A Proposal for a New Undergraduate Degree in Physics

A Proposal for a New Undergraduate Degree in Physics

Author: Margaret M. Hanson, Associate Professor of Physics, UC

, 513-556-0524

I.Nature of the Request

A.Indicate the type of program being requested (new degree and/or new degree program).

New degree: a Bachelors of Arts (B.A.) degree in physics with a single, yet flexible, curriculum track.

B.Indicate the location of the proposed program (e.g., main campus, off-campus)

The program will be located on the University of Cincinnati, Main Campus.

II.Objectives for the Proposed Program

A.State the general and specific educational objectives of the program.

This proposed new degree will provide students with a rigorous preparation in physics and math sufficient to provide an excellent basis for enumerable post-graduate science and technology jobs, high school science teaching, as well as STEM-related professional school (patent law, MBA).

The general goal is to prepare students for a variety of post-baccalaureate career paths where rigorous, fundamental physics and math at the undergraduate level are valued. Such careers include further training in a variety of promising professions (secondary physical science teaching, medicine, law, business) as well as immediate employment in the critical technology and research sectors.

Specific educational objectives include (1) mastery of rigorous mathematical methods in analysis and computations; (2) development of high-level technical laboratory skills and techniques; (3) exposure to highly technical and complex laboratory equipment and its use and modern computational methods; (4) an independent research project (‘capstone’) that will enhance the student’s ability to gain access to experiential learning opportunities and the personal and technical development they provide.

B.Describe how this program will help achieve the goals and objectives of your institution in terms of its role and mission.

The University’s strategic plan, UC|21, outlines six goals and actions for charting its 21st century academic course. The establishment of a B.A. degree in physics directly supports several of these goals. The program will help UC Put Students at the Center (Goal 1), by enhancing UC’s reputation for excellent undergraduate education. It will help us Grow Our Research Excellence (Goal 2) because the research and technical training of the students will become well regarded with schools and industry throughout the area. Students may choose to participate in the department’s co-op option, Forging Key Relationships and Partnerships (Goal 4). In particular, these new physics degrees will Create Opportunity (Goal 6), by producing a critically-needed, technically-trained workforce and providing opportunities for entrepreneurship and economic development in the State.

C.Describe any unique characteristics or resources which make it particularly appropriate for your institution to offer the proposed program.

The Department of Physics at the University of Cincinnati is among the top physics research programs in the state. Is has more than two dozen PhD’d permanent faculty, close to an additional dozen PhD’d staff and research associates, and secures approximately 2 million in external funds per year. Approximately 50-60 graduate students pursuing masters or PhD degrees in physics are present in the department, making it the largest physics research and training environment in the region. A vibrant and highly successful undergraduate physics program already exists within the department. The program presently offers a rigorous B.S. degree in physics (or physics with a concentration in astrophysics) designed for students desiring to pursue a graduate degree in physics or astrophysics. Indeed, more than half our graduating students successfully gain admission to graduate physics and astrophysics programs, well above the national average. Courses in advanced theoretical and applied physics, including laboratory and research experience using state-of-the-art technology is already in existence here.

Given this myriad of resources and opportunities, it is only fitting and natural that the department would provide a mathematically rigorous, highly-technical yet flexible physics degree for students wishing to directly enter the workforce or to pursue graduate education outside of traditional physics and astrophysics programs. This proposed degree will provide this severely-needed cohort of scientists, science educators and a technology-savvy workforce.

III.Rationale and Need for the Program

A.Explain the rationale of this program.

There is little doubt that technological change and development has been fundamental to the vitality of the United States economy for more than 50 years. To maintain a technological edge, we must continue to produce well-trained people who provide the scientific and technological innovations we rely on. However, it has been well established via such recent reports as the 2007, Rising above the Gathering Storm the technological edge we have enjoyed for so many decades is eroding. This alarming study, drafted by a panel selected by the National Academies, warns that “the nation must prepare with great urgency to preserve it strategic and economic security.. the United States must compete by optimizing its knowledge-based resources, particularly in science and technology.”

B.Cite the benefits for students, the institution, and the region or state, of initiating this program.

