What schools have the best physics _teachers_.

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers on identifying schools with strong physics teachers, particularly for students considering transferring from community colleges to universities. Participants share insights on various institutions and their teaching quality, rather than focusing solely on rankings or research opportunities.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant notes that smaller liberal arts colleges may offer better teaching quality due to more accessible faculty who are less focused on research.
  • Another participant challenges the notion that smaller colleges lack research opportunities for undergraduates, suggesting that there are indeed options available.
  • Several participants mention specific schools, such as Reed and Harvey Mudd, as examples of institutions with good physics teachers.
  • A participant provides a list of schools categorized by region, including names like Swarthmore, Dartmouth, and Davidson, indicating a variety of options across the country.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the balance between teaching quality and research opportunities at smaller colleges versus larger institutions. There is no consensus on which schools are definitively the best for physics teaching.

Contextual Notes

Some participants mention application deadlines, indicating a time-sensitive aspect to the discussion, but there is no resolution on the best schools overall.

Who May Find This Useful

Students considering transferring to universities for physics, particularly those interested in teaching quality and accessibility of faculty.

Malitic
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I'm sure similar questions have been asked before, but all the threads Google and the search seem to find are the standard lists of ivy league schools. If you know of a good thread or two please drop a link.

I'm transferring out of a community college, and I was planning to transfer directly into the state university, but I was unexpectedly nominated for a fairly large and exclusive scholarship, and I have a fairly good chance of getting it, so I'm suddenly able to apply to a more varied selection of schools.

I'm already applying to all those "top 10" schools for this fall, but beyond these schools, what schools have good physics teachers? Not which ones score the best. (This was very short notice for me, so ones with a deadline that isn't already passed is a plus.)
 
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This isn't always going to be the case but it seems to me like smaller liberal arts type colleges are better as far as teaching goes (or so I've found in my bit of research). This is mostly because teachers are more accesible to students at these schools and a lot of the time aren't totally devoted to research. The downside being that there isn't as much research (if any) for undergrads to be involved in. I was going to recommend Reed but the deadline was the 15th. I'm sure others can point you in the right direction as far as where to apply though.
 
I agree with Helical. And there are a lot of research opportunities for undergrads. It is far from the case that there are NO research opportunities.
 
Helical said:
I was going to recommend Reed but the deadline was the 15th.

I checked it out and the transfer deadline isn't until March, so I'm reading up on it.
 
Is location a factor? Here are some places that come to my mind quickly. Don't take it as a comprehensive list.

West: Reed, Harvey Mudd

Midwest: Grinnell, Oberlin, Kenyon

Northeast: Swarthmore, Dartmouth, Williams, Middlebury, Union

Southeast: Davidson, Furman, Guilford
 

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