Students have opportunities for research in Biophysics, Computational Physics, Medical Physics, and Optics. The major research emphasis in the department is in the area of applied optics. The Department of Physics and Optical Science is the administrative coordinator of M.S. and Ph.D. programs in Optical Science and Engineering. These degree programs are interdisciplinary involving five science and engineering departments (Physics & Optical Science, Chemistry, Mathematics & Statistics, Electrical & Computer Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering & Engineering Science), the Center for Optoelectronics & Optical Communications, and the Center for Precision Metrology. A second area of emphasis is in biophysics, where there is a strong interdisciplinary relationship with the Ph.D. programs in Nanoscale Science, Biology, Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, and Applied Mathematics.