The department of physics is a teaching/ research department of the Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU), Islamabad. It offers courses leading to BS, M.Sc., M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees. The department was established in 1966 as the Institute of Physics and was located then in Rawalpindi. Founding Director of the Institute was the eminent particle theorist Prof. Riazuddin. The department initially offered only M. Phil. and Ph.D. degrees and after shifting to the present QAU campus in 1972 the M.Sc. program was initiated.