If you want to understand the forces that shape everything around you, a physics major at Occidental gives you that foundation. You’ll explore matter and energy across scales, dive into hands-on research, and strengthen the skills needed to solve complex problems.
Earn Your Physics Degree From Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ
As a student in the Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ Physics Department, you’ll study the laws that govern matter, energy, space, and time. Learn to build models, analyze data, and design experiments while developing a clear understanding of how physical systems behave. Physics faculty teach collaborative problem-solving through hands-on labs and research experiences that prepare you to think rigorously and creatively.
You’ll gain hands-on research experience across the Occidental campus and through partnerships with places around Los Angeles such as NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Students often join Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµâ€™s Summer Research Program, publish research with faculty, or pursue an engineering pathway through the 3-2 Engineering Program. Âé¶¹ÊÓÆµ is also a top national producer of students who later earn Ph.Ds in the sciences, reflecting the rigor and support built into the major.