Program Quality
Providing a strong foundation
The Tennessee Tech Physics Department is dedicated to giving its graduates the strongest possible preparation for their future careers. The rigorous programs of study for a B.S. in Physics provide a broad foundation in all major areas of physics and incorporate the development skills that are applicable to any career. This foundation is a firm basis on which to build a graduate career, or for immediate employment.
Evidence for excellence
The quality of this preparation is attested to by the performance of Tennessee Tech physics majors on the ETS Major Field Test, the responses of alumni to survey questions, and the careers of our our graduates. The program also undergoes an external review approximately every five years.
- ETS Major Field Test
Among the top 10%
Along with over 200 physics B.S. programs nationwide, the department uses the ETS Major Field Test in Physics to assess the learning of physics majors who are about to graduate. The graph below shows the average percentile ranking of Tennessee Tech physics majors, when compared with all students nationally who take this test. (The results are shown as a rolling three-year average.)
As can be seen, Tennessee Tech students score well above the national average, with a long-term average above the 70th percentile. This indicates that Tennessee Tech physics students are among the best in the nation, placing the program in the top 10% of those using this assessment.
- Alumni Survey
Approximately every five years the department conducts a survey of its alumni to determine their perceptions of the program and the degree to which that are satisfied with the level of preparation they received. The most recent survey was conducted in the fall of 2023.
Below are two questions asked in the survey, together with the response averaged over graduates since 2014.
Preparation: 'Good' to 'Excellent'
"How would you rate the overall level of preparation that the Tennessee Tech physics program provided you toward your next career step? (1 = Very Poor, 2 = Poor, 3 = Adequate, 4 = Good, 5 = Excellent)"
Average response: 4.4
Research experience: 'Extremely valuable'
"Please rate how valuable you feel your research experience was in your career preparation.(1 = Worthless, 3 = Somewhat valuable, 5 = Extremely valuable)"
Average response: 4.5
As can be seen, for the last 20 years program graduates have placed a high value on both their formal preparation and their research experiences. The department is committed to continuing this level of satisfaction by constantly assessing and identifying areas for improvement.
- Alumni careers
Tennessee Tech physics graduates have always been very successful in obtaining either suitable employment or financial assistance for graduate study. Over 80% of our graduates go on to graduate school, including into some of the finest physics graduate programs in the country (Duke, Caltech, Carnegie Mellon, Yale, SUNY-Stony Brook, University of California at Berkeley), and also in other fields, such as engineering, business, statistics, computer science, and biomedical science. Others have been employed by high-tech corporations such as IBM and Texas Instruments. In 1997 one of our alumni flew as a NASA payload specialist on the Space Shuttle Columbia, while in 2006 another alumnus was awarded a Presidential Early Career Award.
More information on the careers of some of our graduates can be found on the Life after Tech page.
- Program Review
THEC review
Unlike some other programs on campus (such as those in the College of Engineering) there is no national accrediting agency for physics programs. However, under a Tennessee Higher Education Commission (THEC) mandate, our programs must still undergo external review approximately every five years. The latest review was conducted in March of 2024 and the program was rated as 'Excellent' in 23 of the 27 criteria and 'Good'! The reviewer commented specifically on the excellence of the B.S. programs, the collegiality of the faculty, staff, and students, the implementation of innovative pedagogy, and the remarkable level of high-quality research taking place in the department.