Physics, B.S.

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Program Learning Outcomes and Educational Effectiveness Evaluation Plans for B.S. in Physics.

Students pursuing the B.S. in Physics are required to:

Earn an overall GPA of 2.000 for all required major courses.
Complete all courses in the major for a letter grade, except those where the default grading option is P/NP.
Complete a minimum of 21 credits from upper-division courses in the major.

Majors are required to enroll in FFC 100B - First Year Foundations: Grand Challenges in Science and Engineering to satisfy their General Education requirement.

Grand Challenges Initiative (3 credits)

SCI 150 - Grand Challenges in Science and Engineering I 1 credit
SCI 200 - Grand Challenges in Science and Engineering II 1 credit
SCI 250 - Grand Challenges in Science and Engineering III 1 credit

core requirements (31 credits)

PHYS 101 - General Physics I 3 credits
PHYS 101L - General Physics I Laboratory 1 credit
PHYS 102 - General Physics II 3 credits
PHYS 102L - General Physics II Laboratory 1 credit
MATH 115 - Accelerated Calculus Part I: Differentiation and Integration 4 credits
MATH 116 - Accelerated Calculus Part II: Series, Differential Equations and Multivariable Calculus 4 credits
PHYS 201 - General Physics III 3 credits
MATH 215 - Introduction to Linear Algebra and Differential Equations 3 credits
PHYS 220 - Scientific Computing I 3 credits
PHYS 250 - Mathematical Methods in Physics 3 credits
PHYS 323 - Scientific Computing II 3 credits

upper-division requirements (24 credits)

PHYS 320 - Mechanics I 3 credits
PHYS 321 - Mechanics II 3 credits
PHYS 421 - Electricity and Magnetism I 3 credits
PHYS 422 - Electricity and Magnetism II 3 credits
PHYS 430 - Thermal and Statistical Physics I 3 credits
PHYS 431 - Thermal and Statistical Physics II 3 credits
PHYS 451 - Quantum Mechanics I 3 credits
PHYS 452 - Quantum Mechanics II 3 credits

electives (minimum 6 credits required)

Students, in consultation with their physics program adviser, will design individual elective programs to suit their academic goals. Courses may be selected from the following list.

MATH 315 - Linear Algebra II (Advanced Linear Algebra) 3 credits
PHYS 325 - Biophysics 3 credits
PHYS 326 - Astrophysics and Cosmology 3 credits
CHEM 340 - Physical Chemistry-Quantum Chemistry, Lecture and Laboratory 4 credits
PHYS 340 - Quantum Information Science 3 credits
BIOL 345 - Comparative Biomechanics 3 credits
MATH 350 - Differential Equations 3 credits
PHYS 350 - Experimental Methods in Optics 3 credits
PHYS 351 - Philosophy and Foundations of Quantum Mechanics 3 credits
MATH 360 - Probability Theory 3 credits
PHYS 370 - Special Topics in Physics ½-3 credits
BCHM 420 - Physical Biochemistry, Lecture and Laboratory 4 credits
CHEM 441 - Physical Chemistry-Thermodynamics and Kinetics, Lecture and Laboratory 4 credits
CHEM 451 - Molecular Spectroscopy 3 credits
MATH 451 - Complex Analysis 3 credits
PHYS 491 - Student-Faculty Research/Creative Activity 1-3 credits
PHYS 499 - Individual Study 1-3 credits

total credits 64

Students may make the following substitutions for the core sequences, in consultation with their physics program adviser: The life sciences introductory physics sequence PHYS 107 and PHYS 108 may be substituted for PHYS 101 /PHYS 101L and PHYS 102 /PHYS 102L . Similarly, PHYS 207 may be substituted for PHYS 201 . The nine-credit calculus sequence MATH 110 , MATH 111 , MATH 210 may be substituted for the accelerated eight-credit sequence MATH 115 , MATH 116 .The six-credit sequence CPSC 230 and CPSC 298 may be substituted for the scientific computing sequence PHYS 220 and PHYS 323 by major advisor approval.