What is matter? Why does matter display a wide range of properties and functions? How was the Universe created? The research groups in the Department of Physics tackle such fundamental questions in the natural sciences head-on. 

Subjects of research cover a wide array of items ranging from matter existing in the natural world and artificial matter, to elementary particles, to the Galaxy, and to black holes. The staff consists of specialists from the Department of Physical Science in the Graduate School of Science and specialists from the Department of Quantum Matter in the Graduate School of Advanced Sciences of Matter. These staff members not only push forward experimental and theoretical research based on a range of techniques, but also provide education in these fields. 

Through seminars with small numbers of students, lectures, experiments, and exercises, students in the Department of Physics first learn the basics needed to conduct state-of-the-art research. In the fourth year, they are assigned to the research groups of their choice, and carry out graduate research projects. They explore the truth of nature by addressing their individual research tasks. 

About two thirds of the graduates go on to the Graduate School, where they receive specialized higher education to push forward the boundaries of research. About one third of the graduates find employment and utilize the knowledge and experience they acquired in the Department of Physics to play very active roles in the educational and industrial worlds.