Physics and Engineering

Physicists and engineers know cool stuff. They know why a diet pop can floats, while sugared pop sinks. They can tell you why the sun makes pavement hotter than grass. If you ponder why the physical world around you works the way it does, physics could become one of your favorite classes and the launching pad for a wide variety of challenging careers.

Program Requirements and Job Outlook

Class delivery

• Hutchinson and Willmar campuses
• Video conferencing between campuses
• Engineering Fall courses
• Physics Fall courses
• Engineering Spring courses
• Physics Spring courses

Knowledge you will gain

• Physical phenomena
• Mechanics, waves, and electricity
• Physics of motion and rotation
• Mechanical energy, sound, and waves
• Computer simulations and lab investigations

Choose Ridgewater

Physics provides foundational knowledge and skills that most pre-engineering students take early in their college years. It helps them understand and predict the physical world to make products and services to help people every day. Students pursuing medical majors like pharmacy, physician or occupational therapy have been glad they took physics at Ridgewater because of the small class sizes, personal attention and ability to connect with committed faculty.

 Attributes that help students thrive

• Faculty focused on students rather than research
• Low student-to-teacher ratios for personal attention
• Challenging coursework to prepare students for transfer universities
• Supportive, student cohort taking similar classes
• Recorded lectures and labs, helpful for review
• Spring industrial tour to observe real-life applications
• Affordable tuition

Whether physics is required for your major or it intrigues you as a science elective, understanding the world you live in can certainly be helpful. Take a class or two out of curiosity or begin your journey toward a bachelor’s degree at Ridgewater College. Hundreds of students complete their first two years of virtually any four-year degree at Ridgewater where tuition is very affordable before transferring to their preferred university.