Master’s in Physics
WPI’s master’s in physics combines essential theoretical knowledge of physics principles with boundary-pushing research to equip you with the skills you need to pose and answer important questions and then solve problems in settings as varied as a pharmaceutical lab to a lecture hall.
Our expert faculty members are focused on helping you refine your interests, provide applied learning opportunities that will secure your professional future, and challenge you to make exciting discoveries and create new knowledge.
Many industries seek a physicist’s skills—whether it’s working on applied optics in telecommunications, project work for leading software companies, developing modeling for banks and the financial industry, or even research and development for pharmaceutical companies. WPI has particular strengths in Biophysics and Nanoscience and there are several state-of-the-art facilities available on campus for cutting-edge research.
Curriculum
WPI’s well-rounded approach helps you find your strengths with opportunities for applied learning and targeted research throughout the graduate curriculum. Working collaboratively with our accomplished and curious faculty across all disciplines, you’ll participate on current, cutting-edge research projects tailored to help you reach your specific goals.
Typical course work includes Classical Mechanics, Quantum Mechanics, and Advanced Electromagnetic Theory. A thesis plan or a directed research project with a qualifying exam is also required. Physics students may guide their own educational path with an Independent Study/Project that lets them choose, design, and follow the path of study that interests them the most.
With specific strengths in the areas of biophysics and nanoscience, WPI’s physics program offers research opportunities that address areas from healthcare to lasers for missile avoidance systems.
The interdisciplinary approach to physics at WPI gives students opportunities to broaden their research and, therefore, have a wider impact with their work.
Physics presents opportunities for inspiring careers in areas including the environment, medicine, health, and national defense.
State-of-the-art facilities across the campus include the WPI Life Sciences & Bioengineering Center at Gateway Park, and labs such as the Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM Laboratory) and the Center for Computational Nanoscience with Computer Clusters.
Graduate Studies Series
Learn from our enrollment team members and other guests by attending quick and convenient 30-minute webinars we designed to highlight popular topics when starting grad school. Take a deep dive into specific areas of interest such as how to funding, how to ace your application, student services, and more!
Faculty Profiles
In my 25 plus years at WPI, I have been actively engaged in teaching and research at a variety of levels. Our Projects Program is the place where these two activities naturally come together, and the Major Qualifying Projects (or senior theses) I have guided over the years have been among my most rewarding experiences. In the mid 1990s, I became interested in the field of Quantum Information Science, whose goal is to store information in quantum objects, such as single atoms or photons, and explore ways in which it can be harnessed to perform tasks beyond the scope of today’s computers.
Nancy Burnham graduated from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1987 with a Ph.D. in Physics. Her dissertation concerned the surface analysis of photovoltaic materials. As a National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow at the Naval Research Laboratory, she became interested in scanning probe microscopy, in particular its application to detecting material properties at the nanoscale.
I perform experimental and computational (Monte Carlo) research in the field of applied nuclear physics with a focus on Medical and Health Physics. Presently my research group is investigating: 1) developing a unique technique to enable ultrahigh-resolution in-vivo functional imaging using neutrons,
2) adapting Gen. IV micro-reactors as the core of a next generation research nuclear reactor which also can supply carbon-free energy to a campus,
3) developing a 169Yb brachytherapy source to enable localized intensity-modulated radiation therapy, and,
For me, Physics is like a sandbox. It gives me the opportunity to play and discover, test, be creative, learn something new. At the same time, I am passionate about passing the thrill of discovery to my students. Teaching is a two-way street in which both parties get enriched from each other. I welcome and embrace the partnership. I also believe that college is the biggest and best opportunity in one's life to discover one's calling and do something about it and I invite students to take full advantage of it.
Professor Wen is an experimental biophysicist who is interested in applying physical methods to understand biological phenomena. By measuring the mechanical properties of living cells and the mechanical interaction between cells and ECM, he aims to understand how cells convert external mechanical signals to internal biochemical signals that govern cellular function, including cell morphology, migration, and differentiation. His research will help to design novel materials for wound healing, tissue engineering, and tumor treatment.
Kun-Ta Wu is an assistant professor of physics. Before joining WPI, he was a physics lecturer at Brandeis University, where he had previously been a postdoctoral associate. In his research, he investigates interactions among miscellaneous DNA and proteins. He uses proteins such as molecular motors to generate dynamics, as well as DNA to create specific, thermal-reversible interactions. With DNA and proteins, his goal is to advance our understanding of self-organization of active matter as well as to create new bio-inspired materials. He earned a PhD in physics at New York University.