Physics Department

Physics students

The Physics Department at Seattle Pacific University seeks to prepare students to use the history and ideas of physics and their analytical, computational, and research skills to engage the culture, the Creation, their minds, and the minds of others.

Physics studies the changes, interactions, and properties of matter and energy and, as a result, strongly influences humankind’s understanding of nature. In addition, as engineers create new technology based on the principles first discovered by physicists, the social economics and political structures of society change.

Majors and minor

We offer a BS in Physics, a BA in Physics, and a BA in physics with an education focus.

We also offer a minor in Physics, which you can pair with almost any major SPU offers.

Labs and equipment

A variety of laboratory equipment is available to SPU students to support coursework and independent study activities. Otto Miller Hall, home to the Physics Department, contains dedicated teaching laboratories, upper-division research space and upper-division laboratory facilities.

Physics education research

SPU Physics is home to a thriving Physics Education Research Group to help improve the learning and teaching of physics.

Lane Seeley instructing students

Why I Teach at SPU

Lane Seeley, Professor and Chair of Physics

“I believe that God created a universe which is both profoundly understandable and ineffably mysterious. Physics involves a deep search for patterns in the natural world. Through the study of physics, we see the hand of a Creator who has sewn the fabric of nature with patterns which are elegant and understandable. When we keep raising and refining our questions, the elegant patterns of nature lead to novel insights and further mysteries. I love to teach at a place where no questions are out of bounds and we can freely weave together scientific, ethical, and theological ideas.”