Career Readiness Plan for Chair Annual Activity Report

From the Department of Physics mission statement:

“The primary functional aspects of our mission can be classified as … educating and preparing students in our undergraduate majors programs for advanced study and/or employment following their graduation from Miami University….”

(*) indicates activities which are already implemented.

For First-Year Students

Orientation and exposure to career pathways.

• Students will enroll in PHY185, the Department’s First Year Experience course. The course dedicates three weeks to career topics, including a visit from CCES, and career exploration and planning. Materials from the American Physical Society and the American Institute of Physics are used. (*)
• Students are assigned a peer mentor (junior/senior physics major) through the student-run Physics Mentors program. (*)
• Students are exposed to research opportunities through an annual lab open house, the mentoring program, PHY185, and the general culture of the (*)

For Sophomore Students

Continued career exploration and development of networking skills.

• PHY281 students will participate in networking activities with the Alumni Advisory Board during the Board’s annual meeting. (*)
• PHY282 or PHY293 students will complete Canvas modules developed by CCES related to career exploration and skills development.
• Students will be encouraged to network with seminar speakers by joining the speaker for lunch or by coming to the pre-seminar We intentionally include speakers who have taken diverse career paths. (*)

For Junior/Senior Students

Support for post-graduate applications or a job search.

• Students will be required to write a mock graduate school statement or a mock cover letter and resume. This will be enforced either by modifying PHY401 (0 cr, Physics Assessment Examination) or by including it as an assignment for a course taken by all majors (e.g., PHY483). Students will receive faculty feedback. Students may be exempted by completing an approved alternative, e.g., pre-health co-majors can complete PMD301.
• We are considering reintroducing the Department Exam, an oral exam for which the committee consists of physics faculty for whom the student would like to request letters of reference. Previously, this was the mechanism by which faculty gave students formal career advice.
• Throughout their time in the Department, students receive informal advice from instructors, research advisors, and their Physics mentor. (*)