The Ohio Board of Regents, Ohio Department of Education and the Governor’s Office recently created the Science and Mathematics Education Policy Advisory Council. The charge of this council was to develop findings and make policy recommendations for improving the P-16+ education system within Ohio for mathematics and science education. This council found that Ohio was not keeping pace with the demands of an innovation and technology-driven economy. They recommended five core strategies. Our new physics B.A. program directly addresses three of these needs:

Increase the number of students taking mathematics and science subjects and pursue STEM careers

Presently, the physics B.S. at the University of Cincinnati is designed to train the most elite of physics-minded students: those wishing to go on to pursue a PhD. While we will continue to provide such a program, it is overly arduous for a large class of talented students who wish to enter directly into a STEM career or related professional field (patent law, MBA, etc). We expect that by providing this alternative physics path, the B.A., we will increase the number of physics degrees conferred without reducing the number of physics B.S. degrees because it caters to a different student. What’s more, the majority of physics B.S. students who go on to graduate school in physics or astrophysics leave the state for their further education, draining the state of the technological knowledge and the resources which went into educating that student. Rather, we expect B.A. students to immediately enter into the local economy of the area.

Improve math and science education by recruiting, preparing and retaining high-quality math and science teachers

Typically, only a few teachers are licensed each year to teach physics in the state of Ohio. This is woefully below the needed number to cover the state’s physical science education needs and is inherent to the problems presently faced in the state to address this core strategy. The flexibility of the physics B.A. degree provides a well tailored track that covers all the needed content for the graduate to directly enroll to receive their state license in secondary physical science. We even provide one example track that would allow for a dual chemistry-physics licensure to be completed within two years of graduation.

Strengthen interactions between post-secondary instruction and the business sector to improve students’ STEM-career opportunities.

Because the B.A. students are looking to enter directly into STEM-related careers, they are much more likely to take advantage of our departments optional co-operative program. This program, run with the help of the Division of Professional Practice, places students for 6 months in a full-time industry or research job. This has been successfully implemented in previous years, but the fraction of students choosing this opportunity is low. This is because the present physics B.S. students are looking only for opportunities for academic pursuits. With a larger cohort of B.A. students, we expect to develop very strong ties between our program and local industry. Even our graduate program does not have particularly strong ties with local industry because of the large number of foreign students. Our B.A. degree students will forge unique partnerships with local industry.

C.If applicable, state the specific local state or national needs for individuals trained by the proposed program. If applicable, describe job opportunities that are available to persons who complete the program. Provide supporting data.

The American Institute of Physics (AIP) routinely tracks the career choices and outcomes of students who have completed physics degrees in the United States. Based on these data, there are multiple career paths we might expect our students to pursue:

55% Pursue jobs in the Private Sector

14% Teach in the High Schools

12% Work or teach at a university or college

7% Active Military

6% Civilian Government work

5% Other

Most remarkable, between 1995 and 2004 the unemployment rate of new physics bachelors (the distinction between B.S. and B.A. is not made here) is 5%. This is among the lowest of all bachelor degrees conferred. Even between 2001 and 2004, when jobs where scarce and the technology industry was suffering cut backs and layoffs, new Physics bachelors were experiencing just a 7% unemployment rate. Salaries within the private STEM sector (where the majority of new graduates are employed) also remained very high. The beginning salary margin (the inner 50%) ranged from $35,000 to $55,000 back in 2003 and 2004. Physics students are strongly sought after and financially rewarded for their unique and highly-valued quantitative skill sets. Even the average starting salary for high school physical science teachers was $35,000 in 2003 and 2004.

D.Indicate any licensure or certification requirements for which this program will prepare students.

Not applicable. (The license to teach physics in public schools is given by another college after the student has completed their core content within physics).

E.Describe and document any needs, other than employment opportunity, which will be met by the proposed program.

We often have students who come to us as freshmen with weak math skills. In order to begin the freshmen major, a student must be ready to begin Calculus 1. Typically, only about half our students come with this level of math preparation, thus must wait a full year to begin their degree program. This also means he students are necessarily on a five year plan. The BA program, if used with the physics concentration, can allow a student to start the freshmen physics in the 2nd year and still complete a strong physics degree in four years.

F.Provide evidence of student interest in the program, as well as projections of enrollment (full-time and part-time) for each of the first five years of the program.

