The primary areas of experimental and theoretical research in the Department of Physics are high-energy particle physics, atomic and molecular physics, the physics of solids and fluids, astrophysics, certain aspects of nuclear physics, statistical mechanics, quantum optics, mathematical physics, quantum field theory, string theory, and relativity. In principle, formal requirements are sufficiently flexible to permit students to pursue almost any broad, deep, and coherent interest in the applied sciences. Thesis research can be undertaken in any one of the department's research specialties or in interdisciplinary areas such as materials physics, chemical physics, biophysics, or applied engineering physics. A further option allows cooperative research to be done at high-technology industrial, government, national, or international laboratories and at medical research institutions in the Boston area. The graduate program in physics is committed to providing an effective education to students with a variety of backgrounds and preparations in physics and related subjects.
All graduate students receive considerable faculty and peer support.
The Department of Physics and Astronomy offers a research-oriented program that provides students with a broad background in experimental and theoretical physics. University of Massachusetts Boston Department of Physics Applied Physics 100 Morrissey Blvd. To this end, graduate students are expected to join in the research activities of the department upon arrival and must have done some work in at least two research areas before embarking on a thesis project. Prospective employers are industrial laboratories, government or non-profit research centers, or colleges and universities. WPI's physics courses are generally scheduled during the day but with sufficient flexibility to accommodate part-time students.