Physics Lyceum: High School
Deep Physics for grades 9–12. Six classical core courses plus four Modern Physics electives, taught online or in-person in Princeton.
Three semesters a year · Twice weekly (theory + seminar) · Grades 9–12
Live online, anywhere
Live sessions in morning, daytime, or evening (Eastern). Cohorts of up to 8.
See the online program →In-person in Princeton
Twice weekly (theory + seminar), in a Princeton classroom. Cohorts of up to 12. Details on this page.
See cost and enrollment below ↓About the High School Physics Lyceum
The high school program of the SoTS Physics Lyceum: a multi-year physics curriculum built around six classical core courses plus four modern physics electives. A motivated student can complete the classical core in under two years and add modern electives from there; a student who prefers a slower pace can spread the same courses across the four years of high school.
The courses are largely independent. A student can take one course or build a full sequence in the order that fits their preparation and schedule. Quantum Mechanics draws on earlier material; the rest can be entered directly with strong preparation.
Lyceum students don’t sample topics. They learn them.
Two formats, one curriculum. Take any course online or in-person in Princeton, NJ.
Physics Courses for Grades 9–12
Six classical core courses plus four modern physics electives. Each course is one semester long and self-contained. Students enter wherever their interest and preparation point them and build the rest from there. Students who complete the classical core plus their chosen modern electives leave the Lyceum with physics they actually own.
Classical core (6). The foundation: motion, statics and fluids, waves, thermodynamics, electromagnetism, optics.
Mechanics of Motion
How and why things move: the foundations of all physics. Kinematics, dynamics, conservation of energy and momentum, gravitation. Taught with depth and intuition rather than equation memorization.
Read details →Mechanics of Bodies and Fluids
Spinning, balancing, floating: mechanics where shape matters. Rotational motion, rigid bodies, statics, hydrostatics. Building on the foundations toward the harder problems mechanics can pose.
Read details →Waves and Oscillations
What happens when things vibrate, swing, or travel as waves. Periodic motion, simple harmonic motion, mechanical waves, superposition, resonance, interference.
Read details →Thermodynamics
What heat really is, and why time has a direction. Heat, temperature, the laws of thermodynamics, kinetic theory of gases, entropy as a physical idea.
Read details →Electricity & Magnetism
How charges and currents shape modern physics. Fields, potentials, circuits, magnetic forces, electromagnetic induction. The backbone of modern physics.
Read details →Geometric Optics
How light bends to form images, and how lenses and mirrors build every optical instrument. Reflection, refraction, lenses, image formation, optical instruments, aberrations and lens design, photometry and color, modern optics from fiber to laser.
Read details →Modern physics electives (4). Pick any two of the four for the Mastery in Classical and Modern Physics. Special Relativity and Quantum Mechanics are the canonical pair; Nuclear and Particle Physics and Astronomy and Cosmology round out the choice.
Special Relativity
Einstein’s theory of space and time, derived from two postulates. Spacetime, simultaneity, length contraction, time dilation, relativistic energy and momentum, E = mc². Einstein’s revolution.
Read details →Quantum Mechanics
How nature really behaves at the smallest scales. Polarization, quantum states, measurement, spin and the Stern-Gerlach experiment, angular momentum, entanglement and Bell inequalities. The deepest and most beautiful subject in the curriculum.
Read details →Nuclear and Particle Physics
From the atomic nucleus to the Standard Model. Nuclear structure, radioactivity, fission and fusion, detection methods, elementary particles, conservation laws and the four fundamental interactions.
Read details →Astronomy and Cosmology
Physics applied to objects we cannot visit. Celestial mechanics, the Solar System, stellar spectroscopy (blackbody plus atomic spectra), the HR diagram, galaxies and the cosmic distance ladder, the Big Bang.
Read details →Dependency Map
Which courses to take first, and which ones build on earlier physics. Prior courses can be completed in the SoTS Physics Lyceum or elsewhere.
These courses can be taken in any order.
Astronomy and Cosmology: SR not required; relativistic topics (compact objects, cosmic expansion) are treated descriptively.
Math prerequisites: algebra, geometry, and basic trigonometry. No calculus required for any course in the Lyceum. Quantum Mechanics additionally requires comfort with complex numbers (the linear algebra it needs is developed inside the course).