Presently, the number of students who choose physics as a major is low when compared to engineering. It is a demanding curriculum and most students interested in physics and math choose to major in engineering instead. However, the most desirable technology jobs, those which allow for the fastest advancement and creative exploration, belong to those with a broader, more mathematically rigorous skill set. Our students know this and choose physics. Presently, we track approximately 40-50 majors in the B.S. program. On average, the department gets about 15 new freshmen (or transfer) students each year who begin their physics studies in our department. Unfortunately, more than half will fail out in their first year. This is because of the very rigorous math requirement which few students come in prepared for. The Physics B.A. will directly address this particularly sobering statistic in the department. Because the B.A. has much greater flexibility, and a smaller physics core, students pursuing the B.A. can wait until their sophomore year to begin the `freshmen’ (yet still mathematically rigorous) physics sequence. This extra year to improve their math performance we expect to greatly increase the average retention of these students. Moreover, the flexibility of the B.A. will make it easier for students to transfer over to physics and still finish in a reasonable time.

Once the B.A. program is in full swing and well advertized (particularly the co-op opportunity), we expect to attract an equal number of B.A. students as the present number of B.S. students. Moreover, the B.A. will have a higher retention rate, will be able to absorb transfers more easily and may even pick up what was originally B.S. students that failed out, but who now will ‘soften’ their degree to the B.A. option. Thus, by graduation and once the program has been in place for a number of years, we expect to have almost as many B.A. students as B.S. present students.

Academic Year / Existing B.S. / New B.A. / Total
2009-2010 / 40 / 5 / 45
2010-2011 / 40 / 10 / 50
2011-2012 / 40 / 20 / 60
2012-2013 / 40 / 30 / 70
2013-2014 / 40 / 30 / 70

G.List academic programs similar to the one proposed that are offered in both public and independent institutions within a fifty-mile radius of the proposed instructional site.

Major institutions include: Miami University, Northern Kentucky University, Xavier University, Wright State University, and University of Dayton. These institutions all offer physics degrees.

H.Explain how these programs differ from the one proposed.

All these programs are similar in their approach to a BA degree in physics, since physics is a standard degree. However, our program is the only program in the State of Ohio that offers an optional co-operative employment opportunity.

IV.Academic Planning

A.Provide a brief description of the institutional planning process that resulted in the initiation of the proposed program. Indicate the relative priority level of this program among institutional purposes and explain who this has been established.

The college of Arts and Sciences Bylaws specify that new programs be initiated according to the following procedure:

A written request is made to the college’s Undergraduate Council. The proposal details the academic worth and need for the program as well as specifics of faculty, staff, facilities, and courses, other resources, and budget.

The Undergraduate Council appoints an Ad Hoc Committee to study and evaluate the proposal in detail. The responsibility of this Ad Hoc Committee is to conduct a thorough examination of the total academic and financial aspects of the proposed program.

After receiving the recommendation of the Ad Hoc Committee, the Undergraduate Council can (i) reject the proposal, (ii) present the proposal to the faculty for its possible approval, or (iii) return the proposal to the initiating parties with suggestions for improvement.

Approved proposals are submitted to the faculty for a vote of the college’s full faculty.

Approved proposals are submitted to the Provosts office, the University Of Cincinnati Board Of Trustees, and the Ohio Board of Regents.

This proposed program began in response to an external review made of the Department of Physics in the Fall of 2007. It was found in preparing the undergraduate report and the various statistical comparisons to benchmark programs that the University of Cincinnati was one of the few physics departments of its size NOT to offer a B.A. alongside the B.S. degree. As typically half of all majors in these other programs are pursuing the B.A., it was recognized that such an interest would likely be found here for such a program

B.Describe how and when institutional clearances or approvals for the new program were achieved.

The proposal will be forwarded to the College of Arts and Sciences Undergraduate Council during the Fall 2008. Evaluation will then proceed as indicated above.

C.Provide information on the use of consultants or advisory committees in development of the proposed program (append copies of reports from such consultants or advisory committees).

No external consultants were used, though the program design was based on successful BA programs elsewhere and vetted through the department’s undergraduate committee to ensure it is both rigorous and broadly applicable to the student needs.

V.Academic Control

A.Describe administrative arrangements for the program (department; college, and/or school involved)

All administrative arrangements lie within the current Department of Physics, in the College of Arts & Sciences.

B.Indicate any cooperative arrangements with other institutions and organizations that will be used to offer this program. Specify the exact nature of such agreements and attach any formal statements of agreement that have been developed.

As the degree will be absorbed into an existing program, no other institutions or organizations will be needed to offer this degree. We have an established relationship already with the Division of Professional Practice to aid in locating co-op opportunities for physics majors and this will be extended to the B.A. students as well.