Mission Statement

The mission of the Department of Physics of the University of Central Florida is to provide education and perform research in physics at the highest level. In fulfillment of this mission, the Department educates students at all levels from general education, through preparation for teaching and scientific careers, to doctoral and post-doctoral education.  This education is expected to provide the necessary background to understand the fundamental universal laws that govern the behavior of matter and energy.  Departmental research is the avenue for the discovery of and for the exploration of the consequences and applications of those fundamental laws that govern the behavior of matter and energy.

The research mission is carried out by fostering research programs to investigate and develop new knowledge that is at the cutting edge of science in a wide range of physics disciplines including atomic and molecular physics, biological physics, complex systems, condensed matter physics, nanoscience, materials physics, mathematical physics, optical physics, planetary science, soft condensed matter physics, and surface physics.

Our Mission

• Provide instructional programs in introductory physics to a broad range of students through an understandable and effective method that enables them to integrate this knowledge into their normal thought processes.  Doing this entails incorporating the most advanced teaching methods, including pioneering techniques under development here at UCF.
• Provide a forward-looking curriculum to undergraduate physics majors, involving not only traditional physics topics but also state-of-the-art instruction in experimental techniques, computational physics and the use of computers in data acquisition and analysis, as well as active involvement in professional research.
• Train graduate students to do significant and independent research by offering core physics courses, specialty options, and advanced computational instruction as well as hands-on involvement in advanced research programs that familiarize students with state-of-the-art techniques and equipment.
• Provide general science education to the entire UCF undergraduate community to ensure that UCF graduates are scientifically literate.