Physics Teaching (Purdue degree)

Offered by: Department of Physics Students who complete this program have all of the skills and knowledge needed to pursue a career as a high school physics teacher. Physics teachers are in great demand nationwide.

Why choose this program?

Undergraduates will find that they have the unique opportunity to work closely with faculty as they complete their degree. Students majoring in physics consolidate their undergraduate studies by putting what they have learned to use in a capstone experience in one of the department’s research laboratories. Each student joins a member of the faculty in a project that provides experience in a professional setting.

See Physics undergraduate programs

What will you learn?

Physics is the study of matter and energy, from the smallest scale, as in the study of elementary particles, to the largest, as in the study of the formation and evolution of stars and galaxies. In this sense, physics is the science that underlies all other sciences.

Developments in basic physics drive technology, and technology helps physicists discover nature’s secrets.

Physicists tend to view themselves as problem solvers, especially those problems that can be couched in mathematical terms. Physics students are trained to solve complex problems by learning to analyze complex relationships in mathematical terms.

What will you do?

Students who complete this program have all of the skills and knowledge needed to pursue a career as a high school physics teacher. After passing the professional exams offered by the state, they will be fully certified to teach. Like all physics majors, students in this program learn physics, mathematics, and the habits of mind that make them thorough professionals. Physics teachers are in great demand nationwide. Students earning their teaching certification in physics can easily find jobs almost anywhere in the country, and experienced physics teachers make more than many people think. The national average salary for physics teachers is over $50,000.

Degree requirements

Details of all undergraduate degree requirements can be found in the IUPUI bulletin.

For a summary of the course requirements:

Download Degree Requirements & Sample Plan of Study

Capstone Experience

Students are expected to apply what they've learned in a capstone experience. Students in the physics teaching program may satisfy this requirement either through traditional laboratory-based research or through their student-teaching experience.

Certificate in Physics Teaching

Undergraduate students who are pursuing a major in the sciences and have completed a half of the required courses in the major may evaluate their readiness for admission to the School of Education-Secondary Education Learning to Teach/Teaching to Learn (LTTL) Program.

Research

Students apply what they've learned in a capstone experience completed in the physics research laboratory. They may choose programs in optical physics, solid state physics or biological physics. Learn more about our unprecedented research opportunities.

Opportunities provide inspiration for physics major

Milad Pourrahmani Physics, Undergraduate