Viktor Rozsa in front of central hall.

Physics and the Liberal Arts

Written by Cody Summer

For his humble and soft-spoken nature, Viktor Rozsa, a senior Physics and Mathematics double major, has surprising achievements and facts about his life: he was born in Switzerland, speaks fluent Hungarian, plays a cello like a virtuoso, and he embarked on his college career shortly after turning seventeen.

Rozsa became interested in physics when he was taught by an excellent teacher in his junior year of high school. Mr. Swager taught intuitive understanding and exhaustive comprehension, inspiring a constant curiosity in his students. Rosza then applied almost exclusively to engineering schools, believing it to be the best fit for his interest in physics and mathematics. But after attending Hillsdale College’s scholarship weekend, he realized he had to choose between studying a technical trade such as mechanical engineering, and spending four years becoming a more fully educated human being.  Viktor said, “That weekend I caught a glimpse of what type of learning and community makes a person properly educated, and Hillsdale is one of the few places to offer that. I decided that in the long run, it was important to ground my knowledge of mathematics and physics in the wider humanities and liberal arts tradition.”

“It speaks to the strength of the college’s physics department that a majority of graduates over the last several years have gotten into top Ph.D programs across the country,” he told me. Viktor himself has been accepted in PhD programs at Brown University, The University of Chicago, Ohio State University, The University of Michigan, and The University of Illinois. Viktor also pointed out that every Physics major in his graduating class has been accepted into some PhD program.

“The physics facilities and faculty at Hillsdale continually surprise me,” he remarked. You wouldn’t expect professors at a small liberal arts school that has no publishing requirements to sit on the boards of top academic journals and publish research on their own time, but many of the physics faculty do just that. Viktor gave an example of the quality of our facilities: the department’s x-ray diffractometer is the very same model used by Brown University.

I asked him if, after studying at all these top research institutions, he still thought he made the right decision to come to Hillsdale.

“On the door of the physics lounge,” he replied, “one of the students hung a sign with ornate lettering, labeling it the ‘natural philosophy’ lounge. The sign was probably meant as a joke, but it is indicative of a very real understanding that Hillsdale science students have about their own discipline.” He explained how his study of history has put his own scientific work into a broader historical context. The role of science itself has evolved; without studying philosophy, history, English, and other subjects, it is almost impossible to know how scientific discoveries were made in the past and how they ought to be pursued in the future.

Physics has always been an essential part of the liberal arts. Ever since Aristotle, the contemplation of the natural world at both its most fundamental and cosmic levels has been an important part of higher education. At Hillsdale, we continue this noble tradition and maintain a competitive physics program that refuses to become isolated from the humanities.


Cody Sommer will graduate this spring with a degree in Mathematics and minors in English and Economics. Cody is a member of the Honors Program, participates in the Kappa Mu Epsilon Math Honorary, organizes the Orthodox Christian Fellowship, and enjoys playing Swedish folk music.