A Multilevel Seminar or Physics Majors: A Good Deal for Everyone

In a small physics department it can be difficult to develop and maintain an environment that engages students of all levels, and encourages and facilitates student growth in curricular and co-curricular experiences. This difficulty can be amplified when the number of physics majors is small, especially with fewer than 15-20 majors in the program. This paper describes the experience over the last seven years of the physics department at Utica College (a small, regional comprehensive liberal arts college in Upstate New York) as we developed a single physics seminar for all levels of students. This unorthodox approach has been accompanied by myriad positive developments for individual students and for the physics program as a whole. In addition to stimulating the interest of students by discussing nonstandard topics, we observed increased camaraderie among the students and a strengthening of the identity within the physics program. © 2018 American Association of Physics Teachers.