If you are experiencing any difficulties with your physics courses or if you would like to learn more about the physics major, below are links to some resources that you may find helpful.
Want to tutor?
Looking to get community service hours for applications? (You need it for the NSF fellowship! And it always looks good on your CV and other applications!) Want to review the fundamentals of physics? (You need it for the GRE! Or just as a refresher, for those of you who already survived the GRE!) Just want to give back to the UMD physics community? (You need it for the warm, fuzzy feeling it gives you!)
The physics department has a volunteer tutoring program. Any student who has taken at least PHYS272 (or an equivalent course) and is able to effectively tutor introductory subjects is eligible to become an SPS tutor. If you wish to become a tutor, you should contact Aneesh Anandanatarajan at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
If you have any questions about the program or your eligibility to become a tutor, reach out to Aneesh Anandanatarajan at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
Math Resources
The University of Maryland offers many resources for students looking for support in their math courses.
Math Tutoring Room - TAs available on a daily basis for most of the introductory math courses
Math Test Bank - Archive of old exams
Math Success Program - Math tutoring in Oakland Hall for most of the introductory math courses
Counseling Center Academic Resources
Slawsky Clinic
(Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Slawsky Clinic is currently closed.)
1214 Physics Building
301.405.5984
The Slawsky Clinic has been helping students since the mid-1970s. The Physics Department and Milton and Zaka Slawsky established the clinic in 1975. Milton and Zaka were identical twin brothers with PhDs in physics. After they retired, they contacted the Physics Department looking for a way to volunteer their services. This resulted in the Mollie and Simon Slawsky Memorial Tutoring Clinic for Physics, named for their parents.
The grades in physics depend largely on the student’s ability to solve problems. In order to get good grades in the physics course, the student must be able to get a reasonable solution to a reasonable problem in about 15 minutes. This is the average time you have in an exam or a quiz. This means that knowing the subject matter is necessary but it is not enough. You must earn a systematic efficient strategy in order to use the knowledge with speed and accuracy. The clinic helps you develop a strategy and with supportive supervision trains you to improve your ability and confidence.
The clinic operates primarily for the 100 and 200 level physics classes. The tutors can answer additional physics questions as their time and knowledge permit. The tutors are retired professors, scientists, and engineers.
Tutors for Non-UMD Students
The Physics Department does not coordinate student tutors for non-UMD students.