An exciting, living, discipline to explore

Academics

Physics is an exciting, living, discipline that continually moves in new directions: biophysics, nanophysics, and experimental cosmology are all areas which did not exist until relatively recently. Some of the greatest challenges we now face, such as how to manage our dwindling resources of fossil fuels and how to control/mitigate global warming, require a deep understanding of physics. Additionally, with the recent turn-on of the Large Hadron Collider, we are on the threshold of a new era of particle physics.

Explore Academics

Graduate Program Overview Undergraduate Program Overview Current Course Offerings Research, Outreach and Teaching Opportunities

Academic Opportunities in Physics

Graduate Study

The graduate physics program at Cornell is multidisciplinary, broad and congenial, and has access to superb facilities. Explore the links below to learn more.

Undergraduate Study

Studying physics at Cornell is a gateway to your future. For our alumni, a degree from Cornell has opened doors to employment with companies like Apple, careers in law, and research and faculty positions across the globe. Our combination of first-class research facilities and congenial atmosphere provide our students with the best environment to learn theoretical and experimental physics. At Cornell there is no need to limit yourself to coursework within our department. Many of our students choose to expand their education with coursework and research in complementary fields like Astronomy, Engineering, Biology and Computer Science.

Physics News

Light-activated micro device expands ‘green’ electrochemistry

Cornell chemists and nanofabrication experts have joined forces to create a 2 millimeter-wide, wireless, light-activated device to simplify electrochemistry for broad use.

Close up of white slats, each with a black paddle at the end

Micromachines autonomously coordinate using electronic pulses

Microscopic machines engineered by Cornell researchers can autonomously synchronize their movements, opening new possibilities for the use of microrobots in drug delivery, chemical mixing and environmental remediation, among other applications.

Three people look intensely at a small black and red machine in a science laboratory

Smallest walking robot makes microscale measurements

Cornell researchers in physics and engineering have created the smallest walking robot yet. Its mission: to be tiny enough to interact with waves of visible light and still move independently, so that it can maneuver, and take images and measurements.