Number of physics majors increases by 30 percent

The number of physics majors at IU has increased by 30 percent since 2000, according to data from the IU Department of Physics.\nThis rise in interest in the physics major corresponds with the current national trend, with the number of students graduating with a bachelor's degree in physics increasing by 31 percent since 2000. \nThe American Association of Physics Teachers and the American Astronomical Society released this data Jan. 10 at a joint meeting.\n"Enrollment in the physics program tends to behave cyclically," said James Musser, professor and chair of the physics department. "In the late '90s, there was a lull period for physics, but enrollment has increased substantially since then."\nAlthough the number of majors has increased dramatically since 2000, there are not more students graduating with bachelor's degrees in physics than there were in the mid-1980s. The number of majors in 1985 is actually equivalent to the 2004 figure. \nMatthew Shepherd, assistant professor of physics and coordinator for the applied physics program at IU, said the decline from 1985 to 1999 may have been because many students from the physics department moved to the computer science arena. \nIU has expanded its program in recent years to accommodate the increased number of physics majors. The department now offers an applied physics program, a parallel track to the traditional program. \n"The applied physics program is tailored for getting students ready for high-tech industry jobs," Shepherd said. "Because there are so many high-tech jobs, (the physics faculty) found that we wanted to change our program and provide a path for students to come in and get a four-year degree and continue on to an industry job, rather than having to get a Ph.D. in physics."\nPhysics teaches critical thinking and problem solving, Shepherd said. Many students utilize these skills to begin careers in management or finance. Others continue on to law school because the field introduces them to logic, said Duane Nickell, physics teacher at Franklin Central High School in Indianapolis and president of the Indiana section of the American Association of Physics Teachers.\nAs a result, more students are selecting physics as their majors because they are able to prepare themselves for an assortment of career paths. Musser said it is hard to predict whether or not enrollment in physics will continue to rise at IU, but he expects it will because of the improvement in the quality of high school physics instruction.\nAlthough professionals can only speculate as to why college students have become more attracted to physics recently, some say that exposure at the high school level is responsible for the increased interest. The number of high school students who have taken a physics class reached an all-time high in 2005, according to the American Institute of Physics.\n"The increase in physics majors reflects the number of high school students taking it," Nickell said. "This is my sixth year at Franklin Central, and there are probably 225 students enrolled in physics. When I first got there, there were maybe 75 students."\nNickell said more high school students are enrolled in physics for two reasons. The first is that the Indiana State Board of Education raised high school graduation requirements in 2005, emphasizing the role of math and science. The second reason Nickell stated is a national movement to reform physics courses over the years to focus more on concepts rather than mathematics. This change made physics more accessible to a broader range of students. \n"Everyone ought to be exposed to some kind of physics," Nickell said. "You gain a deeper appreciation for the universe if you understand how the universe works, which is taught in physics. It is not a mandatory course, but it should be. It is the most fundamental science"