Award for Improving Undergraduate Physics Education Awardees

Recognizing Departments

Gray Arrow Nominate a Physics Program

2024

Wellesley College
The driving goal of Wellesley College’s Physics department is to change the face of physics by empowering our students who are all from traditionally marginalized groups. Because we seek change, we are continually developing new approaches to research and teaching that are as welcoming as they are rigorous and as supportive as they are challenging. Our goal is to see every student at Wellesley with a passion, or even just an interest, in physics, succeed. At Wellesley, the first course in the physics major is an algebra-based course on special relativity and quantum mechanics. Not only are these topics at the forefront of physics, but they are likely unfamiliar to almost every first-year student, putting all students on equal footing in their first college physics class. As an undergraduate-only institution, all of our courses are taught by faculty, not graduate students, but the entire department is supported by a strong network of peer learning assistants who mentor and guide younger students through the major. We offer research and independent-study opportunities to students starting in their first year, no experience required. Our students have an important voice in our department primarily through an active Society of Physics Students that organizes social events, panels, attends department meetings, and contributes to diversity, equity and inclusions efforts. Wellesley College is ranked first amongst all undergraduate-only institutions and sixth amongst ALL colleges and universities in the United States in conferring bachelor’s degrees in physics to women according to the AIP.

The University of California, Santa Cruz
The University of California, Santa Cruz is a Hispanic serving institution and Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander serving institution within the University of California system. The Physics Department has been able to maintain strong enrollment despite having a comparatively small faculty. Rather than focusing on growth, our efforts over the past decade have been on improving retention and four-year graduation rates. We have achieved this by identifying and addressing barriers in the curriculum and course schedules. The results so far have been excellent. For example, the four-year graduation rates have increased from 37% for students entering in 2013 and 2014 to an average of 62% for students entering from 2015-2018. Our attention to these issues of efficiency continues, but over the past four years we have begun a series of new initiatives to improve the undergraduate student experience from the first quarter to graduation and to address equity gaps. These include advising initiatives to increase student engagement with faculty as mentors and research advisers; a new course to serve incoming first-year students with less experience in advanced math and physics (Physics 2,The Physicist’s Toolbox); highly popular new courses for non-majors in search of engaging general-education courses more substantial than a routine survey of conceptual physics (Physics 1A and 1B, Physics for Everyone); new electives adapted to student interest and contemporary directions in physics research and applications (Physics 137, Advanced Optics Laboratory; Physics 150, Quantum Computing; and Physics 152, Physics and Machine Learning). We have also listened to our students’ interests in creating new degree tracks: a Computational Physics concentration within the Applied Physics BS (available as of fall ‘23), a Quantum Computation concentration (approved for fall ‘24), and a recommended path within applied physics for pre-aerospace students.

Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Worcester Polytechnic Institute is a comprehensive private university located in Central Massachusetts that enrolls over 5100 full-time undergraduate students and 850 full-time graduate students and offers BS and PhD degrees in physics and applied physics. The Project-Based Learning (PBL) curriculum is the cornerstone of the academic programs that integrates experiential learning through community engagement and scholarship for all physics majors. Over the past several years, faculty have leveraged the partnership with our students and the broader community through several strategic initiatives. These include the continued transformation of our introductory physics courses and laboratories to implement active learning pedagogies, the creation of a Learning Assistants program, the award of a PhysTEC Comprehensive site and Noyce Scholarship program for the Physics Teacher Preparation Program that is in partnership with our STEM Education Center, the expansion of our curriculum with a new and flexible applied physics major, support of highly active Society of Physics, Sigma Pi Sigma, and Women and Gender Minorities in physics student organizations, and expansion of outreach programs with a focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion.

2023

Illinois Wesleyan University
The Illinois Wesleyan University Physics Department is a small undergraduate department with a tradition of outstanding outcomes for its graduates. Between 2016-2018, the AIP ranked IWU’s Physics Department, which averaged 16 graduates per year during that three-year period, in the top 7% among 503 undergraduate-only institutions. Nearly 75% of our physics students work with faculty members on research projects. The department is exceptionally strong in the area of upper level instructional lab courses, offering 12 (twelve) different advanced lab courses to choose from. Approximately 1⁄3 of our graduates go on to pursue a PhD in science, another 1⁄3 do graduate work in engineering. The remaining 1⁄3 enter the workforce directly, and usually pursue careers in engineering, programming, teaching, sales, or finance.

