Heh, you're not thinking about doing your undergrad there, are you? No comment on evolution (though I certainly would have one if this were the biology department we were talking about), but if their creationist model encompasses cosmology, then we've got a pretty huge problem. Doing physics with the belief that the universe is 6,000 years old is sort of like being a chemist who doesn't believe in valence-shell electrons. You could do it, but you're being dishonest with yourself and everyone to whom you communicate your work.
Is it possible to be admitted to an MS or PhD program? I'm not really sure. I found the following on Wikipedia concerning their accreditation status:
By the early 2000s, however, the University quietly reexamined its position on accreditation as degree mills proliferated and various government bureaucracies, such as law enforcement agencies, began excluding BJU graduates on the grounds that the University did not appear on appropriate federal lists.[42] In 2004, the University began the process of joining the Transnational Association of Christian Colleges and Schools. Candidate status—effectively, accreditation—was obtained in April 2005, and full membership in the Association was conferred in November 2006. Because TRACS grants accreditation only to evangelical Christian institutions of higher learning, the administration believed that the University could obtain the benefits of accreditation without losing its academic independence.[43] BJU is also a founding member of the American Association of Christian Colleges and Seminaries, a small group of institutions "clearly identified with the historic Christian fundamentalist tradition."
Much as we have Christian music and Christian T-shirts, we apparently also have Christian accreditation. And if the analogy to music holds, it's probably just like regular accreditation except for a few token references to God.
Their website says that their physics majors pursue graduate studies. It's possible (but I think improbable) that they're blatantly lying. It's more likely that by "graduate study," they're referring to graduate education in non-physics areas like seminary. Indeed, I'm told that many seminary students have undergrad degrees in science and engineering, so as to aid their employability if they don't go into the ministry. But hey, maybe some of their students really do go to grad school in physics. I looked at their course listings. The descriptions more or less match what I learned in undergrad at my public university. If this is an accurate reflection of what BJU physics students really learn, then I think that their students might have a decent shot at grad school. After all, if their graduates do well on the GRE, this would be an indication that their lack of accreditation doesn't negate the validity of their physics education. BJU seems to offer courses in advanced mechanics, E&M, stat mech, and quantum mechanics, which form the backbone of any physics education. They don't offer courses in current research topics like nuclear/particle physics, astrophysics, or cosmology (I guess that last one would go against their beliefs). But a lot of reputable liberal arts colleges also do not have such a wide variety of courses, and their physics graduates still get into grad school.
Believe it or not, it is possible to believe in a 6,000 year old universe and still do well in your physics classes. Don't get me wrong, I think it constitutes willful ignorance and is accompanied by cognitive dissonance, but I've found that smart people can pull it off. Back when I was in undergrad I had a friend who believed in the young Earth creation model. He got excellent grades in all his physics courses, and could have gone to graduate school if he wanted to. Let's face it, at the end of the day what matters in research is not what you believe, but your ability to pose interesting science questions and then carry out the experiments necessary to answer them...and to find the funding to do it. I've got a friend in my department who's into Ouija boards and weird crystal stuff, and he still does fine research. Again, in the case of creationism it requires some cognitive dissonance. I was always perplexed by one of my friends who believed in a 6,000 year old universe, but would give seminar talks in which he referred to stars that were giga-light years away. But I suppose that if this doesn't hinder your ability to do your work, it doesn't really matter.
What would be important here is the content of BJU's physics courses. For example, in Phy 409, are they really learning about quantum angular momentum, or do they waste their time refuting the evils of secular physics? I imagine that if I were on an admissions committee, I might base my decision concerning a BJU student's application more on his GRE score than on his undergrad record.
