Department curricula are developed for the explicit purpose of educating students in the fields of physics, astronomy, and physical oceanography. The Department of Physics and Physical Oceanography regards its teaching mission to be principally aimed at training undergraduates for further, graduate-level, studies in physics. The B.S. degree track reflects that emphasis, and is the program of choice for students who seek a higher degree in physics; the B.A. degree track is ideally suited to students planning to teach at the secondary school level, or others who may not plan to become professional physicists but who desire an interdisciplinary program with a physics emphasis.

New for 2007-08 is the 3 + 2 Physics/ECE degree program, giving students the opportunity to earn a Bachelor of Science in Physics from UNCW and a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from North Carolina State University (NCSU), all within five years. The UNCW phase of study can be completed in three years; students meeting the applicable transfer admission requirements are automatically accepted into the Electrical Engineering Program at NCSU. This program can be completed in two years. The successful student receives two degrees, one from UNCW and another from NCSU.