Namitha Pradeep | Searcharxiv

arXiv2026

Analysis of quantum-related courses and textbooks for potential integration of quantum sensing

The second quantum revolution is driving advancements in quantum computing, communication, and sensing. While quantum computing has gained significant attention in education, quantum sensing remains largely overlooked. In order to find ways of integrating sensing into existing quantum-related curricula, we performed an analysis of six of the most commonly used textbooks in modern physics, quantum mechanics, and quantum computing. We identified a set of keywords related to quantum sensing and tagged all excerpts in which these concepts appeared. For each excerpt, we also recorded the context in which it was presented within the textbook. Network maps were constructed to visualize which keywords appeared in which contexts and the frequency of these occurrences within each subject area. We then developed an analytic rubric to evaluate the conceptual and mathematical depth of these excerpts as well as the extent of sensing-related discussions. Our results show that there is significant variation in how different subjects address these concepts, both in the nature of the content covered and the depth of coverage. We also observe notable differences in how spin-first and position-first textbooks discuss these keywords, particularly in the coverage and contexts in which core concepts such as superposition and entanglement appear. Additionally, we analyzed course titles and descriptions from a database of over 8,000 quantum-related courses, focusing on those that mentioned ``sensing'' or ``sensor''. Together, these analyses of textbook content and course descriptions inform the quantum information science and engineering education community about potential opportunities to integrate quantum sensing topics into quantum-related courses in physics and adjacent disciplines.

physics.ed-ph↗

arXiv2025

Landscape of Quantum Information Science and Engineering Education: From Physics Foundations to Interdisciplinary Frontiers

Quantum Information Science and Engineering (QISE) is rapidly gaining interest from those within many disciplines and higher education needs to adapt to the changing landscape. Although QISE education still has a strong presence and roots in physics, the field is becoming increasingly interdisciplinary. There is a need to understand the presence of QISE instruction and quantum-related instruction across all disciplines in order to figure out where QISE education is already happening and where it could be expanded. Although there is recent work that characterizes introductory QISE courses, there is no holistic picture of the landscape of QISE and quantum-related education in the United States. We analyzed course catalogs from 1,456 U.S. institutions. We found 61 institutions offering QISE degree programs, mostly at PhD-granting schools, with physics, electrical and computer engineering (ECE), and computer science(CS) as their primary contributors . Across all institutions, we identified over 8,000 courses mentioning 'quantum,' but about one-third of institutions in our study had none. We also found over 500 dedicated QISE courses, concentrated in PhD-granting institutions, primarily in physics, ECE, and CS. Physics leads in offering both general quantum-related ($\sim$4,700) and QISE-specific ($\sim$200) courses. Across multiple disciplines, we see that QISE topics are being introduced in courses not fully dedicated to QISE, which may be a productive strategy for increasing access to QISE education. Our dataset and analysis provide the most comprehensive overview to date of quantum education across US higher education. To ensure broad access, all data are publicly available and downloadable at quantumlandscape.streamlit.app. We hope these findings will support and guide future efforts in curriculum design, workforce development, and education policy across the quantum ecosystem.

physics.ed-ph↗