WHY ESU?

Programs:

Departments/programs in chemistry, earth science, physics, and physical sciences, including teaching fields of chemistry, earth-space science, physics, physical science, and general science.  Also pre-professional programs in engineering (pre-engineering), medicine (pre-med), pharmacy, etc.  Dual-degree programs in chemistry, earth science, and physics with KSU and KU, and to a lesser extent with WSU.

Features of all Programs:

1)   Small classes after introductory-level courses.  This gives an opportunity for students to know faculty, and to obtain individual assistance and hands-on experience with computers and other scientific equipment.

2)   Opportunity to work as a laboratory assistant or with other student employment possibilities.

3)   Active student organizations in chemistry, earth science, and physics.  Students organize activities for themselves or in conjunction with faculty.  The ESU student chemistry organization, the Student Affiliate of the American Chemical Society, has been recognized by the national American Chemical Society as an "exemplary" chapter, and has received several grants from the national ACS for student group research projects.

4)   Up-to-date programs with excellent employment opportunities, e.g., environmental-related fields.  Recent chemistry and earth science graduates have been employed with numerous environmental consulting companies or state agencies (e.g., Kansas Department of Health and Environment).  The chemistry program is "accredited" by the national American Chemical Society.  A new program is the interdisciplinary Geospatial Analysis minor.  Physics and computer science are foundations for the hybrid field of computational physics.

5)   Scholarship opportunities, particularly the Woodruff scholarship for students of exceptional ability ($3,000/yr) and high achievement.

6)   Opportunity to work with faculty on research projects supported by NASA, NSF, or other funding agencies.

7)   Undergraduate majors in their junior and senior years have special opportunities such as (a) a desk of their own in the department and (b) travel possibilities to "professional" meetings which faculty attend.  These help to "socialize" students to the field of study, and enable them to "think" as professional chemists, earth scientists, physicists, or teachers of those subjects.

8)   Recent graduates and current students have been successful with some other special opportunities     (in addition to #6 above):  students have been summer research participants at national laboratories (e.g., Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee or the Stanford Linear Accelerator facility in California) or other universities (e.g., Brigham Young University and University of New Mexico), or other specialized institutions (e.g., Cleveland Museum of National History in Ohio).

9)   Our past graduates are very successful; several are "stars" in their fields and 17 have been recognized as distinguished alumni of ESU since 1969.  Distinctive recognition includes physics  (4) and chemistry (1) alumni who have been elected as Fellows of the American Physical Society.  One physical/earth science graduate is one of 11 senior principal scientists with Phillips Petroleum Company.

Last Updated April 27, 2007