Physics Major for the High School Teaching License (9-12) / Bachelor of Arts

Total Credit Hours: 128
Major Credit Hours: 66

The Department of Physics features a fully approved Physics program that prepares candidates to teach grades 9-12 in Illinois public and private schools. The program is approved by the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board in conjunction with the Illinois State Board of Education and includes all the requirements for a major in Physics.  Physics majors must declare majors in both Physics and Secondary Education.  See advisors in the Department of Physics and the Department of Education for specific approval and a list of required courses.

Teacher Candidates seeking a Professional Educator License with a Physics Endorsement must complete all requirements of the Department of Education and the following coursework in the content area as well as professional education courses. For a detailed description of the courses, please click on the appropriate link. Only grades of “C” and above are acceptable in professional education courses and in any courses counted toward any endorsement or license. A “C-” or lower grade will require that the course be repeated.

Degree Requirements

Program: BA-PHYS-1

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.A. 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.

I. Courses in Physics Major for Teacher Licensure (66)

A. Core Courses (53)

CHEM-11000General Chemistry 1

4

CHEM-11100General Chemistry 1 Lab

1

CHEM-11500General Chemistry 2

4

CHEM-11600General Chemistry 2 Lab

1

MATH-20900Calculus 1

4

MATH-23500Calculus 2

4

MATH-25000Calculus 3

4

MATH-30000Differential Equations

3

PHYS-10500Introduction to Astronomy

3

PHYS-21000General Physics 1

3

PHYS-21100General Physics 1 Lab

1

PHYS-21500General Physics 2

3

PHYS-21600General Physics 2 Lab

1

PHYS-21800General Physics 3

3

PHYS-21900General Physics 3 Lab

1

PHYS-29600Research Methods Seminar

1

PHYS-30000Mechanics

4

PHYS-34100Modern Physics

3

PHYS-36500Intermediate Physics Laboratory

3

PHYS-46500Capstone Project

1

PHYS-49600Physics Seminar

1

B. Select one of the following courses (4):

PHYS-31000Electricity and Magnetism

4

PHYS-31100Analog and Digital Electronics

4

C. Select one of the following Biology courses/sequences (3-4):

BIOL-10600Introduction to Environmental Science

3

BIOL-10800Introduction to Human Biology

3

BIOL-12200Integrated Science 2

3

-
AND

BIOL-12300Integrated Science 2 Lab

1

D. Select one Computation course (3):

CPSC-20000Introduction to Computer Science

3

CPSC-31500Scientific Computing

3

 

E. Select two to three additional credit hours from the following courses to total at least 66 credit hours for the major (2-3):

BIOL-10600Introduction to Environmental Science

3

BIOL-10700Human Heredity

3

BIOL-10800Introduction to Human Biology

3

MATH-22000Applied Probability and Statistics

3

MATH-30500Linear Algebra

3

MATH-36500Mathematical Modeling

3

PHYS-10800Energy and Society

3

PHYS-30600Mathematical Methods for the Physical Sciences

2

PHYS-31100Analog and Digital Electronics

4

PHYS-31800Optics

4

PHYS-34200Applied Modern Physics: Atoms, Molecules, and Condensed Matter

2

PHYS-34300Applied Modern Physics: Nuclear and Particle Physics

2

PHYS-40100Computational Mechanics

3

PHYS-41100Computational Electrodynamics

3

PHYS-44100Quantum Mechanics

3

PHYS-47000Undergraduate Research

1-6

PHYS-498XXSpecial Topics in Physics

1-4

Mathematics minors cannot use any 30000 or 40000 level Mathematics course to satisfy both this requirement and a Mathematics minor requirement.

F. Advanced Writing Requirement

The advanced writing requirement of the General Education curriculum is satisfied by successful completion of:
PHYS-49600Physics Seminar

1

II. Professional Educator License

Secondary education majors must complete the professional educator program of study in their subject area. See content area for Secondary Licensure content requirements.