Why Study Here?

The SMU Department of Physics prepares students to ask and answer some of the most difficult questions about our universe.

What is the origin and fate of our universe? What are the building blocks of our universe, and what are the forces that hold together those building blocks? In the SMU Department of Physics, we provide an education that pairs the strengths of our department with your desire to learn more about the cosmos. If you learn how to setup and solve difficult problems in physics, you can apply that skill to many other careers too. Physicists are highly sought after in fields from finance to engineering and medicine, anywhere that important decisions are made based on quantitative evidence.

Undergraduate Degrees
Graduate Degrees
Internationally Recognized Faculty Jodi Cooley faculty portrait

Internationally Recognized Faculty

Offering strong preparation for living and working in a rapidly globalizing world.
Research and Internship Opportunities Students working in lab

Research and Internship Opportunities

Undergraduate students have opportunities to be involved in faculty research and internships.
Diverse Coursework graduation group shot

Diverse Coursework

We pair our department strengths with your desire to learn more about the origin, nature, and fate of the cosmos. 
students working on technology

Technology for Physics and for the Future

Solving hard problems about the nature of the cosmos naturally breeds new technologies. Help to build the future for physics and for the world.

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student interns

Go Beyond SMU

Our students excel inside and outside SMU. Taylor Wallace, a biophysical science major, earned a place in the prestigious Weill Cornell/Rockefeller/Sloan Kettering Tri-Institutional M.D. - Ph.D. Program Gateways summer program in 2019.

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faculty teaching class

Physics Speaker Series

Our speaker series brings the universe to SMU. Whether it's our own faculty sharing new ideas or researchers from across the globe sharing their discoveries, it is a place to learn and engage.

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students in club

Student Engagement

The Society of Physics Students organizes interdisciplinary, interactive talks and organizes public-facing physics activities.

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student studying

Building A Future With Research

Nicole Hartman took advantage of the undergraduate research opportunities available at SMU. She earned two NSF Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) positions at Columbia University and University of California at Davis. She is currently working toward her Ph.D. in physics at Stanford University.

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Dan Jardin

A Graduate Program That Works For You

SMU Ph.D. student Dan Jardin earned a prestigious Department of Energy Office of Science Graduate Student Research Fellowship allowing him to relocate to the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and continue his dark matter research. After graduation he took a post-doctoral position at Northwestern University.

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