Schedule
Courses run on a year-round schedule across three semesters.
- Fall / Spring: One course over 16 weeks. Twice weekly: one 1.5h theory class, one 1.5h seminar.
- Summer: One course over roughly 8 weeks. Twice weekly, 3-hour sessions combining theory and seminar.
Theory builds the framework; seminar puts it to work on problems together.
Session Format
- Theory class: Concepts built from first principles. Derivations worked out on the board. Intuition developed alongside the formalism.
- Seminar: Problems of increasing difficulty, worked individually and in small groups. Discussion follows: compare approaches, argue, check each other’s reasoning. Students may present solutions on the board. Instructor asks guiding questions and addresses common errors. Explaining to others deepens understanding; seeing different approaches expands your toolkit.
- Cohort size: Up to 12 students per course.
No phones or computers. We focus on thinking through problems together.
Time commitment. Plan on roughly 4–6 hours of independent work each week alongside the 3 hours of class, working through problem sets, reviewing derivations, and preparing for seminar. Summer courses compress the same material into 8 weeks: 6 hours of class plus 8–12 hours of independent work weekly. Physics taught at this depth requires sustained problem-solving outside class; the homework is where the understanding actually consolidates.
Note: We teach responsible and efficient GenAI tools use in our Research Skills courses and Research Laboratories. Lyceum sessions are dedicated to pure thinking and problem-solving without GenAI.
Physics Learning, Compared
Different paths to learning physics serve different goals. Here is how the Lyceum fits alongside the alternatives a motivated student might consider.
Scope: this comparison covers algebra-based physics paths only, the level where deep conceptual understanding forms. In high school this usually means some of Accelerated physics, AP1, AP2.
| School Physics | Tutoring | University Course | SoTS Lyceum | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Target audience | General HS population | Any student, case-by-case | General college population | Talented students with aptitude for physics |
| Goal | AP exam coverage. Fast and reliable pattern matching | Gap filling, homework help, AP prep (pattern matching) | General intro for students who need foundation | Physics intuition that transfers; principles over pattern matching |
| Material covered | Topics included in AP exam (0–3 years, depending on school) | No standard program | Intro mechanics + E&M (~1 year, 2 semesters) | Six classical core semesters of Deep Physics plus four Modern Physics electives (SR, QM, Nuclear, Astronomy) |
| Instructors | Certified science teachers, often not trained in physics directly | Varies (students, teachers, tutors) | PhD faculty plus grad TAs | Expert physicists teaching in Deep Physics methodology |
| Instructor-to-student ratio | ~1:25 class | 1:1 | 1:50+ lecture | Up to 1:12 (or 1:8) |
| Peer interaction | Limited; individual work on theory and problems | None; no peers to bounce ideas with | General college peers; limited engagement in lecture | Talented physics-oriented peers; discussion and mutual learning |
Cost, Enrollment & Refund Policy
Tuition: $3,500 per course.
In-person location: Princeton, NJ. For online, see the online program.
Enrollment: Open for the next semester. Schedule a call to find the right course and entry point.
Payment due at enrollment. Full refund if we cancel or minimum cohort size is not formed. If you need to cancel, the following refund policy applies:
| If you cancel at... | Refund |
|---|---|
| 1+ week before start | Full refund |
| Less than 1 week before start | No refund |
Certificates and Transcripts
Tuition covers the teaching and one in-person Pass/Fail evaluation. The evaluation is optional. After completing a course, a student may schedule it with the instructor. It may include solving problems and a conversation with the instructor about the course material. It may also take into account homework and classwork grades from the course. A passing evaluation earns a Lyceum Course Certificate in that course. Students who earn certificates across more than one course also receive a cumulative transcript listing them, useful for homeschool families and for students demonstrating substantial physics study.
Completed Course Certificates accumulate toward Lyceum-wide full program credentials (Mastery in Classical Physics, Mastery in Classical and Modern Physics, and Mastery with Research). See Physics Certificates and Transcripts for the full credential structure, requirements, and grading philosophy.
Lyceum courses are taught by Dr. Sergey Samsonau and other expert physicists. See who leads the Lyceum.