The study consisted of three articles. Article one aimed to determine if there were any significant difference in science graduate students' (SGSs') conceptions of the "consensus tenets" of the nature of science (NOS) with respect to demographic factors -- the SGSs' academic and research characteristics. The participants were SGSs from…

Background: The continuation of teacher preparation activities after a 3-year Physics Teacher Education Coalition (PhysTEC) grant is used as a case study to examine multi-faceted aspects of sustainable change in higher education. Since teacher preparation is outside typical physics departmental activities, success is highly dependent on finding a…

In response to the need for a scalable, institutionally supported model of educational change, the Science Education Initiative (SEI) was created as an experiment in transforming course materials and faculty practices at two institutions--University of Colorado Boulder (CU) and University of British Columbia. We find that this departmentally…

Physics and physics education in the United States suffer from severe (and, in some cases, worsening) underrepresentation of Black, Latinx, and Native American people of all genders and women of all races and ethnicities. In this paper, we describe an approach to facilitating physics students' collective and continued education about such…

The Statistical Research Center of the American Institute of Physics conducts an annual census of all degree-granting physics departments in the United States and Puerto Rico. The survey had a 95% response rate from the 751 departments that granted physics bachelor's degrees in the class of 2010. Results show that the number of physics bachelor's…

The Statistical Research Center of the American Institute of Physics conducts an annual census of all degree-granting physics departments in the United States and Puerto Rico. The survey, collecting data from the 754 departments that granted bachelor's degrees in the class of 2008, had a 97% response rate. Estimates were derived and included in…

The Statistical Research Center of the American Institute of Physics conducts an annual census from October through February of all 75 departments that offer degrees in astronomy in the United States. For the class of 2008, the authors received responses from 73 (97%) of these departments. Estimates were derived and included in the totals for…

Four science programs at our public urban liberal arts college have struggled to attract and retain majors: physics, environmental studies, geology, and teaching science. The Brooklyn Opportunities in Science and Careers (BOSC) program aims to increase student participation in these majors using a new career-focused strategy to recruit students.…

The Statistical Research Center of the American Institute of Physics conducts an annual census from October through February of all 75 departments that offer degrees in astronomy in the United States. For the class of 2007, the authors received responses from 73 (97%) of these departments. Estimates were derived and included in the totals for…

The Texas Electronic Coalition for Physics was established in 2000 as a means of demonstrating that by linking together, small programs can maintain their vitality in higher education. Using Interactive Television, the Internet, telephones, faxes, and other electronic media, five physics programs scattered across the state of Texas formed a…

Described is a project being conducted by the Physics Institute of the University of San Luis Potori, Mexico, in order to avoid concentrating physics education and research activities in Mexico City. (SL)

Relates the impressions of science education gained by a physics professor visiting the People's Republic of China. Observations from two universities in Beijing and Wuhan provide information regarding departmental organization, general teacher preparation, preuniversity education, science teacher preparation, specific physics departments, applied…

In 1991, a survey questionnaire concerning undergraduate education in physics was sent to a nationally representative sample of 597 four-year colleges and universities. Of these, 475 had an undergraduate physics department or a department with a physics program, and met the criteria for inclusion in the study. Responses were received from 450 of…

Compares and contrasts industrial and university physics departments, focusing on the group dynamics and work environment of a corporate physics (General Motors). A major difference between these departments lies in the motivation for and evaluation of research, not in the selection of research topics. (Author/JN)

Discusses the effects that participation in a three-two, liberal arts-engineering program has had on a physics department at a liberal arts college. Among the effects are an increase in the number of physics majors and increased enrollments in physics department courses. (MLH)