Editor’s Note: This is the seventh in our continuing series of highlighting 51����’s new integrated degrees program

51���� recently became the first institution of higher education in Northeast Ohio to offer 11 new interdisciplinary degrees designed to empower undergraduate students with the skills, versatility and adaptability they need to work at the intersection of multiple disciplines or fields. They are each a purposefully designed blend of curriculum for students whose paths require expertise in several disciplines. 

The university’s combined majors developed not only from faculty members’ proposals, but also from collaboration with local employers, who weighed in on which of the proposed programs might meet the area’s workforce needs.

“As a regional public, as an institution that seeks to serve this community, we said, what do our employers need?” said 51���� Provost Nigamanth Sridhar, who is spearheading the initiative.

Today, we are highlighting the Physics + Computer Science, Bachelor of Science.

The Physics + Computer Science B.S. provides a solid foundation in the principles of mathematics, science and engineering and is an ideal choice for students interested in studying the intersection of computing and physics. Students enrolled in the program will gain knowledge in physical sciences as well as computational and machine learning skills. They can later be applied to perform complex quantitative analysis and applied practical problem solving.

“Students not only acquire foundational knowledges in mathematics and physics, but they also develop the skills in practical problem solving via programming, data analytics, quantitative modeling, computational algorithm design, and machine learning,” said Associate Professor Haodong Wang. 

Chair and Professor of Physics Petru Fodor said the integrated style saves a lot of time.

“In the past, students interested in both areas would have had to pursue essentially a double-major with limited overlap in the credit requirements and thus very difficult and time consuming to complete,” he said. “In this respect the proposed program has been holistically developed to capture the skills necessary in both disciplines while being realistic and responsive to the expectation of the students in terms of the time to completion.”

CAREER OUTLOOK

Students who complete the Physics and Computer Science track have plenty of options to choose from a career standpoint including in research and development in several industries, academic institutions, government and private labs. “These inter-disciplinary major offers ample employment opportunities, such as R&D in various industries, research/teaching in academic institutes, and research in government and private labs,” said Wang. “The potential areas include, but not limited to, computational physics, scientific computing, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, and system modeling.”

Even more promising is that in 2022, Ohio added over 7,500 to the tech workforce, which grew by 2.9% from the previous year. In 2023, there are 270,463 technology workers in Ohio (ranking 13th nationally), with a median wage of $84,810, which is 105% higher compared to other occupations in the state. In 2022, Ohio employers listed 52,056 job postings for tech work.

“While there are many employment opportunities that require both broad scientific knowledge, as well as computational and data analytics skills, few existing programs are designed to offer rigorous preparation in both,” said Fodor. “In most cases, students will have to learn one set of the above skills on the job. In that respect this program will present an attractive platform for students to launch their careers and be employment ready immediately after graduation.”

For more information on 51����’s new integrated degree programs, . 

For more information on the Physics and Computer Science B.S, .