Wake Forest University Department of Physics

Graduate Overview

Overview of Graduate Level Physics

Why study physics at Wake Forest?

The Physics doctoral program offers a comprehensive course of study in classical and modern physics, with intensive training in one of the frontier areas of modern research, including biophysics, condensed matter physics, gravitation and particle physics and medical physics.  Our research facilities are state-of-the-art and Wake Forest Physics Department faculty and staff are committed to developing their students as outstanding scientists and researchers.

Wake Forest physics graduate students Peiyun Li and Drew Onken work with a sapphire laser to study crystals that can detect gamma rays, in a lab in Olin

Read the Department Profile at AIP GradSchoolShopper.com External link icon

University highlights:

Compared to other national universities, Wake Forest University is ranked #25 by US News and World Report External link icon and #19 by Forbes Magazine and the Center for College Affordability & Productivity External link icon.

  • The US News and World Report rankings are based on educational details, including faculty-student ratios, admissions selectivity, financial resources and alumni giving.
  • The Forbes ranking is an “outcomes-based ranking”, which focuses on graduation rates, numbers of students winning major awards, and achievement-based measures.

Department highlights:

Students have the opportunity to work with faculty who are nationally and internationally recognized for their research efforts

Students can begin their research early and receive significant individual guidance from the faculty.  A list of a thesis topics from WFU Alumni is available.

Strong interdisciplinary research efforts with other departments, including Computer Science, Chemistry, Biology, and the Wake Forest University Medical School and Comprehensive Cancer Center

Special programs in Structural & Computational Biophysics, Molecular Signaling, Medical Physics, or joint MS with Computer Science

Students are issued a laptop computer upon matriculation

Graduate students from many departments are both active and interactive – see Graduate Student Association External link icon

Area highlights:

A series of videos highlighting things to do and the social life in Winston-Salem: Winston On The Weekends External link icon