University of Alabama at Birmingham
The department of Physics of the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a research-driven, student-centric department that prepares students for 21st century careers by seamlessly integrating purposeful research and education with STEMM workforce development, life-long learning, and cultural inclusion. Our Physics program combines flexibility with rigor to help students develop a broad skillset, including digital and data fluence, experimental, critical thinking, creativity, and problem-solving. All of our majors are given the opportunity to work in faculty research labs at UAB and in Europe, through an NSF-supported International Research Experiences for Students program, two research experiences courses, and our capstone course. By organizing the Physics degree into five job-focused tracks supported by a Faculty Mentoring System, and with two new Physics + Data Science and Research-Intensive Physics Accelerated BS/MS (ABM) programs, we help students develop an individual program of study to gain a competitive edge in the marketplace while pursuing their passion. Our Track Faculty Mentors connect the student with research, provide academic support and career guidance, and see him/her through graduation. The skills that our graduates leave with are valued by U.S. and international employers in a variety of fields which impact both big research problems and the technology-based global economy during the fourth industrial revolution. We also offer a sequence of innovative introductory Physics and Data and Digital Fluency courses that put the emphasis on developing student self-efficacy, STEMM affinity, and Reasoning with Data. At the same time, we impact a much broader and diverse student audience than ever before by transforming online teaching into innovative Remotely Accessible Interdisciplinary STEMM Education (RAISE), by developing student social networks, and by supporting Alabama high-school teachers. Since initiating the above comprehensive plan of action in 2015, our department has witnessed an increase to historic heights of both the number of Physics majors and the overall number of students taught. UAB Physics is now moving to a newly-built Science & Engineering Complex, a state-of-the art inter-disciplinary building designed to empower our graduates to impact the future.

2022

Colgate University
The department of Physics and Astronomy at Colgate University strives to provide a rigorous introduction to careers in physics- and astronomy-related fields with the flexibility to allow students an entry into numerous post-graduation fields while also building a sense of community and belonging into the majors. The curriculum consists of two years of compulsory introductory courses that include first semester modern physics, mechanics and electricity & magnetism, introduction to computation, mathematical methods in physics, introductory quantum mechanics and relativity, and electronics. Four of the introductory courses have a lab component. Three have innovative curricula that use in-house written textbooks. The first semester course in the curriculum ensures that all students taking introductory physics have an exposure to quantum physics. The astronomy curriculum has alternative instrumental methods and introductory astronomy courses. The following two years require 3 electives plus a senior capstone research course. This allows students to craft a major focused on their career interests. A compulsory senior research component serves to introduce or cement scientific research in their education. Faculty research involving undergraduates is an institutional expectation. Our permanent faculty (11 total, including 3 women, and 3 from underrepresented groups) are spread out in their research specialties, broadly: 4 experimental physics (sustainable electronics, optics, condensed matter, low temperature), 2 observational astronomers (extragalactic, planetary formation), 2 theory/computational physics/astrophysics, 1 planetary science, 1 sustainability/environmental studies. The diverse range of research specialties in combination with upper-level elective courses allows students to pursue areas of study with an interdisciplinary flavor, overlapping with biology, chemistry, geology, mathematics, computer science, neuroscience or environmental studies. All faculty are involved in taking students in summer research experiences. Students involved in research routinely appear as coauthors in publications and present at conferences. A welcoming atmosphere that includes student hangout and study spaces plus peer mentoring has encouraged a community of learning and the formation of various student clubs and professional chapters. In the last 15 years the enrollments have soared, featuring consistently high graduating classes averaging 25 graduates per year in the last 7 years, with yearly averages of 8 and 7 women and students from underrepresented groups, respectively. The total enrollment at Colgate University is about 3000.

Howard University
The Department of Physics and Astronomy is structured as a student-centered learning system to produce graduates who are ready to compete successfully in today’s world. It supports the aspirations of Howard University to be a world-class institution by providing a forward-looking, technologically enhanced higher education environment with a global view. The department’s mission is to strive for a recognized level of national and international excellence in research and teaching in physics and to assure that students of African American descent are given the opportunity to achieve their fullest potential in physics. With an emphasis upon providing educational opportunities for Black students and fully welcoming students from other underrepresented populations, the department supports the historical and current mission of Howard University. The program is among the leading producers of African Americans with bachelor’s degrees in physics.

