Acoustics
Acoustics is the branch of physics that deals with the study of all mechanical waves in gases, liquids, and solids including topics such as vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. A scientist who works in the field of acoustics is an acoustician while someone working in the field of acoustics technology may be called an acoustical engineer. The application of acoustics is present in almost all aspects of modern society with the most obvious being the audio and noise control industries.
Hearing is one of the most crucial means of survival in the animal world, and speech is one of the most distinctive characteristics of human development and culture. Accordingly, the science of acoustics spreads across many facets of human society—music, medicine, architecture, industrial production, warfare and more. Likewise, animal species such as songbirds and frogs use sound and hearing as a key element of mating rituals or marking territories. Art, craft, science and technology have provoked one another to advance the whole, as in many other fields of knowledge. Robert Bruce Lindsay's 'Wheel of Acoustics' is a well accepted overview of the various fields in acoustics.
The word "acoustic" is derived from the Greek word ἀκουστικός (akoustikos), meaning "of or for hearing, ready to hear" and that from ἀκουστός (akoustos), "heard, audible", which in turn derives from the verb ἀκούω (akouo), "I hear".
The Latin synonym is "sonic", after which the term sonics used to be a synonym for acoustics and later a branch of acoustics. Frequencies above and below the audible range are called "ultrasonic" and "infrasonic", respectively.
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Matching Acoustics Colleges
New York University
Four or more years; Private not for profit; $53,770 average out-state tuition; $53,770 average in-state tuition |
The Pennsylvania State University
Four or more years; Public; $25,084 average out-state tuition; $15,400 average in-state tuition |
Pennsylvania State University-World Campus
Four or more years; Public; $13,484 average out-state tuition; $13,484 average in-state tuition |
Columbia College Chicago
Four or more years; Private not for profit; $26,610 average out-state tuition; $26,610 average in-state tuition |
Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus
Four or more years; Public; $32,644 average out-state tuition; $17,416 average in-state tuition |
Naval Postgraduate School
Four or more years; Public |
Scholarships for Acoustics Majors
EPP Undergraduate Scholarship ProgramNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) |
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award Up to $45,000 |
deadline January 31, 2024 |
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Edith Nourse Rogers STEM ScholarshipU.S. Department of Veterans Affairs |
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award Up to $30,000 |
deadline Varies |
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SMART ScholarshipUnited States Department of Defense (DoD) |
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award Up to $38,000 |
deadline December 01, 2023 |
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Lumpkins Family Merit Scholarship in the College of ScienceUniversity of Notre Dame |
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award $25,000 |
deadline January 01, 2024 |
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Quantitative Biology Research Community (QBReC) FellowshipBrandeis University |
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award Up to $20,500 |
deadline January 01, 2024 |
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Advanced Energy STEM Diversity ScholarshipAdvanced Energy |
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award $20,000 |
deadline January 12, 2024 |
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National Space Club Keynote ScholarshipNational Space Club |
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award $15,000 |
deadline December 04, 2023 |
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Alice P. Gast STEM ScholarshipLehigh University |
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award $12,500 |
deadline January 15, 2024 |
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SOLV Energy Women in Solar ScholarshipSolar Energy International (SEI) |
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award $10,000 |
deadline Varies |
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NSF S-STEM ScholarshipUniversity of Massachusetts at Dartmouth |
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award Up to $10,000 |
deadline Varies |
Acoustics Related Majors
- Chemistry
- Physics
- Astronomy
- Geological and Earth Sciences/Geosciences
- Astrophysics
- Physical Sciences
- Forensic Chemistry
- Meteorology
- Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology
- Planetary Astronomy and Science
- Organic Chemistry
- Paleontology
- Theoretical and Mathematical Physics
- Oceanography, Chemical and Physical
- Environmental Chemistry
- Nuclear Physics
- Chemical Physics
- Hydrology and Water Resources Science
- Geophysics and Seismology
- Analytical Chemistry