Modern Physics

Enrollment and Tuition

If you have never taken a Physics Lyceum class, choose a phenomenon you observe in the world around you, investigate its physics, and prepare a short explanation. Discuss what you observed, the evidence for your explanation, and what you still want to understand in an admission interview. We look for deep curiosity and thoughtful reasoning.

The interview fee is $100, separate from tuition and nonrefundable. Paying for the interview does not guarantee admission. Email team@teenscientists.org to arrange it. Returning Lyceum students do not need this interview or pay its fee. Course prerequisites apply to all students.

What the Modern Electives Are

Four semester-long electives in the Physics Lyceum: High School curriculum, taught on the Deep Physics model that runs through the whole SoTS Physics Lyceum. They go beyond the topics a typical high school curriculum reaches, which the classical core handles.

A step up in pace and depth. These are advanced classes and they move faster than the classical core: more ground in a session, and ideas that sit further from everyday intuition than anything in classical physics. A student comfortable in a core course should expect to work harder here.

The landmark experiments carry the reasoning. Discussion of the experiments that forced physicists to accept each result, and what each one actually established.

Each elective has unique requirements. Each course page carries its own Texts and Requirements section, stating the book it works from and the maths it expects.

The Four Electives

Prerequisites

Grade: open to students in grades 9–12.

Math: algebra, geometry, and basic trigonometry as a floor. Beyond that each elective differs, and each course page states its own.

Physics: prerequisite courses can be completed in the SoTS Physics Lyceum or elsewhere.

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. Every enrolled student also has a cumulative transcript listing their coursework, research, and any certificates earned, useful for any student demonstrating substantial physics study on a college application.

Any two of the four electives, added to the classical core, earn Mastery in Classical and Modern Physics. See Certificates and Transcripts for the full credential structure and requirements.

Lyceum courses are taught by expert physicists. Meet the team.