Observations of very high-energy (>1 TeV) cosmic gamma rays are a powerful, unique tool
to explore new physics beyond the Standard Model. The Southern Wide-field Gamma-Ray
Observatory (SWGO), a next-generation experiment looking for cosmic gamma rays, will be
situated in the Southern hemisphere with gamma-ray sensitivity up to hundreds of TeV. This
observatory will have an order of magnitude better sensitivity than the current-generation High
AltitudeWater Cherenkov (HAWC) observatory. Because of its increased sensitivity and location
in the Southern hemisphere, SWGO will be ideally situated to look for dark matter signals from
the MilkyWay. Specifically, SWGO will be able to search for dark matter signals a thousand times
dimmer than those observable with HAWC. SWGO will also be well-situated to search for other
phenomena Beyond-the-Standard-Model, including Primordial Black Holes, Axion-like Particles,
and Violations of Lorentz Invariance. In this presentation, I will discuss the prospects for SWGO
as a leading observatory in next-generation searches for physics beyond the Standard Model.