In their first year, students study foundational physics, the Japanese language and the liberal arts. Next, they take more specialized courses, including quantum mechanics, statistical physics, analytical mechanics, electricity and magnetism, two mathematical methods courses, physics experiments and physics seminars. Professors of theoretical physics also give physics tutorials. Throughout their studies, students gain substantial experience in completing problems and presenting their solutions in public. Midway through their third year, students will join a research laboratory and focus on a specialized field. The department has 27 research laboratories in both experimental and theoretical physics. Research areas include superconductivity, spintronics, solid state physics, nonequilibrium physics, fusion and plasma physics, elementary particle physics, quantum gravity, hadron physics, astronomy, astrophysics, cosmology, functional materials for recovering waste energy, and biophysics. You can view a full list of laboratories on the department’s website.
Most graduates enter a graduate program either at the Graduate School of Science at Nagoya University or elsewhere. Former G30 Physics Program students have been admitted into some of the world’s top universities. Basic problem-solving and abstract-thinking skills make physics graduates competitive employees in a range of fields including finance, industry and education.