The Department of Physics and Instrumentation is located in Waters Hall on the Athens State University campus. Athens State University is a two-year, upper division institution that offers junior and senior level courses for students with appropriate backgrounds from junior or technical colleges, as well as students with appropriate training from military or work experience. Students wishing to transfer to Athens State University should familiarize themselves with all general university requirements in the appropriate university catalog . All of the major course requirements offered by the Department are available at night to assist working students in meeting their career and academic goals.
Class sizes are small ensuring that students receive individual attention.
Courses are also offered upon sufficient student demand in order to meet the needs of students who enter Athens State University with varying backgrounds. One is utilized primarily for physics labs and classes, while the other two are used for labs in physics, optics, holography, robotics, and computer instrumentation. Depending on the course of study, students may gain experience with computer interfacing, laser theory and applications, robotic processes, process control, and applied physics. Several courses in both the physics and instrumentation programs allow students to utilize National Instrument's LabVIEW data acquisition software and hardware for experimentation and project design. LabVIEW products are considered by many as an industry standard for various applications in research and industrial process control.