Michigan State University
The Michigan State University Department of Physics has a long history of excellence in physics education. In recent years the department has developed significantly transformed models for both of its large introductory physics course strands. The engineering physics courses use a communities of practice framework in flipped classrooms, and the physics for life scientists courses has a redesigned curriculum to connect the physics to modern biological sciences. Both of these course sequences will be implemented at scale in MSU’s new STEM Teaching building with its large open classrooms ideal for these transformed classes. These approaches and curricula have also been disseminated in journal papers and conference proceedings. For its majors, the department is in the midst of implementing its long-term plan to integrate computation into each core course taken by students majoring in physics. Much of this effort is enabled by a focus over many years on cultivating a culture of continuing improvement in teaching. This focus in teaching has also led to significant investment in building a major physics education research group at MSU. The department has a longstanding tradition of active undergraduate student groups, and the combination of these involved groups and the teaching efforts described above have led to a steadily increasing number of majors, with over 100 incoming students declaring the intention to major in physics for the Fall 2021 semester.

Rowan University
The Physics & Astronomy department at Rowan University fosters an environment designed to challenge and stimulate each of our students. Since the inception of our first degree program in 1997, it has grown to be among the largest producers of physics graduates in the nation. A strong assortment of laboratory experiences, not typically found at the undergraduate level, complement the student-centered classroom experience which begins with a course designed to orient all incoming students to our university and physics communities. Our department offers 3 bachelor’s degrees, 2 undergraduate certificates, and combined accelerated programs leading to masters degrees in secondary education, data science, and cell & molecular biology. We have many state-of-the-art research facilities that are openly available to undergraduate researchers, allowing for student-faculty collaborative research across a diverse set of specialties built into our curriculum. Rowan has a long-standing history of teacher preparation and our department participates in the Physics Teacher Education Coalition. Our students go on to fascinating careers in industry and teaching or furthering their education with graduate study.

2021

George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private research university in the nation’s capital.  In recent years, the undergraduate physics program has experienced growth in the quality, quantity, diversity and cohesion of the student population. These changes are related to a wide adoption among the faculty of modern research-based pedagogy, a revival of the university’s chapter of the Society of Physics Students (SPS), more systematic individual advising of physics majors, the implementation of the Learning Assistants program, learning communities of faculty and Graduate Teaching Assistants, a focus on diversity and inclusion in physics courses, and enhanced extra-curricular activities of SPS and the Women & Gender Minorities in Physics group. Most recently, the program has been revamped to focus students’ preparation for academic endeavors or employment, including the improvement of written and oral communication skills, as part of the APS PIPELINE Network, and a focus on innovation and entrepreneurship.

Lewis University
Lewis University is a private, Catholic and Lasallian, comprehensive Masters institution in the Chicagoland area.  The Physics Department has undergone dramatic change in the last decade as it worked through its ambitious strategic plan for growth. The department modernized its curriculum moving from the theory-heavy curriculum with only one lab beyond the first year to a curriculum that incorporates active learning, additional laboratory experiences beyond the first year, inquiry and design-based labs that emphasize skill development throughout the curriculum, an independent Capstone project, and computational skill development throughout the curriculum. The department has added several concentrations to the traditional B.S. in Physics and B.A. for teacher preparation, have developed M.S. programs in Physics and Mechanical or Aerospace Engineering with Illinois Tech. These changes, coupled with the opening of a new Science Center and the expansion of undergraduate research opportunities, have led to a tripling of the number of physics majors from fewer than 20 a decade ago to 63 this year. The department has gone from graduating fewer than 5 students per year to an average of 16 graduates per year over the last three years.  These students are well-prepared for graduate programs in physics and related areas and for STEM careers.

Coe College
The Physics Department at Coe College has a long commitment to undergraduate educational excellence and the principles of undergraduate research. It has recently undergone a period of ongoing growth leading it to average 15-20 physics majors a year, accompanied by the addition of faculty. The Department has also made great strides in the acquisition of modern teaching and research instrumentation. This continued improvement has resulted in a thriving intellectual environment.  In research, we host over 50 students per summer researching glass, optics, musical acoustics, detector development, biomodelling, and astrophysics. This exciting atmosphere has led to high productivity: in 2018, the faculty and undergraduates published 10 articles, while in 2019 the production was 18 articles and two book chapters. Pedagogically, the Department has redesigned many sophomore laboratories and created novel senior seminars. The students also enjoy activities like the Playground of Science (a large outreach event), a Trivia Contest, an Impersonation Contest, weekly ice cream socials, and an annual trip to nearby universities or national labs.

2020

University of Colorado Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder Department of Physics is recognized as a national leader in teaching. The Department has transformed many of its undergraduate courses to employ recent findings from education research. Materials from these transformations are freely available online and widely used, and the Learning Assistant Program has been broadly disseminated. On measures of student conceptual mastery, in introductory physics courses students regularly perform two to three times the national average for traditional courses. The Department has an active PER group, and a faculty culture emphasizing undergraduate teaching in both classrooms and labs. The program is growing rapidly and is currently one of the higher producers of physics majors in the country.

