All department majors are assigned to a physics/astronomy faculty member as their academic advisor. Because of the relatively small size of the department, majors have had most faculty members as teachers and also have had considerable additional contact with them through colloquia and special events. Consequently, most majors feel free to consult any department member about academic matters and post-Carleton career plans; the staff are always willing to discuss such important matters with students.

Graduate Schools

Because many of our graduates pursue further study in physics or closely related fields, the entire physics and astronomy faculty plays a large role in advising these majors about graduate schools. About two-thirds of our graduating physics majors continue on to graduate school, many in physics, but others in fields such as engineering, applied mathematics, computer science, astrophysics, biophysics, geophysics, medicine, and architecture. Any major planning to apply to graduate schools in physics or closely related disciplines is encouraged to discuss his or her selection in consultation with several faculty members, and the faculty look on the writing of letters of reference as an important part of their responsibility.

Engineering

Students interested in careers in engineering are urged to consult with Nelson Christensen, who is also the liaison officer in Carleton's Combined Plan ("3-2") program in engineering, offered in cooperation with the schools of engineering of Columbia University and Washington University (St. Louis), and with other engineering schools by arrangement. Under the Combined Plan program, a student spends three years at Carleton, completing all of the distribution and competency requirements and a major in physics, and two years at the engineering school. The result is two bachelor's degrees, in physics and in engineering, from the respective institutions. Although students occasionally elect the 3-2 option, a larger number of physics majors go directly into graduate programs in engineering after four years at Carleton.

Other Directions

Physics is an excellent major for those interested in pursuing medical professions. Nelson Christensen serves as the physics member of the Advisory Committee on Health Professions Programs. Students interested in medicine as a career are urged to consult with him early in their studies.

Careers in science education are also common among physics majors. A number of our graduates have gone on to teach physics or mathematics in Teach for America, the Peace Corps or at private schools throughout the United States; certification as a public high school teacher is also an option, which should be explored with the Educational Studies Department. Several of our graduates have chosen to pursue further education by obtaining advanced degrees in physics education.

Other graduates go in a wide variety of directions, because the skills of a good physicist are widely applicable and in high demand. A number of students choose physics simply as an interesting liberal arts major, with no particular intention of staying with the discipline after graduation. They pursue careers ranging from business to social work. Some physics graduates will seek employment in technical jobs armed only with the bachelor's degree. The approach often used in physics&emdash;simplifying a situation to its basics, understanding phenomena in terms of models, devising mathematical theories to match observed data&emdash;can be transferred successfully to a wide variety of fields.

Career Coordinator

Due to the increasing diversity of career choices of our graduates, the department's Career Coordinator, Cindy Blaha, serves an important role. With the help of Mary Drew, our department Assistant, she collects, organizes, and publicizes information on graduate study in physics, astronomy, and a variety of other fields as well as summer internship information for undergraduates and technical employment opportunities for graduates. This information can be found in displays on Olin second floor, on our departmental web pages, and in the weekly bulletin Radiations. Another function of the career advisor is to serve as a connecting link between our majors and our physics alumni. The table that follows shows some data on recent physics graduates and their immediate post-Carleton pursuits.

FIGURE 1: DATA ON RECENT PHYSICS GRADUATES

(1) Physics and astronomy graduate schools attended, listed by year of Carleton graduation:

1994: Minnesota, Cambridge Univ., Illinois
1995: Duke, SMU, Colorado, Michigan, Washington
1996: Minnesota, Brown, ASU, Berkeley (2), Cornell (3)
1997: Austin, Minnesota, Wisconsin
1998: Cambridge, Cornell, Michigan, Washington
1999: Washington University, Michigan, Colorado
2000: Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin
2001: Colorado, Arizona, Yale, Oxford, Montana State, Michigan
2002: Ohio, Michigan Pennsylvania, Washington, Purdue, Colorado, Maryland, Rutgers, Harvard, Minnesota
2003: University of Wisconsin-Madison, Carnegie-Mellon University, Rice, Oregon, Illinois, Texas A&M, Northwestern, Minnesota.
2004: William and Mary, Arizona, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Illinois, University of Manchester (GB), Boston University
2005: Berkeley, Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin(2), Boulder
2006: MIT(3) George Washington, Columbia, Rice, Penn State, Illinois, Duke
2007: Princeton, Cornell, SUNY Stony Brook, Colorado, Penn State, New Mexico

(2) Engineering schools attended, 1994-2007:

Arizona, Cal. Tech., Colorado, Columbia, Cornell, Duke, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, MIT, North Dakota State, Northwestern, Purdue, Rice, Stanford, Washington (St. Louis), Wisconsin, UCLA, UT Austin.

(3) Other graduate programs chosen by physics majors, 1994-2004:

Mathematics, applied mathematics, statistics, geophysics, physical chemistry, medicine, architecture, materials science, computer science, meteorology, law, technology and public policy, linguistics, hydroclimatology, oceanography, cognitive studies, meteorology, biophysical chemistry, film making, education, library science, science writting, mechanical engineering.

(4) Other careers chosen by physics majors, 1994-2004:

Computers, actuary, high school teaching, Teach for America, theater, business administration, canvasser, industry, pottery, public policy, unskilled labor, counselor, software engineer, actor, Peace Corps, business management.