What is engineering physics?

When engineering physics graduates interview for jobs, Professor Rahim Khoie says, they are often asked to explain their degrees. This is perhaps to be expected: the field of engineering physics is only a few decades old. Consequently, job applicants with Bachelor of Science degrees in Engineering Physics applying for jobs are relatively rare, compared with those with mechanical engineering degrees, for example.

So, what is engineering physics? Formally a hybrid of mechanical and electrical engineering, Khoie says that it is a “physics-flavored engineering discipline.” It is a multidisciplinary, cross-functional engineering degree for students who love physics and want to work in industry — who want to understand the universe and its workings — down to its elements and who want to create tools that can improve peoples’ lives.  

 

“The reason I chose engineering physics was so I could understand things like the stars and atoms and how we learned all of those things and how we shaped our earth with that knowledge.”

— Zech Miller ’19
Engineering physics graduate

Engineering physics majors receive a deeper education in physics and math than other engineering students, frequently taking math classes through Calculus III and applied differential equations, thermal physics, quantum mechanics and advanced electives in both subjects. These courses provide a strong theoretical and technical background to support future specialization.  

Applied physics vs. engineering physics: Engineering physics programs are usually housed in engineering schools, whereas applied physics programs are usually housed in a university’s school of arts and sciences. At University of the Pacific, engineering physics students get the best of both worlds, studying with professors in the Department of Physics and Astronomy and learning the fundamentals of engineering with professors in the School of Engineering and Computer Science. 

What can you do with an engineering physics degree?

An engineering physics degree prepares students for more technical jobs within physics or more theoretical engineering jobs, as well as for graduate school in physics or engineering.  

Interesting projects in college: Because it is an interdisciplinary field, engineering physics students work on projects that tend to be particularly interesting. Here are some examples of projects that engineering physics majors at Pacific have worked on:  

Two engineering physics majors built a device for measuring the performance of different types of nanoparticles used in solar stills to speed up the process of distilling salt water into fresh water. In this desalination process, nanoparticles absorb a wide spectrum of the available sunlight and make the surface of the water heat up faster than it otherwise would. The process has the potential to increase the availability of fresh water in communities without reliable access to potable water.

• Two engineering physics majors built a device for measuring the performance of different types of nanoparticles used in solar stills to speed up the process of distilling salt water into fresh water. In this desalination process, nanoparticles absorb a wide spectrum of the available sunlight and make the surface of the water heat up faster than it otherwise would. The process has the potential to increase the availability of fresh water in communities without reliable access to potable water.
• An engineering physics major worked with electrical and computer engineering majors to create a real-time display of local, national and global levels of carbon dioxide. They used a network of solar-powered sensors built by the students and placed locally in concert with data streams from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
• Another group of engineering students, including one in the engineering physics degree program, developed a method of tracking changes in water salinity and temperature in wetlands, to better understand water filtration in those areas. To do this, they built a net of floating nodes with sensors that could monitor and store data. 

Graduate school: An engineering physics degree is good preparation for graduate studies in both engineering fields and physics. Students have a variety of options if they wish to pursue further education:  

• Master of Science in Electrical Engineering or Mechanical Engineering: Because an engineering physics degree program introduces students to electrical and mechanical engineering, graduate school in either discipline would be a logical next step for students who want to pursue higher-level careers in either area. 
  • Some MSE degrees are offered in blended programs, where some graduate coursework can be completed during a student’s undergraduate years. They can also be obtained as stand-alone degrees.  
  • Some programs require a thesis and others don’t; others let you choose. A thesis-track MSE can be good preparation for a PhD, whereas a non-thesis MSE can provide more immediate career benefits.  
• MS or PhD in physics: An engineering physics program might convince you to pursue pure physics, at either the master’s degree or doctoral level.  

Engineering physics jobs: The engineering physics curriculum prepares students to work in fields where technology is changing rapidly, salaries are competitive, and the boundaries of several traditional engineering disciplines overlap, such as: 

• Robotics: Working in robotics will draw on your ability to program and to build electrical circuits and other electronic components. Familiarity with AI is a plus, as are the critical thinking skills you’ll develop while you obtain your engineering physics degree. 
• Mechatronics: This field combines mechanical engineering and electronics, so engineering physics graduates are well-suited to it. People in this field work in manufacturing  creating electronic parts, products and tools. 
• Micromachines: Micromachines are machines built at microscopic scale that perform a variety of tasks. Some are sensors, which can identify chemicals or detect types of movement, and others serve other functions, including as actuators or as part of gears and lever systems.  
• Laser physics: Many jobs in laser physics and photonics—whether working with semiconductor lasers or for a defense contractor—are engineering-oriented. Gaining practical experience by making the most of your labs and doing internships in industry is key if you want to work in this field. 
• Medical instrumentation: Medical instrumentation engineers design, create and maintain a wide variety of medical devices, such as sensors that can detect the presence of proteins or other substances in blood to help with disease diagnosis and management, or machines that can be used in hospitals and doctors’ offices to improve patient care. 

Engineering physics at Pacific 

Engineering physics students take classes in both the School of Engineering and Computer Science and in the physics and mathematics departments in College of the Pacific.  

First and second years: During their first year and second year, engineering physics students take classes across the university to fulfill their general education requirement and begin taking classes to fulfill their major requirements. 

Third year: Like most other engineering majors, engineering physics students are required to participate in Pacific’s CO-OP program, which sets students up with two-semester paid internships to gain hands-on experience which they can add to their resumes, and which prepares them for the professional world they’ll enter when they graduate. Engineering physics majors frequently work for chip manufacturers like NVIDIA.  

Fourth year: All engineering students are required to do a two-semester-long senior design project, working with other students from other engineering disciplines to design and build a product with a useful function. The examples of student projects given above are a sampling of senior design projects from Pacific’s School of Engineering and Computer Science. Students also complete the other requirements for their major. 

MSE dual-degree option: Pacific’s engineering physics students have the option to begin the coursework for a Master of Science in Engineering degree while they are undergraduates, shortening the length of time it would take to earn the graduate degree (and reducing its cost).