University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
The Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill provides high-quality learning environments for about 200 physics majors and minors and 4000 students from other majors each year. All of the department’s introductory physics courses (and some of the upper-level courses) have been transformed into highly-interactive learning environments validated by physics education research, with demonstrated improvements in student academic performance. The comprehensive nature of this transformation makes it a model for institutional change. More than half of the faculty members in the department have acquired specific research-based pedagogical skills to foster active learning in their students. The department also contributes to secondary education by preparing physics majors to become highly-qualified high school physics teachers. Students served by the department enjoy the benefits of highly individualized attention and advising from faculty, early exposure to cutting-edge research, and an exceptional social network within the Society of Physics Students (SPS) and Women in Physics (WiP).

California State University San Marcos
Physics at California State University San Marcos has seen significant growth in graduates, including graduates from traditionally under-represented groups. Alongside this growth has been strong programs in mentoring and teacher training, as well as multipronged, enthusiastic outreach. Options within the major prepare students to apply their knowledge in a variety of career pathways, including teaching. The faculty firmly believe in research with undergraduates and in implementing active, research-based teaching methods in the classroom. The Department aims to maintain an inclusive sense of community with open office doors, supportive learning programs, and fun, physics-based events to engage majors.

2019

Rockhurst University
Rockhurst University is a four-year, liberal arts, Jesuit university in Kansas City, Missouri with a population of approximately 1500 undergraduate students and a commitment to excellence in teaching. Over the past 10 years, the physics department has made a concentrated effort towards transformation and growth through the design of courses relevant to our students’ career interests in medicine and healthcare. Using an inquiry-based, active learning pedagogy with research-based curriculum, we have seen dramatic increase in the number and diversity of our physics students. Since 2008, the student population in physics courses offered past the introductory level has increased six-fold, and the number of upper-division female physics students has increased from one female in 2008 to 25 females in 2018. Much of our success comes from the development of the Physics of Medicine program which offers a unique, interdisciplinary major/minor degree designed to deepen students’ understanding of physics principles through the lens of medicine and healthcare. By bringing physics to students’ career interests, the Physics of Medicine program has attracted academically strong pre-medicine and pre-therapy students, providing our department with a population of students that, traditionally, would not have taken more than the required introductory physics course. Alumni testimonials cite the value of the Physics of Medicine program to their admission into competitive professional graduate programs, as well as to providing them with enhanced reasoning skills and a curricular advantage once in graduate school.

State University of New York at Geneseo
SUNY Geneseo is a highly selective public liberal arts college of approximately 5,500 undergraduate students located in the Finger Lakes region of New York State. The Department of Physics and Astronomy at SUNY Geneseo, founded in 1963 by the legendary Dr. Robert “Duke” Sells, has grown into one of the largest of its kind in the nation. The growth of our department is testament to the dedicated and energetic faculty and staff (nine full time faculty, a department secretary, and a senior instructional support specialist), who work together to educate a talented and diverse group of undergraduate students at all levels. Currently serving over 200 physics majors, our department prides itself on its longstanding commitment to involving physics majors in high-impact, transformative research projects spanning a wide variety of fields. Furthermore, our department has continued its long-standing and deeply rooted tradition of fostering connections with our physics majors outside of the classroom by hosting numerous social activities and other events throughout the year. Students are attracted to the physics department at SUNY Geneseo by the outstanding faculty, high quality facilities, and the supportive “family atmosphere” that prepare students for successful and challenging careers.

University of Houston
The Physics Program at University of Houston (UH) offers an excellent environment to study physics and its applications for physics and non-physics majors. Over the past ten years, the undergraduate program has been revived and reformed to meet the needs of the student population it serves, where UH, is currently designated Hispanic and Asian Serving Institution. The physics program promotes the success of all students through curricular and co-curricular activities which include engaging interactive teaching methods in all courses, team research projects on cutting edge research topics ranging from particle physics to biophysics to physics education research, and student involvement in organizations including SPS and the Astronomy Society at UH. The programs activities have significantly impacted the number of majors graduating—particularly underrepresented minorities—and the number of certified physics teachers produced. The program’s strength lies in its specialized curriculum, which includes exposing students to experimental and theoretical physics research, pathways to physics teacher preparation, and activities such as outreach and networking for building a strong, supportive community. Improved physics major retention and graduation rates and improved non-major student success in introductory physics courses are indicative of UH’s thriving physics education program.

