn?
In the class the students will learn:
- How exoplanets and brown dwarfs form
- How they are detected and what each detection method reveals about their atmosphere and surface (if there is one)
- Characteristics of a planet that can host life
- Planet modeling and its relation to observations
When is it offered?
The class is currently offered every two years.
Quantum Mechanics 1 (PHY5606)
Who is it designed for?
Quantum Mechanics I is the first course in the sequence of core graduate quantum mechanics courses. It is designed for physics graduate students who have already taken wave mechanics at the undergraduate upper-division level, as well as for students from adjacent disciplines, such as chemistry or optics, who plan to use quantum mechanics in their research.
What will I learn?
The course covers the fundamentals of quantum mechanics. In this class you will learn the groundwork that led to the discovery of the quantized nature of energy, the wave nature of particles, the particle nature of light and the formalization of quantum mechanics.
Classwork introduces elementary models to predict phenomena such as quantum tunneling and the formation of chemical bonds, the mathematical foundations and postulates of quantum mechanics, the properties of fundamental systems such as the harmonic oscillator and the hydrogen atom, the role of symmetry in quantum mechanics, the properties of angular momentum and how to predict the behavior of systems that deviate from idealized model by using perturbation theory.
When is it offered?
The course is offered every Fall semester.
Who are some of my professors?
Meet Dr. Zhongzhou Chen
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Student Profiles
Undergraduate Student
Braedon Larson
Hometown
City, State
Expected Year of Graduation
202X
Career Goal
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Why I Love My Major
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Doctoral Candidate
Giuliana de la Torre
Hometown
City, State
Expected Year of Graduation
202X
Career Goal
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Why I Love My Major
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