About Us

10 Reasons to Choose Physics and Astronomy at Minnesota

  1. Leading edge research. Our faculty participate in strong interdisciplinary collaborations and are helping to lead major research projects around the world.
  2. Award-winning faculty who have received the top honors in their fields.
  3. Two major institutes: Minnesota Institute for Astrophysics (MIfA) and the William I. Fine Theoretical Physics Institute (FTPI).
  4. Our alumni have amazing careers. We train problem-solvers who are qualified to work in a diverse group of fields.
  5. Well-connected with Minnesota industry: 30.7% of our alumni stay in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Metro area and enjoy Minnesota's strong economy.
  6. Hands-on learning environment: all of our students can earn a paycheck while doing real research and we have an award-winning Methods of Physics education program.
  7. Nationally-recognized outreach programs like Zooniverse and Physics Force.
  8. New facilities: The School is housed in two new buildings, one built in 2014 and the other completely remodeled in 2018.
  9. Rich scientific history including seven Nobel Laureates (and eight Nobel Prizes).
  10. Our faculty are part of the Center for Quantum Materials (CQM), the Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC), the Minnesota Nano Center, and the Minnesota Supercomputing Institute (MSI).

By the numbers

65

Faculty

155

Graduate Students

200

Physics and Astronomy majors

40

Fellows of the American Physical Society on faculty

$18.2

million in sponsored research funding

2

new buildings

5,000

square foot clean room

3,000

undergraduates taught annually in core courses