Undergraduate Academics

The physics program will train students—majors and nonmajors—to think like physicists, the hallmarks of which include: striving for fundamental explanations that have broad predictive power; appreciating that quantitative analysis is necessary for understanding; simplifying physical situations to their essentials to enable the development of mathematical models to explain and predict experimental data; and comparing experimental data from the natural world to theory.

The Yale Physics Department offers four two-semester introductory physics sequences as well as two introductory lab sequences and one advanced lab. We’ve created this guide to aid students and advisors to decide which path is most appropriate for each student.

The Physics program strongly encourages undergraduate students to participate in cutting-edge research as early as possible.  Such research can culminate in the senior project, but at an early stage it can be undirected, allowing students to sample a variety of research avenues. Many undergraduate students do not have prior experience in specific research topics, so on-site training is considered the norm.  Students are encouraged to take initiative in seeking out potential advisers.

Our labs will expose you to some basic concepts of physics and give you experience and expertise in laboratory tools and techniques. This includes & quantitative measurement strategies, data analysis using computational tools (computers, software), and experimental design.