Ph.D. in Physics

Welcome to the Boston College Department of Physics

Welcome to the Boston College Department of Physics. Our department’s primary focus is cutting-edge research concentrated in experimental and theoretical condensed matter physics. Over a relatively short period of time, we have become one of the leading condensed matter departments in the country. Some specific areas of current interest are superconductivity, photovoltaics, metamaterials, thermoelectrics, nanostructures and nanomaterials for biosensing, plasmonics, plasmas, topological insulators, novel electronic materials, and other strongly correlated electron systems.

Graduate students share in this research, gaining the technical and intellectual training needed for future success in the career paths of their choice. The department includes 17 faculty, numerous post-docs, and about 50 graduate students, all of whom are supported by teaching assistantships or research assistantships.

Significant research facilities are available to our graduate students. The Department of Physics is continually enhancing and supplementing these facilities and has developed strong ties to many outside facilities, including Los Alamos National Laboratory, Argonne National Laboratory, the Institute for Complex Adaptive Matter (ICAM), Brookhaven National Laboratory, the Naval Research Laboratory, and the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory.

In addition to coursework and research participation, graduate students become members of the worldwide research community. Each week there are colloquia and seminars presented by leading physicists from around the country and world. The department is a close-knit community of scientists as well as part of the thriving Boston intellectual and scientific community, allowing for collaboration among local universities.

After years of study and research, we send our young physicists into the world to successful careers in many areas, including academic, industrial, and governmental positions. If this community is attractive to you, we invite you to learn more about our vibrant scientific environment by visiting bc.edu/physics.

Education with a heart and soul—and the power to transform

Boston College, the first institution of higher education to operate in the city of Boston, is today among the nation’s foremost universities, a leader in the liberal arts, scientific inquiry, and student formation.

Grounded in the ideals that inspired our Jesuit founders, Boston College urges students to look inward but always to reach out—to develop their minds and talents to the fullest and use them in service to others.

About the Morrissey College

The Robert J. Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences fosters the rigorous intellectual development and the religious, ethical, and personal growth of its students. Morrissey College faculty and students directly engage the world’s most pressing problems, using their gifts to enhance the common good.

The Morrissey College offers graduate programs in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Students emerge prepared to thrive in a broad range of careers and ready to serve as capable and passionate leaders, working as a leaven for good in communities around the world.

As the oldest and largest division of Boston College, the Morrissey College embodies the Jesuit, Catholic commitment to the depth of inquiry, academic excellence, and educating the whole person through a formative engagement with the liberal arts.

Why Boston College?

When students enter Boston College, they take the first steps on a journey of discovery—one that stimulates their intellectual, personal, ethical, and spiritual growth. The Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences' programs ask students to learn about themselves, their communities, and the world, to search for truth wherever they go, and to use their talents to improve the lives of others.

Those who seek an education that lasts a lifetime will find the challenge and support to build meaningful and fulfilling futures.

1. A Dynamic Liberal Arts Education

Explore the range of disciplines that shape well-educated people prepared to thrive in the 21st century. A liberal arts education at Boston College develops valuable skills, including critical thinking, ethical decision-making, effective communication, and the capacity to see the human experience from a range of perspectives.

2. Intellectual Rigor

Morrissey College challenges students to discover and achieve their full potential. Renowned faculty, innovative courses, and off-campus opportunities expand students’ knowledge and experience.

3. Jesuit, Catholic Tradition

Intellectual rigor, integrating knowledge, student formation, care for individuals, using our education in service to others—these Jesuit, Catholic values define the Boston College experience.

4. Inquiry Across Disciplines

Here, scholarly collaboration draws research and teaching beyond traditional disciplinary boundaries. The Core Curriculum, the Institute for the Liberal Arts, the Institue for Integrated Science and Society, and a variety of research projects bring together students and faculty from different areas of inquiry.

5. The Benefits of Boston

With more than 50 institutions of higher learning in the metropolitan area, Boston is truly one of the preeminent college towns. It’s also a world-class city full of history, scientific and tech innovators, culture, and internship possibilities.

6. Alumni Network

Students benefit from the connections and support of the tight-knit and loyal network of nearly 180,000 Boston College alumni.