The physics program in the College of Creative Studies is for students with inquisitive minds. The program is designed to develop a wide and deep understanding of physics and prepare students for graduate work.

All first- and second-year CCS physics students take a six-quarter introductory course. This sequence provides thorough and rigorous training in basic physics with an emphasis on problem solving. Second-year students take a three-quarter introduction to experimental physics. This laboratory course uses the experimental method to explore physical phenomena and to discover the specific mathematical laws describing them. Students are expected to carry out and interpret their own experiments.

As students reach the appropriate level, they take advanced CCS seminars in physics. These seminars supplement and expand on the material covered in upper-division physics courses offered by the Department of Physics in the College of Letters and Science, which constitute the main portion of the curriculum in the third and fourth years. By graduation, CCS physics students usually have completed all the major requirements for a physics major in the College of Letters and Science as well as CCS seminars, reading, and research projects.

Students work in the laboratory of a physics department faculty member in their area of interest. Summer research fellowships are available to fund this work. Often CCS physics students prepare a senior thesis based on the research they've been involved in.