Department of Physics and Astronomy
The Physics and Astronomy programs at Benedictine College are open to all students who want to understand the universe and the physical laws by which it functions. Our students graduate to pursue careers as professional physicists or astronomers after completing graduate work at schools across the nation, by using their problem-solving skills in other professional programs, or going directly into industry. Far more of our graduates go on to graduate or professional schools than the national average for graduates in physics and astronomy: over 70% of our students enter such programs compared to the national average of 42% of physics and astronomy graduates from liberal arts institutions.
Both the Bachelor of Science and the Bachelor of Arts degrees are available in physics. The Physics and Astronomy programs maintain rigorous standards that are unsurpassed among Kansas four-year colleges and are equaled by very few liberal arts institutions in the central United States. Combined with these standards are the small class sizes and individualized attention that are the hallmarks of a small liberal arts college. The first year physics sequence usually contains 20 to 35 students. Upper level classes have fewer than ten students, and sometimes five or fewer students. The same numbers are representative of the class sizes in astronomy. The department is staffed entirely by Ph.D. scientists with active research interests. One of the full-time staff is an astronomer. All our graduates are required to take six semesters of physics laboratory work and two semesters of chemistry laboratory. These eight semesters exceed what is required or even available at many institutions, and give our students an advantage in their ability to handle equipment and perform experiments. A research project is required for graduation for all astronomy majors, and this frequently involves obtaining the required data at a research observatory. Research projects are recommended for all physics majors. There are typically 15 to 20 students in the Physics and Astronomy programs at Benedictine.
For additional information about the programs of the Department of Physics and Astronomy please contact:
Dr. Douglas Brothers, Chair, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Benedictine College, Atchison, KS 66002-1499 e-mail: brothers@benedictine.edu