The Department of Physics offers both major and minor programs for students interested in a challenging program in pure and applied sciences. Several tracks exist within the major which allow students preparing for a wide range of post-graduate options to pursue the curriculum best suited to their needs. For instance, the graduate school-bound student will receive an introduction to the basic foundations of physics that most master and doctorate programs expect by completing the fundamental studies track. The student who is more interested in directly entering the job market may be more interested in the applied physics track. Students wishing to continue their education in engineering programs would be able to complete either track with the consultation of their faculty advisor.

The department is small and upper-level course rarely have more than 10 or 15 students. Close faculty-student interaction is the norm between our 10 faculty members and our majors. Faculty take a person interest in the success of students and carefully monitor their progress toward a physics degree. Direct mentoring of students by faculty in further enhanced by the involvement of students in research and other projects specifically designed for our undergraduate-only environment. Also, care is taken to help students make the transition to college life by specially organized small groups of first-year students with faculty mentors and by peer mentoring of new students by upper-level physics majors.

JMU is a comprehensive, four-year university partially funded by the Commonwealth of Virginia with an enrollment of just over 16,000. The university is divided into five colleges (Arts and Letters, Business, Education and Psychology, Integrated Science and Technology, and Science and Mathematics) of which ours, Science and Mathematics, is the smallest in terms of student enrollment. The university was founded in 1908 as an all-female normal school to train teachers for the western part of Virginia. Coeducation came to the then Madison College in 1966 and designation as James Madison University in 1977. JMU is consistently ranked among the outstanding public universities in the Southeast. For more information about the history of JMU and for more facts and figures, please check the university's web page.

JMU is located in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. Our campus is right off of Interstate 81 between exits 245 and 247 in the city of Harrisonburg, Va. Harrisonburg, a city of just over 30,000, is the largest city in this primarily agricultural region. The crime rate is significantly lower than other regions of Virginia and the climate more diverse. Temperatures can range from the rare day in the high 90's in the summer to the usual January and February snows of 5 or 6 inches.

Within Harrisonburg and nearby are two colleges in addition to JMU, Eastern Mennonite University and Bridgewater College. Within an hour drive are Mary Baldwin College in Staunton, the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, and Washington & Lee and Virginia Military Institute in Lexington. We are located about 2 hours from the Washington, DC metro area and about 6 hours from New York City. Popular area pastimes include hiking and camping in the Shenandoah National Park (about 15 miles from campus) or in the George Washington National Forest, biking or running on the country roads surrounding town, or visiting historic sites or natural attraction in the Valley.

More information about our community can be found here.

For application materials, please contact the Office of Admissions. If you are interested in specific details about JMU Physics, information about departmental scholarships, or would like to schedule a visit to our department, please contact our undergraduate admissions and recruitment coordinator, Dr. Jon Staib.