Who We Are

With daily one-on-one guidance from full-time faculty members, UNC Asheville’s Department of Physics is a great place to study the laws that make the world go around, including time, space, force, matter, motion, and energy. Our faculty are passionate about their research in molecular, atomic, nuclear, and environmental physics, along with astronomy and astrophysics. Whether you’re hanging out in the physics study lounge or you’re a member of our award-winning chapter of the national physics honors society, Sigma Pi Sigma, it’s easy to feel at home in our close-knit department.

What You’ll Learn

Physics majors become expert critical thinkers. Along with gaining a strong knowledge base in mathematics, chemistry, computer science, astronomy, and fundamental engineering, you’ll test theories, conduct experiments, and solve problems—skills that apply to a broad range of fields. Physics majors are encouraged to customize their curriculum according to their interests and goals, and many participate in UNC Asheville’s nationally-recognized undergraduate research program. The astronomy minor is also popular; at UNC Asheville’s Lookout Observatory, astronomy faculty and students guide visitors as they explore the skies. Our graduates are prepared for graduate study or immediate, successful careers in science, engineering, medicine, law, business, education, and more.

Our Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

The Department of Physics and Astronomy at UNC Asheville believes that diverse perspectives and lived experiences enrich and strengthen both our educational and scientific work. Our faculty and staff aim to create an equitable, inclusive, and supportive environment for all. We acknowledge the underrepresentation of individuals from diverse groups in both the fields of physics and astronomy and that this underrepresentation is the result of systemic historical and ongoing bias in the culture at large, the academic community, and other professional organizations. We believe that it is our responsibility to actively help overcome these biases.

Creating a Sustainable World

Humans have a major impact on the natural world, and the need to solve environmental issues with sustainable solutions has never been more urgent. Through UNC Asheville’s liberal arts lens, environmental studies provides an examination of our imprint on the planet across many fields, including biology, geology, chemistry, economics, public policy, and other natural and social sciences.

What You’ll Learn

UNC Asheville’s location in the Blue Ridge Mountains puts over a million acres of biodiverse forest at your fingertips and hands-on learning is at the heart of the Environmental Studies Program. Internships are built into the curriculum, and through the McCullough Fellowship, qualifying students can receive funding to conduct sustainability research in Asheville. Students passionate about leading environmental stewardship efforts can join our Student Environmental Center.

The Environmental Studies Program at UNC Asheville prepares students for graduate studies or for employment in government, education, industry, consulting, and nonprofit organizations. For 15 consecutive years, the environmental studies program has been named to the list of pre-professional programs with exceptional strength in preparing students for careers by The Fiske Guide to Colleges.

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Who We Are

UNC Asheville's Department of Biology is a great place to learn about life, from microscopic cells to organisms to complex ecosystems. We are a small department with gifted faculty specializing in vertebrate and invertebrate zoology, botany, herpetology, ecology, evolution, animal behavior, human anatomy and physiology, animal and plant physiology, cellular and molecular biology, microbiology, and genetics.

Our curriculum for biology majors provides a broad background for students who seek awareness of the living world and their role in it, as well as training preparatory to professional schools, graduate schools, or science education careers. With a robust advising program, we provide students with information on what they must do to qualify for admission to schools of medicine, veterinary medicine, pharmacy, physical therapy, dentistry, optometry, and nursing, as well as Master's and Ph.D. programs in basic and applied research, offering all of the courses that a typical undergraduate should take to gain admission to these programs.

What You’ll Learn

While you can spend time working closely with your professors in our state-of-the-art research labs, we also offer ecology courses in the deserts, tropics, or coast. And with over one million acres of national parks and forests within an hour drive of campus, the opportunities for hands-on ecological fieldwork are endless.

Studying biology at our liberal arts university also gives you the chance to explore areas of interest outside of biology. From fine literature, drama, and music to technological applications, our students learn that knowledge from all fields relates in some way to the study of and improvement of life.

Biology majors can also receive scholarships and conduct research alongside faculty through the North Carolina GlaxoSmithKline Foundation Scholars Program or the UNC Asheville biology scholarship.

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