Areas of Study
There are many areas of study that physics students may find interesting. Of course, these include the subfields of physics, but physics applications can also appear in a wide range of other fields as well. At Cornell, a few departments worth exploring are AEP, Astronomy, MechE, ECE, Chemistry, and Biology.
We have summarized the major areas of interest below. Each page includes research opportunities in different departments at Cornell, suggestions for relevant courses beyond the core sequence, and other opportunities for engaging with these areas of study.
- Astronomy, cosmology, planetary/earth sciences
- Biophysics, nanotechnology
- Condensed matter, materials science, nanoscience
- Particle physics, accelerator physics
- Plasma, fusion physics
- Quantum information science, quantum materials, optics, lasers
- Physics education
- Other departments (MechE/Aerospace, ECE, Chemistry/ChemE, etc.)