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Major · Engineering

Physics-grade math meets applied engineering work

Engineering Physics sits between pure physics and a named engineering discipline, pairing graduate-level math and physics rigor with applied lab work in optics, semiconductors, materials, and instrumentation. About 664 bachelor’s degrees are awarded annually across 125 colleges, and the major often functions as a pre-PhD or quant-finance pipeline as much as a direct-to-industry credential.

Schools offering
125
Annual completions
664
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$89k

About this major

Engineering Physics, sometimes branded Applied Physics, applies physics principles directly to engineering problems and scientific instrumentation. The CIP definition centers on using high- and low-temperature phenomena, computational physics, superconductivity, applied thermodynamics, molecular and particle physics, and space science research as engineering tools — which in curriculum form means a physics core (classical mechanics, electromagnetism, quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics, thermodynamics) extended into applied tracks like semiconductor physics, directed-energy and laser physics, optics and photonics, nuclear and plasma physics, or applied mechanics and instrumentation. Most programs require a senior design project or research thesis, often run jointly between a physics department and an engineering college.

The major fits students who like physics for itself but want to keep one foot in engineering practice — people who want to derive equations and also build the apparatus that tests them. Strong fit signals include comfort carrying mathematics as a working tool through quantum mechanics and beyond, an interest in measuring physical systems precisely, and a tolerance for ambiguity since the major's career legibility is lower than a named engineering degree. Programs vary substantially in how applied versus theoretical their flavor is, and ABET accreditation status varies just as much.

Scale tells the story of how this major actually operates. About 664 bachelor's degrees are awarded annually across 125 colleges — roughly 5 graduates per program — which is small relative to Mechanical Engineering (33,431 completions), Electrical Engineering (14,891), or even pure Physics, General (7,501). Top-volume programs cluster at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (87 graduates), Colorado School of Mines (71), and Cornell (29), where strong physics departments sit alongside engineering colleges. Career destinations include the catch-all engineers, all other category at $117,750 with 2.1% growth, physicist roles at $166,290 (which require a doctorate), and architectural and engineering manager positions at $167,740 reached after roughly a decade of experience. Five-year median earnings for bachelor's graduates sit at $88,822, reflecting both the math-heavy preparation and the share of cohort that lands in semiconductor, defense, or national-lab roles.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Architectural and engineering managers $168k +3.8% Bachelor's degree
Engineers, all other $118k +2.1% Bachelor's degree
Natural sciences managers $161k +3.7% Bachelor's degree
Engineering teachers, postsecondary $106k +8.1% Doctoral or professional degree
Physicists $166k +4.0% Doctoral or professional degree
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$89k

Who this major is for

You may thrive here if physics pulls you for its own sake but you want labs, hardware, and applied projects rather than a pure-theory track, if you're willing to push your math through quantum mechanics and statistical mechanics as working tools rather than coursework to clear, if semiconductor physics or optics or nuclear instrumentation sounds like the kind of work you'd actively want to do, and if you're comfortable with a credential that recruiters sometimes need translated — the small cohort of about 664 graduates a year means hiring managers may not screen for the major name directly. The earnings ceiling for graduates who land engineering-physics-aligned roles is real: the engineers, all other category sits at $117,750, and national-lab and defense routes pay similarly once a clearance is in hand.

Think twice if you want a clean, recruiter-legible engineering credential or a direct PE-licensure pathway — accreditation status varies sharply across the 125 programs awarding this degree, and many are ABET-ANSAC or unaccredited rather than ABET-EAC, which closes the standard FE-then-PE route. Reconsider if graduate school is unappealing, since two of the five tracked careers (physicists at $166,290 and engineering teachers, postsecondary at $106,120) require a doctoral degree, and a meaningful share of bachelor's graduates use this major as a pre-PhD ramp rather than a terminal credential. Pause too if a named engineering discipline already pulls you cleanly: Mechanical (CIP 14.1901, 33,431 completions), Electrical and Electronics (14.1001, 14,891), or Aerospace (14.0201, 6,386) offer deeper applied design preparation, and Pure Physics (40.0801, 7,501) is the better fit if pre-doctoral theoretical preparation matters more than applied lab work.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Engineering Physics/Applied Physics

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign, IL 0 87 87
Colorado School of Mines Golden, CO 0 71 71
Cornell University Ithaca, NY 0 29 29
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University-Daytona Beach Daytona Beach, FL 0 25 25
University of Colorado Boulder Boulder, CO 0 23 23
Murray State University Murray, KY 0 22 22
Tulane University of Louisiana New Orleans, LA 0 19 19
Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus, OH 0 18 18
Biola University La Mirada, CA 0 17 17
Fordham University Bronx, NY 0 16 16
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Mechanical Engineering

