Orientation for Physics Majors

A weekly seminar that introduces first-year physics majors to the department itself, the faculty, the subfields they work in, and what an academic life in physics actually looks like day to day. Most weeks you attend a colloquium or guest lecture and then discuss it, so the "work" is showing up, listening to active researchers, and learning to navigate scientific literature and ethical norms rather than solving problem sets. Think of it as an orientation rather than a content course: it carries 1 credit, sets the cultural backdrop for the math and physics sequences you take alongside it, and helps you figure out which research direction might eventually pull you in.