Academic Programs - Undergraduate

Physics

Physics is about everything. From studying stars beyond our planet, to explaining the shape of a water droplet, a degree in physics helps you understand and explain our world.

Physics is a way of thinking. 

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It is the study of the laws of nature that govern all physical phenomena from the smallest to the largest scales.

Physicists try to answer questions about why and how things work in our world. We develop creative new technologies and solve interesting problems. We see how the experiments we do and theories we develop work together consistently.

Here at Acadia, we offer a first-class degree in physics with small classes that are student focused. You will get to know your classmates and professors. Faculty and staff take the extra time and effort to ensure that your undergraduate experience will serve as an excellent launch point toward your future.

We would love to share the joy of physics with you. We want to help you prepare for a life and a future that is enriched by both the knowledge and the way of thinking you will gain from studying physics. Our graduates pursue an amazing range of careers. A physics degree is an excellent foundation for whatever your future has in store.

After your first year of study, paid student positions are available as help centre tutors and lab assistants. Following your second and third years, many opportunities exist for paid summer research projects. These may be either local or at an international research facility, such as CERN. Your project may form part of an undergraduate thesis.

You will have opportunities to take part in group work, teach in labs or the help centre, make class presentations, do summer research, and participate in conferences. All of these will help you gain the research and communication skills you need to pursue graduate studies or secure employment.

Acadia’s Department of Physics fosters a sense of community, and our faculty take great pride in our undergraduate students. Our program is based on creating an environment that is committed to your success. Our dedicated faculty members are consistently acknowledged for outstanding teaching. Interdisciplinary and combined degrees are common and encouraged within the Faculty of Science. In fact, they are possible across all faculties. You will graduate with excellent communication and teamwork skills, ready to pursue a vast range of careers and future studies.

First Year at a Glance

Required Courses

  • PHYS 1013 and 1010L
    Introductory Physics 1, with Lab
  • PHYS 1023 and 1020L
    Introductory Physics 2, with Lab
  • MATH 1013 and 1010L
    Introductory Calculus 1, with Lab
  • MATH 1023 and 1020L
    Introductory Calculus 2, with Lab
  • MATH 1323 or MATH 1333
    Matrix Algebra or Linear Algebra

Second semester

  • 6h from:
    CHEM 1013/1023
    CHEM 1113/1123
    APSC 1423/2613
    COMP 1113/1123

  • 9h Electives
    Courses of your choosing, with 6h of courses in the fall semester, and 3h in the winter semester

Future Careers

  • Computing and technology
  • Dentistry
  • Education
  • Electronics
  • Financial modelling
  • Geophysics
  • Law
  • Medical research
  • Medicine
  • Meteorology
  • Nuclear physics
  • Oceanography
  • Optical physics
  • Optometry
  • Particle physics
 

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