Northern Illinois University
Department of Physics
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

We offer B.S., M.S. and Ph.D. programs in physics. The B.S degree has emphases in Professional Physics, Applied Physics and Physics Secondary Education (teacher licensure). The M.S. program has specializations in Basic Physics, Applied Physics and Physics Teaching. Our faculty have close links with Fermilab and Argonne National Lab, and often involve undergrad and graduate students in research.

You will experience traditional classroom instruction as well as laboratory courses. All undergraduate physics majors also complete a capstone research project as part of their degree.

• Recent Theses and Dissertations in Physics
• Physics Department Colloquia

Traineeship Program

• NIU-UIC Graduate Traineeship Program (C2-THE-P2 program)
• Chicagoland Accelerator Science Traineeship Program (CAST program)

In The News

• Dr. Lurio discusses quantum science in a recent NIU STEM Center podcast (Apr 14, 2026).
• Coming in the New Year (2026)! Masters degree in Quantum Science and Technology. Interested? Contact Professor Jahred Adelman for more details.
• Dr. Gwanghui Ha receives DOE Early Career Research Program award (Aug 01, 2025)
• Congratulations! Dr. Roland Winkler for his receipt of the 2025 Presidential Reserch, Scholarship and Artistry Professorship. (April 9, 2025)
• Dr. Roland Winkler presenting on Science breakthrough at American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual meeting. (February 25, 2025)
• Our Faculty (Drs. Andreas Glatz and Zhili Xiao as co-PI) involved in new four-year reaserach effort on superconducting microelectronics, funded by the Army Research Office (ARO) for four years. PI: Dr. Boldizsar Janko, Notre Dame University. (November 4, 2024)
• Congratulations Dr. Timothy Draher for the award of the most outstanding dissertation of 2023-2024 in the Health Sciences and STEM category to your Ph.D dissertation, "Design and Performance of Superconducting Switches for Nanowire Detectors in Magnetic Fields", recognized by NIU Graduate Council (October 21, 2024)
• NIU gets super boost in high-performance computing! The NIU Center for Research Computing and Data (CRCD, director: Dr. Bela Erdelyi) is commissioning a new $1.2 million, high-performance computing facility (HPC), known as METIS (May 3, 2023)
• Congratulations to Dr. Andreas Glatz for his 2023 Presidential Research, Scholarship and Artistry Professorships (PRSAP) and Dr. Chmaissem for his 2023 Presidential Teaching Professorship. (April 20, 2023)
• Dr. Xueying Lu receives DOE Early Career Research Program award (May 27, 2021)
• Dr. Blazey goes to Washington—to testify on NSF bill (May 10, 2021)
• NIU Ph.D. student lands prestigious DOE research award (May 10, 2021)
• NIU celebrates Fermilab’s latest landmark finding (Apr. 22, 2021)
• Transdisciplinary faculty role bridges engineering and physics. (Mar. 11, 2021)

News Archive

Position Available

Assistant Professor - Conducting university courses for undergraduate and graduate students in Physics; teaching the courses within the prescribed curriculum; preparing and delivering lectures to students; compiling, administering and grading the examinations; posting grades, course syllabi, and other materials; advising students on academic curricula; completing research in the area of Physics, including particle physics and computational techniques applicable to particle physics; and serving on faculty committee as assigned by the University.

• Salary: $70,000 to $100,000/year
• Requirements: Doctorate Degree (PhD) or foreign degree equivalent in Physics or Theoretical Physics. Pre-employment background check and verification of eligibility to work in US required.
• Benefits included: PTO, retirement, insurance, FSA, tuition waivers &PSFL. EOE/AA.
• Any Applicant who is interested in this position may send letter of application, resume & contact information for 3 current professional references to (inc Ref#10090): Dr. Zutshi, Northern Illinois University, 202 Normal Rd., DeKalb, IL 60115. EOE/AA