2018

Chicago State University
The Physics Program at Chicago State University (CSU) has been engaged in extensive efforts to develop high quality learning environments to best serve the needs and build on the strengths of students of color in pursuing degrees in Physics. Students in the CSU Physics program are deeply entrenched in supporting the innovative teaching through our Learning Assistant Program, and all students graduating with degrees in Physics from CSU engage in exciting research with CSU faculty that include diverse topics from high energy physics at CERN, to work in Physics Education Research (PER). The number of students of color graduating with degrees in physics from our institution during recent years is among the largest in the nation and is in part due to strong community development and innovations in teaching that leverage active engagement and peer mentors, outstanding research opportunities, and diverse student support efforts. By valuing student expertise and voice and combining innovative, research based teaching across the entire program and engaging students in diverse local and global research activities, CSU has created a vibrant learning environment for students of color and plays leadership roles in Physics research and education.

Oregon State University
For 21 years, the physics department at Oregon State has been a national model for its holistic approach to improving the educational experience for undergraduates, from the nationally recognized, upper division curriculum redesign—Paradigms in Physics, through lower‐division reform, thesis research experiences for all majors, and attention to co‐curricular community‐building. We are dedicated to building a strong cohort group of students, prepared for a wide range of careers. For the broader community, we produce and freely share cutting‐edge curricular materials based on our own physics education research.

University of Dallas
Physics majors at the University of Dallas are members of a Department whose focus is on maximizing student opportunities for success upon graduation, as well as providing a quality educational experience. A strong undergraduate research program in which every B.S. major completes a research project, a thesis, and gives a professional presentation helps students be well prepared for external research opportunities and admission to quality graduate and professional programs. For students interested in employment immediately after graduation, department initiatives, such as inverse interviews and career panels, have alumni and local professionals providing students with guidance on how they can best prepare themselves for diverse careers. Events that focus on successful women in physics, as well as changes in advertising that highlight women and underrepresented minorities, have helped the department become more diverse, and has seen enrollment grow by over 250% in the last ten years.

2017

Augustana University
Augustana University is a small, private university in Sioux Falls, South Dakota with about 1600 undergraduate students, mostly from South Dakota and Minnesota. The Physics Department has only three tenured faculty members, but thoughtful strategic efforts over the past dozen years have allowed the program to move in new directions. Pedagogy was changed from traditional didactic instruction to active learning and just-in-time techniques throughout the curriculum; assessment is now widely used; external funding was obtained to update advanced laboratories with contemporary experiments and techniques; recruiting and outreach efforts have been overhauled; and nearly all students now participate in a research or internship experience, with 20 students having co-authored publications in the last decade. As a result of these efforts, the number of physics majors has quadrupled from 13 to 45. The local SPS chapter was reestablished in 2010, and the students are now active in outreach activities in the Sioux Falls area. Many of the students participate in a dual-degree engineering program while other graduates successfully transition to graduate school or employment.

St. Mary's College
St. Mary's College of Maryland is a small, public liberal arts college with about 1800 students. Their physics department is strong and vibrant, with an outstanding commitment to undergraduate education and research. Its physics program has grown substantially over the past decade both in the number of majors and in the number of faculty. This was possible because of a deliberate strategy to improve the quality of the program by hiring talented new faculty, making innovative changes in the curriculum, and attracting highly qualified students through outreach. St Mary’s effort in becoming a nationally-ranked physics program and to attract students to their program was recognized by an investment of a $1 million to create an applied physics program. As a result, St. Mary's College was selected as one of the case studies in the new AAPT/APS study by the Joint Task Force on Undergraduate Physics Programs (J-TUPP). St. Mary's College graduates an average ten majors per year, placing St. Mary’s among the top 20% of undergraduate-only institutions.

2016

California State University, Long Beach
The Department of Physics and Astronomy at California State University Long Beach has been engaged in a decade-long campaign to strengthen its programs. Total production of undergraduate physics degrees has increased from 3 in 2007 to 25 in 2014 and an estimated 35 in the 2015 academic year. 30% of degrees are awarded to under-represented minorities (URMs), and they have no achievement gaps in graduation rates between URM and majority students, nor between men and women. Implementing many of the recommendations of the SPIN-UP report, such as innovative curricula and SCALE-UP classrooms, has improved their undergraduate curriculum with a measurable increase in the graduation rates of students taking introductory physics. In addition, adopting the Colorado Learning Assistant model has allowed the department to use their upper-division students to improve their lower-division courses while also providing valuable training for their majors. Students who complete the LA training course have significantly elevated graduation rates. In summary, the Department of Physics and Astronomy at CSULB has made significant, research-based and quantitatively assessed improvements throughout their program and achieved a transformative increase in the number of physics degrees awarded at the University, particularly to URM students, along with improved education of not only their majors but all STEM students.

