Mentoring
- Incoming students. All incoming students take Physics 99 in their first quarter. As part of this course, you will be part of our Resonance peer mentoring program.
- Graduate school. The department offers mentoring for freshmen and for undergraduates applying for graduate school. The mentors for these programs are advanced undergraduates, graduate students, or postdocs.
- Industry career mentoring. The School of Physical Sciences offers an industry mentorship program for junior and senior undergraduates interested in working in industry after graduation. The mentors for this program are professionals working at local companies.
- Underrepresented genders. The Underrepresented Genders in Physics and Astronomy (UNITY) also offers mentoring for undergraduate physics majors of all levels.
Advising & course planning help
Students can get help year-round with course planning through the Physical Sciences Student Affairs Office. Peer academic advisors are available for one-on-one course planning sessions to help you map out your personalized course plan.
Physics & applied physics majors have an assigned faculty advisor. For incoming first-year and transfer students, advising in Fall is part of Physics 99. For students in their 2nd year and beyond, and for transfer students in their 2nd quarter and beyond, your faculty advisor is the advisor for your concentration. More information on the concentrations and the "general track" for physics & applied physics majors is available on the course planning page and through annual advising workshops. If you have a question, you can reach out via email to the advisor for the concentration you are considering or the advising committee chair (Prof. Tucker) for general questions.
The department also requires each physics / applied physics major to complete annual advising each year. More information about annual advising is below. Also, make sure to carefully read all emails sent to you from your advisor and the Physics Undergraduate Student Affairs office. These emails contain important information about advising and registering for courses.
Annual advising for physics & applied physics majors
In 2023, spring advising has three components. Unless you are graduating in Spring 2023, you are REQUIRED to do three things by the end of WEEK 9:
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Complete the advising RSVP form you should have received via email (Please do this now! If you make any changes after your workshop, you can complete the form again.)
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Attend an advising workshop to check in on your progress and course plan for next year. Which workshop should you attend? See the flowchart below. You can also check out our course planning webpage (and the video below) for information about each concentration, an overview of how to pick a concentration, course planning in the first and second year, and other frequently asked questions.
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Complete the post-advising verification form linked via your email (AFTER attending a workshop or meeting with your faculty advisor).
Schedule and locations of advising workshops for Spring 2023
- General Advising Workshops. If you need to select a concentration and/or are a first-year student, start by watching the video at the bottom of this page. Then attend one of the following workshops:
- Thu May 16, 5-6:30PM in TBD: RH142 will be closed, looking for replacement room (in collaboration with SPS!)
- Mon, May 20, 1:30-3PM in ISEB1310
- Track-Specific Advising Workshop. Start by watching the overview / FAQ video for your selected concentration on the course planning page. Then, attend either:
- Wed, May 15th, 2-3:30PM in ISEB 1200
- Meeting with your track advisor at another time.
Getting started with course planning, research, and career choice for physics & applied physics
The video below gives the following:
- an overview of physics & applied physics courses & careers
- an explanation of how research, internship, or project experience is an important part of your degree! How to get started...
- course planning for physics and applied physics in years 1 and 2
- an overview of each physics & applied physics concentration