33,431 completions/yr

Electrical and Electronics Engineering

14,891 completions/yr

Civil Engineering, General

13,488 completions/yr

Computer Engineering, General

9,312 completions/yr

Bioengineering and Biomedical Engineering

8,569 completions/yr

Chemical Engineering

7,914 completions/yr

Physics, General

7,501 completions/yr

Aerospace, Aeronautical, and Astronautical/Space Engineering, General

6,386 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What do engineering physics majors actually study day-to-day?
The core sequence runs deeper into mathematics and physics than most engineering majors: through multivariable calculus, differential equations, linear algebra, and on into mathematical methods of physics, classical mechanics at the Lagrangian level, electromagnetism via Griffiths or Jackson-style treatments, quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics, and thermodynamics. Lab work covers optics, electronics, solid-state, and computational physics, and most programs require an applied engineering specialization — common tracks include semiconductor and device physics, optics and photonics, nuclear and plasma physics, applied mechanics, or aerospace systems. Senior-year work often involves a design project or research thesis tied to a faculty lab. Compared with a pure physics curriculum you spend more time in engineering applications and labs; compared with a named engineering major you carry the math and physics noticeably further.
Is engineering physics ABET-accredited, and does that matter?
It depends on the specific program — and this is the single biggest credential check to do before enrolling. Some engineering physics programs hold ABET Engineering Accreditation Commission (EAC) accreditation under the "engineering physics" name, which makes graduates eligible to sit for the FE exam and pursue a Professional Engineer license if their state board accepts the credential. Many other programs are accredited only under the ABET Applied and Natural Science Commission, or are not ABET-accredited at all, which closes the standard PE pathway. Out of roughly 125 colleges awarding this degree, only a portion carry EAC accreditation. If PE licensure or work in regulated engineering sectors matters to you, verify the specific program's status on ABET's accreditation database before committing.
How is this different from a physics major or a named engineering major?
Pure Physics, General (CIP 40.0801) sits in the College of Arts and Sciences with about 7,501 completions a year and is built primarily as a pre-PhD or pre-professional track with minimal applied engineering content. Named engineering majors like Mechanical (33,431 completions), Electrical (14,891), or Aerospace (6,386) are deeper in their domain's design and applied practice but lighter on the theoretical physics core. Engineering Physics is the hybrid: more math and physics rigor than any of the named engineering majors, more hands-on engineering and lab work than pure physics. The trade is that the credential is less legible to recruiters who are screening by exact major name — you sometimes need to translate the degree into the specific engineering function you're applying for.
What kinds of jobs do engineering physics graduates end up in at the bachelor's level?
Direct-to-industry destinations cluster around physics-adjacent engineering work: semiconductors and device physics at Intel, TSMC, Micron, and AMAT; optics and photonics at firms like Coherent, Thorlabs, and ASML; defense and aerospace systems at Lockheed, Northrop, Raytheon, and Boeing; nuclear and electromechanical systems at utilities and reactor vendors; and instrumentation roles at scientific equipment makers. National laboratories — LLNL, LANL, Sandia, NIST, Argonne, Oak Ridge, Fermilab — hire bachelor's-level engineering physics graduates for technician and engineer roles, and security clearances open additional defense-side options. The packet's tracked careers — engineers, all other at $117,750 with 2.1% growth, physicists at $166,290 (which requires a doctorate), and architectural and engineering managers at $167,740 (mid-career) — show the range, but the typical bachelor's first job is closer to the engineers, all other category.
Is graduate school the real point of this major?
For a meaningful share of graduates, yes. Engineering physics is well-positioned as a pre-PhD ramp for physics, electrical engineering, applied physics, materials science, or nuclear engineering doctoral programs — the math and physics depth maps directly onto first-year qualifying-exam material. The packet's two highest-paying tracked careers — physicists at $166,290 and engineering teachers, postsecondary at $106,120 with 8.1% growth — both list a doctoral or professional degree as the typical credential. Beyond academic graduate routes, top engineering physics graduates also feed into the quantitative finance pipeline used by physics and math PhDs, with trading firms and hedge funds hiring out of programs at Illinois, Cornell, Colorado School of Mines, and similar. Treat the bachelor's as a strong launchpad rather than a terminal credential if research, scientist, or quant-track work is the goal.
Where does the major show up in completions data, and what does that say about program selection?
About 664 bachelor's degrees are awarded across 125 colleges each year, which works out to roughly 5 graduates per program — engineering physics runs as a small, specialized major even where it exists. The largest cohorts are at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (87 graduates), Colorado School of Mines (71), Cornell (29), Embry-Riddle Daytona Beach (25), and CU Boulder (23). These programs tend to share two characteristics: strong physics departments paired with engineering colleges, and ABET-EAC accreditation under the engineering physics name. Smaller programs at liberal arts colleges or non-engineering universities can be excellent academic preparation but more often sit under ABET-ANSAC or no ABET accreditation. Program scale, faculty research alignment, and accreditation status are the three variables to weigh together when picking a school.