Skip to main content
  • Current Students
  • Parents & Families
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Staff

Footer quick links

  • Request Info
  • Plan a Visit
  • Apply Now
  • About
    • Calendar for Events
    • Campus Departments
    • Campus Map
    • Chapel
    • College Profile
    • Community Commitments
    • Consumer Information
    • History of Westmont
    • Institutes & Centers
    • Leadership
    • News
    • Our Commitment to Diversity
    • Ridley-Tree Museum of Art
    • Westmont Magazine
      • Request Info
      • Plan a Visit
      • Apply Now
    • Visit
  • Academics
    • Academic Services
    • Augustinian Scholars Program
    • Experience Opportunities
    • Global Education
    • Majors and Programs
    • Office of the Provost
    • Our Approach
    • Outcomes
    • Voskuyl Library
    • Consumer Information
      • Request Info
      • Plan a Visit
  • Admissions & Aid
    • Affording College
    • Apply to Westmont
    • Visit Westmont
    • Transfer Students
    • Returning Students
    • International Students
    • Our Commitment to Diversity
    • Admitted Students
    • Fall Orientation
    • Prospective Parents
    • Meet your Counselor
    • Confirm your Place
    • Words of Warriors
      • Request Info
      • Plan a Visit
      • Apply Now
    • 9th-11th Grade Students
    • Consumer Information
  • Student Life
    • Student Spotlights
    • Words of Warriors
    • CATlab
    • Living on Campus
    • On Campus Activities
    • Off Campus Activities
    • Our Commitment to Diversity
    • COVE Career Center
    • Ministries
    • Chapel
    • Consumer Information
      • Request Info
      • Plan a Visit
      • Apply Now
  • Giving
    • Why Give?
    • Where to Give
    • How to Give
    • Giving Societies
    • Contact Us
      • Give Today
  • Athletics
  • APPLY TODAY

Academics Sidebar Menu

  • Academics
    • Majors & Programs
    • Our Approach
    • Experience Opportunities
    • Global Education
    • Outcomes
    • Academic Services
    • Voskuyl Library
    • Augustinian Scholars Program
    • Registrar/Student Records Office
    • Office of the Provost
    • Our Commitment to Diversity
    • Consumer Information

Program Review

Degrees & Programs Physics

When you study physics, you seek a fundamental understanding of the physical universe. 

You’ll also take courses in mathematics, the language of science, and chemistry for scientific breadth. Test some of the theory you learn in laboratory classes and hands-on research and take advantage of opportunities to conduct research with you professors. State-of- the-art instrumentation enriches your experience. You may also pursue internships with high-tech firms in Santa Barbara. Such practical training prepares you for graduate school and professional work in science, engineering and related fields. Interested in a double major? Take the B.A. track for greater breadth and flexibility.

Sample Schedule

First Year
FALL (18)
  • PHY 21: General Physics (4)
  • PHY 22: Gen. Phys. Lab (1)
  • MA 9: Calculus (4)
  • RS 20: Christian Doctrine (4)
  • ENG 2: English Composition (4)
  • PEA 32: Fitness for Life (1)
SPRING (18)
  • PHY 23: General Physics (4)
  • PHY 24: Gen. Phys. Lab (1)
  • MA 10: Calculus (4)
  • RS (10): New Testament (4)
  • GE (4)
  • PEA elective (1)
Second Year
FALL (17)
  • PHY 25: Modern Physics (4)
  • MA 19: Multivariable Calculus (4)
  • CHM 5: General Chemistry (4)
  • RS 1: Old Testament (4)
  • PEA elective (1)
SPRING (18)
  • PHY 26: Modern Physics Lab. (1)
  • PHY 40: Differential Equations (4)
  • CHM 6: General Chemistry (4)
  • PHI 6: Philosophy (4)
  • HIS 10: Perspectives World Hist. (4)
  • PEA Elective (1)
Third Year
Fall (16)
  • PHY 115: Mathematical Physics (4)
  • PHY 150: Electricity and Magnetism (4)
  • General Education (8)
Spring (16)
  • PHY 130 Mechanics (4)
  • PHY 151: Optics (4)
  • General Education (8)
Fourth Year
Fall (16)
  • PHY 121: Quantum Mechanics (4)
  • PHY 160: Thermodynamics (4)
  • General Education (8)
Spring (14)
  • PHY 122: Quantum Mechanics (4)
  • PHY 195: Senior Seminar (1)
  • PHY 170/198 Adv. Lab/Research (1)
  • General Education (8)
  • First Year
  • Second Year
  • Third Year
  • Fourth Year

Faculty Highlights

Ken Kihlstrom, Ph.D.

Demonstrates physics by lying on a bed of nails and walking on hot coals

Read more

Michael Sommermann, Ph.D.

A nuclear physicist who takes astronomical photos

Read more

Robert Haring-Kaye, Ph.D.

Smashes atoms together at large-scale particle accelerator laboratories

Read more

All Faculty

Adjunct Faculty

Meet the Staff

Susan Leyva, Academic Administrative Assistant

Assistant to the Mathematics/Computer Science and Physics/Engineering Physics departments

Email: sleyva@westmont.edu
Tel: (805) 565-6174
Office: Winter Hall 300

Career Paths

  • Research Physicist
  • Science Writing
  • Patent Law
  • Software Development
  • Materials Research
  • Nuclear Medical Science
  • Forensic Science
  • Museum Education
  • Engineering (mechanical, electrical, process, civil, aeronautical, etc.)
  • Medicine
  • Technician
  • Teaching (high school or college)

See career paths for graduates who majored or minored in physics at Westmont.

Current Events
Previous
KEYT Interview - Solar Eclipse

KEYT interviews Ken Kihlstrom about the solar eclipse August 21.

Learn More
KEYT Interview - Planet Discovery

Ken Kihlstrom talks with KEYT about the exciting discovery of a planet 40 light years away that might be habitable.
 

Learn more
next

Westmont Observatory

Physics Alumni

Jesse Cozean ’07 majored in physics at Westmont and works for medical device companies his mother, Colette Day Cozean ’80, has started. He is vice president of research and development at Innovative BioDefense Inc. and Abela Pharmaceuticals, and he spends much of his time in the lab. At Westmont, he learned to think through problems and persist until he solved them, which helps in developing new products. He has also written a book “My Grandfather’s War: A Young Man’s Lessons from the Greatest Generation,” which documents Robert Cozean’s ordeal in a German camp.

A specialist in the narrow field of radiation oncology, David Bush ’86 treats cancer patients from around the country. He works as a physician and professor at Loma Linda University Medical Center in Loma Linda, Calif., which has pioneered the promising technology of proton radiation therapy. He contributes valuable research about this form of treatment, seeking ways to help heal people with cancer. He majored in both physics and biology at Westmont.

Aria Hamann ’16 received a prestigious graduate research fellowship from the National Science Foundation to support her doctoral studies in engineering and applied science at Harvard University in the fall. In 2016, she also earned a Fulbright Scholarship to conduct hydrology research at the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. She worked on an independent research project to simulate Managed Aquifer Recharge, a promising method of securing a consistent freshwater supply for subsequent recovery or environmental benefits.

Footer links menu

  • Request Info
  • Plan a Visit
  • Apply Now

Footer Utility menu

  • Employment
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Emergency Info
  • Feedback
  • Consumer Information

955 La Paz Road
Santa Barbara, CA 93108 

805-565-6000

Contact Us

 

Social media menu

©2021
Westmont College - All rights reserved