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About the Department

The Physical Sciences Department offers Bachelor of Arts degrees in Chemistry and Physics and an American Chemical Society (ACS) certified Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry. Our programs are engaging, up-to-date, challenging, rigorous and comprehensive. Our faculty are committed to excellence in teaching. The low student - to - faculty ratio in the Physical Sciences Department means students and faculty get to know each other, and students have easy access to faculty for discussions, help and with advice on their current course work or future plans. There are many opportunities for students to do undergraduate research projects with members of the Physical Sciences Department in the fields of experimental, theoretical and computational physics; inorganic, organic, physical, analytical, and environmental chemistry. Therefore, it is not surprising that our graduates are successful professionals who are able to compete effectively in today's ever-changing job market.

Some of our graduates choose to continue their education in master's and doctoral programs. Rhode Island College graduates have attended graduate programs at Brown, Yale, Princeton, Harvard, Vanderbilt, University of Wisconsin, SUNY or medical and dental programs at Brown, the University of Connecticut, and the University of New England, to cite but a few. Many of our alumni are now teaching others in chemistry and physics programs at colleges and universities such as Mount Holyoke College, the College of the Holy Cross and California State University at Northridge and at high schools throughout the country. Others are working in the medical field or in industry. Currently, Rhode Island College alumni are employed by corporations such as Waters, Inc., Bristol-Meyer-Squibb, Duracell Corp., OCI Corp., DuPont, and Hybridon Corp.

Founded in 1854 as the Rhode Island State Normal School, Rhode Island College has a long tradition of preparing teachers. Majors (i.e., chemistry, physics and general science) with a concentration in education can earn a Rhode Island Certification for teaching grades 7 through 12. These courses of study provide depth in their particular content area and breadth in all the sciences. Science graduates in the Teacher Education Program are among the most sought-after applicants throughout the state of Rhode Island and beyond. Our graduates have earned numerous teaching awards.

We want to help our students thrive, not just survive, in the world outside of Rhode Island College. We gauge our success by how well our graduates do when they leave RIC. Why not let us lead you on the road to a successful career? For more information or to set up an appointment to visit our department, please contact the Department of Physical Sciences either by telephone at (401) 456-8049 or e-mail us at sknowlton@ric.edu.​​

Page last updated: March 18, 2019