The American Physics Society found that Cal Poly Pomona is among the best at helping students earn bachelor’s degrees in physics. The university tied for fifth with the U.S. Naval Academy in the number of degrees awarded from 2015-2017. Cal Poly Pomona also came in second, just behind Morehouse College, in physics degrees awarded to under-represented minority (URM) students.
Highly-qualified faculty and a range of opportunities for students and faculty to interact outside of class are what make the physics and astronomy program special at Cal Poly Pomona, says Hector Mireles, professor and chair of the Physics and Astronomy Department.
Physics and astronomy majors learn the principles of physics through a curriculum that builds strong quantitative and analytical skills and have the opportunity to engage in cutting-edge research, working closely with faculty in such fields as biophysics, optics, physics education research, astrophysics and solid state physics.
“We also provide frequent advising by the tenure-track faculty, alumni panels for helping them with their careers choices, and department activities that provide them lots of face-time with our faculty,” said Mireles.
Cal Poly Pomona is also the founding campus of the Cal-Bridge Program, designed to increase the diversity of students and professionals in physics and astronomy by providing support, mentoring and research experiences to encourage students to continue their studies through completion of a Ph.D. Cal-Bridge now includes 15 CSU and 8 University of California campuses.