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Physics / Bachelor of Science

Total Credit Hours: 128

Major Credit Hours: 73

The B.S. Degree gives students an excellent grounding in the fundamentals of physics with training in theoretical, computational, and experimental treatments of physics principles, phenomena, and applications.   Students are also encouraged to get involved in research activities within the department.  This program  prepares students for entry into graduate programs in physics and other scientific or engineering fields. It also opens the door to a broad range of employment options in the both the public and private sectors, including employment in industry and at national labs.

Degree Requirements

The following courses must be completed in order to earn a B.S. in Physics.

A grade of "C-" or better must be earned in a prerequisite course in order to advance to the next course in the sequence. An overall GPA of 2.0 must be earned in the major in order for a student to graduate with a B.S. in Physics.

Physics majors and minors may take a Physics class only two times. If a student has not achieved a minimum of a "C-" after the second attempt, the student may not repeat the class. 

Physics majors may not double major in Chemical Physics.

I. Core Courses (58)

03-110General Chemistry I

4
03-111General Chemistry I Lab

1
13-200Calculus I

4
13-201Calculus II

4
13-250Calculus III

4
13-300Differential Equations

3
17-210General Physics 1

3
17-211General Physics 1 Lab

1
17-215General Physics 2

3
17-216General Physics 2 Lab

1
17-218General Physics 3

3
17-219General Physics 3 Lab

1
17-296Research Methods Seminar

1
17-300Mechanics

4
17-310Electricity and Magnetism

4
17-331Thermodynamics

3
17-341Modern Physics

3
17-365Intermediate Physics Laboratory

3
17-441Quantum Mechanics

3
17-465Capstone Project

1
17-496Physics Seminar

1
70-315Scientific Computing

3

II. Choose one of the following Lab/Lecture courses: (4)

17-311Analog and Digital Electronics

4
17-318Optics

4

III. Choose one of the following Computational Physics courses: (2)

17-401Computational Mechanics

2
17-411Computational Electrodynamics

2

IV. Select 9 credit hours of Electives: (9)

Select at least 9 additional hours of electives from the following list, up to 6 of which may be taken in Chemistry, Computer Science, or Mathematics. Mathematics minors cannot use any 300- or 400-level Mathematics course to satisfy both this requirement and a Mathematics minor requirement
03-115General Chemistry II

4
13-305Linear Algebra

3
13-315Probability and Statistics I

3
13-316Probability and Statistics II

3
13-350Numerical Analysis

3
13-360Real Analysis 1

3
13-430Complex Analysis

3
17-306Mathematical Methods for the Physical Sciences

2
17-311Analog and Digital Electronics

4
17-318Optics

4
17-342Applied Modern Physics: Atoms, Molecules, and Condensed Matter

2
17-343Applied Modern Physics: Nuclear and Particle Physics

2
17-401Computational Mechanics

2
17-411Computational Electrodynamics

2
17-442Solid State Physics

3
17-443Nuclear and Particle Physics

3
70-200Introduction to Computer Science

3
70-210Programming Fundamentals

3
70-220Introduction to Unix

3

17-371 Workshop in Physics may be taken multiple times for credit if different topics are offered. Up to 2 credit hours may be applied toward completion of these elective credits.

17-470 Undergraduate Research may be taken multiple times for credit.  Up to 6 credit hours may be applied toward completion of these elective credits.

17-498 Topics in Physics may be taken multiple times for credit if different topics are offered.  Up to 9 credit hours may be applied toward completion of these elective credits.

17-499 Independent Study may be taken multiple times for credit.  Up to 4 credit hours may be applied toward completion of these elective credits.

V. The advanced writing requirement is satisfied for Physics majors by successful completion of 17-296 Research Methods Seminar, 17-365 Intermediate Physics Lab, and 17-465 Capstone Project.