Degrees and Programs Engineering Physics
The rapid growth of scientific knowledge and its applications creates a big demand for people well trained in physics and engineering.
Physicists seek a fundamental understanding of the physical universe. Engineers apply scientific knowledge to design and develop structures, machines and products. Students may pursue the engineering physics major with an emphasis in either area. The physics emphasis stresses fundamental science and mathematics essential for graduate study or professional work in physics. The engineering emphasis, while not a formal engineering program, provides a strong conceptual base for an engineering career. In addition the 3-2 dual-degree program allows for a full engineering program.
Engineering Physics Major Sample Schedule
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3-2 Dual Degree Engineering Physics Program
Combine an engineering physics degree from Westmont with study at an engineering school. Students usually spend three years at Westmont and benefit from its liberal arts emphasis and Christian committee before finishing with two years at an engineering school, earning baccalaureate degrees from both a formal engineering degree from schools such as Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Boston University, UC Santa Barbara, USC or Washington University, and from Westmont.
3-2 Dual Degree Engineering Physics Program Sample Schedule
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Faculty Highlights
Career Paths
The engineering physics degree prepares students with good academic records to enter graduate school in physics or engineering. They learn to think logically and analytically about the objective behavior of physical systems and acquire specific technical skills preparing them for a variety of careers such as:
- Medicine
- Law
- Secondary or College-Level Teaching
- Church Ministry
- Technical Writing
- Patent Work
- Geophysical or Marine Exploration
- Medical Technology
KEYT interviews Ken Kihlstrom about the solar eclipse August 21.
Ken Kihlstrom talks with KEYT about the exciting discovery of a planet 40 light years away that might be habitable.
Engineering Physics Alumni
- Tad Finkler ’98 participated in the 3-2 program and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in engineering physics at Westmont and a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering at Stanford University. He also completed a master’s degree in mechanical engineering at Stanford. He has worked for a number of engineering firms and started his own business, Finkler Design, in 2008.
- Mary Elise Richter Klug ’97 majored in engineering physics at Westmont and has worked as an independent consulting as an aeronautical software engineer. Previously, she worked for a government contractor that tests and designs jet engines. She earned a master’s degree in civil engineering at UCLA.
- Through the 3-2 program, Shawn Moore ’92 earned a Bachelor of Arts in engineering physics from Westmont and a Bachelor of Science in civil engineering from Washington State University, immersing himself in a Christian environment and the liberal arts before a purely technical education. He later completed an M.B.A at George Fox University. “Attending Westmont made a significant difference in how I learn and process information and in my creativity,” he says. “Those who focus just on the technical side don’t develop the other half of their brain.” He works for Hopper Dennis Jellison, a civil engineering firm in Vancouver, Wash. He oversees everything on a construction site except the building, master plans, roads, grading, and storm, water and sewer systems, for schools, churches, medical facilities and business parks.
- Paul Schlatter ’99 majored in engineering physics at Westmont and earned a Master of Science in meteorology at the University of Oklahoma, where he studied severe weather analysis and forecasting, specializing in a new type of weather radar: dual-polarization (dual-pol). He then trained forecasters at the NWS Warning Decision Training Branch in Norman, Okla. He spent a year in NOAA’s Program Coordination Office in Washington, D.C., and served as deputy chief of staff and acting chief of staff for the National Weather Service (NWS) in Maryland for nearly three years. He now works as the science and operations officer for NWS in Colorado.
- Bethany Sutherland’12, a dancer and an artist, earned a Bachelor of Science in engineering physics at Westmont, embracing both science and the arts. She works as an associate project manager at Santa Barbara Imaging Systems.