Western Washington University
Western Washington University (WWU) is a regional comprehensive university with about 15,000 students located in Bellingham, WA. The Department of Physics & Astronomy at WWU is dedicated to strong undergraduate education with emphasis on student-centered teaching practices and an exceptional research experience. The 14 faculty members serve over 5000 students annually, including about 120 physics majors, a significantly increased the number of majors from Spring 2002. The success in growing the major is attributed to the establishment of strong community within the department, that welcomes students and engages them in close collaboration with faculty not only in coursework, but also in meaningful research, teaching, and outreach experiences. Each year, the department awards 20 or more B.S. degrees in Physics, ranking nationally in the top 1% among physics departments exclusively offering baccalaureate degrees. Faculty professional development emphasizing research-based teaching has led to demonstrable increases in student learning, measured, for instance, in above average gains on standardized tests in core disciplines of physics. WWU Physics majors work closely with faculty on original research in the fields of Astronomy, Condensed Matter Physics, and Physics Education, often supported by external grants and leading to peer-reviewed publications with undergraduate students as co-authors. As some of the statistics show WWU Physics majors graduates are well prepared for graduate education or entrance into STEM professions.

2015

Indiana University Purdue University Fort Wayne
The Department of Physics at the Indiana University Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW) has shown a strong enrollment increase during the past six years (275%) based on a coherent effort by their faculty and commitment to their students and community. Their approach is based on using interactive engagement pedagogy in the classroom, innovation in laboratory experiences, computational physics and research oriented senior thesis. Seven years ago the Department of Physics was small, in fact the smallest on campus and on the verge of termination. Then the faculty decided to adopt drastic changes and create an exemplary physics program using social media as a communication aid with different Facebook groups such Women in Physics, SPS, research groups, and specific class groups to allow students to openly discuss their classwork and research with advisors and fellow students, providing a forum to share their successes and help others. The department has created new concentrations also allowing students to design their own concentration with courses outside of physics (for example pre-law or chemical physics). The faculty are strongly engaged in obtaining external funds for new methods aimed at increasing student participation in the departments activities.

Middle Tennessee State University
Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) is a comprehensive regional university offering a B.S. as their highest degree in physics. Formerly a “low-producing” department, the MTSU Department of Physics and Astronomy has consciously adopted a mission to provide exceptional classroom experiences, career-focused courses and pathways, and intensive research opportunities to prepare students for targeted careers. The department has over the past half-decade successfully refocused its degree programs and course offerings to emphasize the possibilities inherent in a wide range of career choices beyond graduate programs in physics, including teaching careers, and teaches the skills necessary to attain them, including freshman career seminars, required capstone research experiences, and a senior-level career skills course. MTSU is among the most successful PhysTEC sites and became a UTeach replication site, in addition to thoughtfully reforming its entire curriculum in accord with research-based pedagogies, dramatically reducing DFW rates in introductory courses, and improving recruiting and retention at all levels of the curriculum, resulting in a significant increase in graduation rates.

North Carolina State University
The Department of Physics at North Carolina State University (NCSU) has gone through significant changes and transformations in its program such as the implementation of aspects of physics education that not only has increased the number of physics majors in their undergraduate program, but also has enhanced learning to all the students that the department has served. They focused on improving students understanding of physics, encouraging under-represented population, enabling K-12 teaching careers, expanding undergraduate research opportunities, introducing career preparation and recognizing student success. NCSU is a PhysTEC site and the success of these implementations also lead eight of their current faculty to become members of the NCSU Academy of Outstanding Teachers, and three being recognized with the highest honor for teaching in the UNC System, the Board of Governor’s Award for Teaching Excellence. Three faculty have also received Pegram Medals for Excellence in Education from the Southeastern Section of the APS. Two were CASE North Carolina Professors of the Year. Their faculty have won national (2011 McGraw Prize in Education) and local (2010, 2011 Martin Award for Teaching Excellence) awards for innovative approaches to teaching physics.

Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is a comprehensive private university offering a B.S. as their highest degree in physics and a Ph.D. degree in Astrophysical Sciences and Technology. Over the past 14 years, the faculty has made a conscious effort to transform a stagnant department with outdated pedagogy into a thriving department. Their success is seen in a tripling of the number of physics majors, from 41 in 2000 to an average 135 for the past few years. Several factors have contributed to this success, including an overhaul of all introductory physics classes to a SCALE-UP-style active-learning environment, special attention for at-risk students, introduction of a freshman “gateway” course on relativity for physics majors, a significant overhaul of the advanced laboratory, establishment of a Learning Assistant program to get majors into the introductory classroom, and initiation of a year-long capstone requirement for seniors. In addition, the department has hired 3 faculty members who specialize in physics education. A commitment to improvement is shared by all faculty members in the department.

2014

FIUFlorida International University
Florida International University has undertaken program-wide initiatives to attract and retain students which has led to impressive growth in the number of physics majors. These include a strong program in Physics Education Research, and associated implementation of research-based curriculum, particularly in the first year. Additionally, several alternate tracks within the physics major have been created, including a physics education track, providing students with several possible career paths after graduation. FIU has been particularly successful in recruitment and training of underrepresented minority students.

James Madison University
James Madison University sustains a thriving physics department that has grown significantly over the past 15 years. The Department of Physics & Astronomy has developed a culture of engaging students in the education process through an emphasis on undergraduate research experiences, personalized attention and advising, hiring for mission, recruiting and outreach efforts, and an ongoing move to research-based pedagogies and assessment. Especially notable are the range of program offerings to serve a broad student population, including tracks in applied physics and technical communication, in addition to strong teacher education efforts as a PhysTEC site.
JMU

University of California, DavisUC_Davis_Physics
The University of California, Davis department of physics has created curriculum opportunities involving specializations and multidisciplinary applied degrees coupled with vibrant research options for our diverse student population. The emphasis is on student preparation for STEM careers. UC Davis Physics includes an innovative and collaborative introductory sequence, two distinctive career seminars, a series of research-oriented capstone courses, along with multifaceted opportunities for peer and faculty interactions and creative investigations. Within a decade this approach has doubled the number of physics majors, successfully preparing both incoming first-years and increasing numbers of transfer students for both graduate degrees and professional careers.

2013

Colorado School of Mines
CSMThe Department of Physics at The Colorado School of Mines has substantially transformed itself over the last decade, using an iterative model of innovation, implementation, and assessment. Their dedicated and aggressive approach has transformed all levels of their curriculum, from introductory classes for non-majors to senior level courses and seminars. Over the past decade the number of majors has more than doubled, from 114 students in 2000-2001 to 258 students in 2011-2012, significantly outpacing the overall growth of the student body. They are now one of the top five largest physics departments in the country, graduating on average 56 seniors per year since 2006.

Kettering University
Kettering University’s Physics Department is a distinctive program, with co-op experiences integrated to promote graduates being placed in industry. Kettering has demonstrated excellence by tripling the number of majors over the last ten years as well as by focusing on the assessment of particular elements of the program including course outcomes and evaluation of co-op experiences.

Kettering


Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
MIT MIT has engineered an impressive transformation of its undergraduate physics curriculum, which currently produces the largest number of bachelor's degrees in physics annually of any university in the United States. The Department has more than doubled the number of majors since 2001, accompanied by a focus on diversity that has resulted in a department in which more than a third of graduating seniors are women. These changes have been accomplished through a focused commitment to creating a program that is flexible, welcoming and respectful of all students, with advising, mentoring and other programs to support students at all levels. The Department has been a consistent innovator in physics education with an emphasis on quality, including the innovative Technology Enabled Active Learning (TEAL) approach to teaching introductory physics to most MIT freshmen. This dual focus on outstanding educational practices and a student-focused departmental culture has resulted in an exceptionally strong undergraduate physics program.

University of Wisconsin at LaCrosse UWL
COE recognizes the University of Wisconsin at LaCrosse Physics Department for revitalizing their physics program through widespread student-centric reforms. These reforms have included implementing a revised curriculum at all levels using physics-education research supported methods, increasing undergraduate participation in research, creating a supportive department community through seminars and student organizations, and developing a thriving physics teacher training program. The results of these efforts have been a significant increase in the number of majors, bringing this undergraduate-only program from the brink of elimination to one of the largest physics departments in Wisconsin, national recognition of many of the department programs, and quantifiable success of the students graduating from the program.

