The Department of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy, which conducts both fundamental and applied research, is home to approximately 145 undergraduate students and 58 graduate students.
Rensselaer has been named among the “Top 10 Colleges for a Major in Physics” by USA Today. The national daily newspaper ranked Rensselaer sixth on the list, which was released this spring.
According to USA Today, Rensselaer “only accepts top candidates. Science and math programs encourage students to develop analytical and problem-solving skills. The physics, applied physics, and astronomy department offers an undergraduate physics program that allows students to learn fundamental laws along with new concepts in an interactive and hands-on environment. RPI offers numerous undergraduate research programs that allow students to co-write and present findings that contribute to the advancement of the field. The average early career salary for an RPI graduate with a physics degree is $60,000, increasing to $92,000 at the mid-career level.”
“Rensselaer has a distinguished history of innovation in pedagogy, including the early development and implementation of novel ‘interactive learning’ methods that engage students and increase both learning outcomes and course satisfaction,” said Curt Breneman, dean of the School of Science at Rensselaer. “We are extremely proud of the dedicated and talented faculty in our Department of Physics, Applied Physics, and Astronomy for their continuing excellence in teaching as well as their student-centric focus.”
The USA Today ranking is the latest recognition of the Institute’s long-held reputation as one of the nation’s top universities. Business Insider recently ranked Rensselaer number 39 on its list of the 50 Best Colleges in America. Business Insider also ranked Rensselaer number 12 among the top 50 computer science and engineering schools in the U.S. Forbes recently named Rensselaer number 12 on its list of America’s Most Entrepreneurial Universities of 2015.
