Physics Program Requirements
Course Requirements for Physics Major
For a major in Physics: 43 credits in the department, consisting
of 37 credits in the core courses of:
- PHYS 210: INTRODUCTION TO MECHANICS
- PHYS 211: INTRODUCTION TO ELECTROMAGNETISM
- PHYS 215: MODERN PHYSICS
- PHYS 220: THERMAL & STATISTICAL PHYSICS
- PHYS 385: GREAT EXPERIMENTS IN PHYSICS
- PHYS 386: EXPLORATION IN EXPERIMENTAL PHYSICS
- PHYS 420: CLASSICAL MECHANICS
- PHYS 440: ELECTRICITY AND MAGNETISM I
- PHYS 441: ELECTRICITY & MAGNETISM II
- PHYS 475: QUANTUM PHYSICS
- PHYS 489: THESIS RESEARCH
- ENGR 489: ENGINEERING DESIGN PROJECT or PHYS 490: SENIOR THESIS
and six elective credits chosen from the following list:
- ENGR 025: LABORATORY TECHNIQUES: MACHINE SHOP
- PHYS 303: INTRODUCTION TO MATERIALS SCIENCE (ALSO LISTED AS ENGR 303)
- PHYS 307: ENERGY & SUSTAINABILITY (ALSO LISTED AS ENVS 307)
- PHYS 316: CIRCUITS AND ELECTRONICS I (ALSO LISTED AS ENGR 316)
- PHYS 316: CIRCUITS AND ELECTRONICS II (ALSO LISTED AS ENGR 316)
- PHYS 325: COMPUTATIONAL PHYSICS
- PHYS 370: ADVANCED TOPICS IN PHYSICS
The Physics major also requires
Material Science Focus
48 credits in the department, consisting of the core courses for the physics major and PHYS 303, 315, and 316. In addition, the material science focus requires:
- MATH 170: CALCULUS I
- MATH 175: CALCULUS II
- MATH 200: VECTOR CALCULUS
- MATH 210: ORDINARY DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS
- MATH 250: LINEAR ALGEBRA
- CHEM 210: GENERAL CHEMISTRY
- CHEM 211: GENERAL CHEMISTRY
- CHEM 350: INORGANIC CHEMISTRY I
Courses must be completed with a grade of C- or better to count toward the major.