2012

The Compass Project at UC Berkeley
The Compass Project, founded in 2006, is dedicated to building a collaborative, diverse and creative community of undergraduate students that will enrich their experience in the physical sciences. Graduate student volunteers coordinate the program and foster an inclusive environment so that incoming undergraduates from groups traditionally underrepresented in the physical sciences may acquire a solid sense of direction. The centerpiece of the Compass Project is the Compass Summer Program, which takes place during the two weeks before the start of the fall semester. The residential, all-expenses-paid program brings together approximately 15 incoming freshmen and six graduate student instructors for intensive research on a physical question – recent examples include “How do wind turbines work?” and “What is the nature of time?” Students work in small groups to design experiments that help answer the question posed. Rather than listening to lectures, students are urged to work collaboratively and learn through discovery. After the summer program, Compass students participate in a semester-long course in problem solving and model building, in which they continue to take advantage of the community they have built in order to help each other become better scientists. Additionally, undergraduates are paired with a graduate student mentor who helps guide them through the rest of their undergraduate experience. Other programs Compass sponsors include a lecture series, office hours for homework help, and community dinners.
Compass

Mount Holyoke College
The Mount Holyoke Physics department is an active, friendly, reform-minded community of female undergraduates and dedicated faculty and staff. The department averages seven majors per year, more than three times the national median for bachelors granting institutions. All of the physics majors are women, many of whom stay in STEM fields, whether they continue on to a Ph.D., teach at the K-12 level, or work in industry. The department stands out in its commitment to outstanding teaching, both in the classroom and in our undergraduate research. They have three active experimental labs on campus, and a theory group, in which undergraduate physics students engage in cutting edge, publishable research. Both students and faculty have won awards for their research endeavors, including Goldwater Scholarships, Fulbrights, Gates, Churchill, an Apker Award, NSF and DOE Graduate Fellowships, and two NSF CAREER awards for outstanding research and education by individual faculty. The department is deeply committed to classroom teaching, using best practices as determined by physics education research, including peer instruction with concept questions and preclass questions, while also developing new general interest science courses. The department has seen substantial change over the past ten years, with the completion of a new science center in 2002 that provides a student lounge, in constant use, next to the faculty offices. They hired two new faculty members in 2006 and 2010 and have made significant changes to curriculum in order to focus on emerging fields and support student career interests. Mount Holyoke's Physics Department is in a period of growth, with a 38% jump in introductory enrollments and increasing numbers of majors. They are building on their strengths and developing new ones.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
All members of the Department of Physics at the University of Illinois, from the greenest assistant professor or teaching assistant to the most distinguished senior researcher, demonstrate their commitment to undergraduate education every day.  In the last 15 years, they have collectively and completely recreated the way undergraduate physics courses are taught--to almost 9000 students per year--by rethinking curricular content, redesigning labs, remodeling classrooms, incorporating innovative educational technologies, and drawing on the results of their nationally recognizes physics education research group.  The renaissance in undergraduate teaching begun in 1995 at Illinois has involved more than 90 percent of the faculty and has transformed both the introductory classes taken by science and engineering students and the advanced classes and laboratories taken by physics majors.  An innovative, integrated model for physics teaching has been created--one that develops higher-order thinking competencies, promotes collaborative problem-solving, and improves communication and leadership skills.  The Illinois approach benefits not only the undergraduate students who take their classes, but it also gives their graduate teaching assistants excellent training in best practices.
Physics Illinois

Utah State Universityusu_physics
Twelve years ago, undergraduate physics at Utah State University (USU) was almost solely a service program for majors of other disciplines. At that time, adapting best practices the department uncovered at other universities to their own circumstances, they began to systematically change their program. Among the important changes were: hiring a full-time, professional adviser; developing new degree options to give students greater career flexibility; instituting undergraduate research as a degree requirement for all physics students; reinvigorating a long-inactive Society of Physics Students (SPS) Chapter; and initiating a “scholarship boot camp” to prepare high performing students to compete for national awards. Since introducing these changes the number of physics majors at USU has increased by five-fold. In their exit interviews, seniors invariably laud the department adviser and the advisement they received from her. The department now averages over twenty different undergraduate research presenters per year at national and regional meetings. Their SPS chapter maintains a high profile educational outreach program, and receives continuing praise for its activities from the National Office. And over the past decade physics students have won Rhodes and Fulbright Scholarships, have received multiple NSF Graduate Research Fellowships, and have averaged about two national Goldwater Scholarships per year.

Nominees for and holders of APS Honors (prizes, awards, and fellowship) and official leadership positions are expected to meet standards of professional conduct and integrity as described in the APS Ethics Guidelines. Violations of these standards may disqualify people from consideration or lead to revocation of honors or removal from office.