Departments & Centers

Department of Physics

Bachelor of Science

Degree Requirements

First-Year Experience Course  Beginning freshmen and transfer students with fewer than 18 credit hours are required to take SCI-I120 Windows on Science (1 cr.) or an equivalent first-year experience course.

Area I English Composition and Communication Skills

Minimum requirements for the School of Science are given in this bulletin (see the School of Science requirements under “Undergraduate Programs”). The second semester of English composition may be satisfied only with ENG-W132 (or ENG-W150), ENG-W231, ENG-W250, ENG-W290, ENG-W331, ENG-W350, TCM 22000, or TCM 32000.

Area II Foreign Language

No foreign language proficiency is required for a Bachelor of Science degree.

Area IIIA Humanities, Social Sciences, and Comparative World Cultures (12 cr.)

HIST-H114 Western Civilization II or HIST-H109 Perspectives on the World: 1800-Present

List H course: Choose one course (3 cr.) from this list. The list of course choices is located under the School of Science requirements “Undergraduate Programs” in this bulletin.

List S course: Choose one course (3cr.) from this list. The list of course choices is located under the School of Science requirements “Undergraduate Programs” in this bulletin.

List C course: Choose one course (3 cr.) from this list. The list of course choices is located under the School of Science requirements “Undergraduate Programs” in this bulletin.

Area IIIB Junior/Senior Integrator

The School of Science has indefinitely suspended the Junior/Senior Integrator requirement. The Department of Physics has chosen to allow physics majors to satisfy the three credit hours with a course decided upon in consultation with their physics advisor. This course might be outside physics, but can be satisfied with a physics course. For additional information, please consult your academic advisor.

Area IIIC Physical and Biological Sciences  Minimum requirements for the School of Science are given in this bulletin (see the School of Science requirements under “Undergraduate Programs”).

Courses must include CHEM-C105 / CHEM-C125 and CHEM-C106 / CHEM-C126 with laboratory or their approved equivalent.

Area IIID Mathematical Sciences

Minimum requirements for the School of Science are given in this bulletin (see the School of Science requirements under “Undergraduate Programs”).

Twenty-four (24) credit hours of courses in mathematics are required, which must include MATH 16500, MATH 16600, MATH 17100, MATH 26100 and MATH 26600.

The computer science requirement of the School of Science may be satisfied with CSCI 23000, CSCI-N305, CSCI-N331, or any higher-level CSCI course.

Note: Computer Science CSCI-N241 and CSCI-N299 do not count in Area IIID, but may count as a general elective.

Area IV Physics Concentration

The Department of Physics offers four options for students pursuing the Bachelor of Science degree: a traditional physics program; a biophysics option; a program designed for students planning a career in physics teaching; an accelerated program with a B.S. in physics and a B.S. in electrical engineering; and an accelerated program known as the BPMME program because students earn both a bachelor’s in physics and a master’s in mechanical engineering.

Students pursuing the traditional program must complete PHYS 15200, PHYS 25100, PHYS 30000, PHYS 31000, PHYS 33000, PHYS 34200, PHYS 35300, PHYS 40000, PHYS 40100, PHYS 41600, PHYS 44200, and PHYS 49000. These students must complete 6 hours of mathematics above the level of MATH 26600 in courses approved by the Department of Physics.

Students pursuing the biophysics option must complete: Introductory course sequence PHYS-P201 or PHYS 15200, PHYS-P202 or PHYS 25100; two of the following three: PHYS PHYS 30000, PHYS 31000, PHYS 33000; Complete PHYS 34200, 35300, PHYS 44200, and PHYS 49000 (Biophysics Capstone). In addition, a minimum of 15 credit hours of biology and 23 credit hours of chemistry is required.

Students pursuing the teaching option must complete: PHYS 15200, PHYS 25100, PHYS 30000, PHYS 31000, PHYS 33000, PHYS 34200, PHYS 35300, and PHYS 49000. The Department of Physics may substitute other science courses for the 400-level courses and recommend education courses in order to meet teacher certifi-cation requirements. These students must complete 6 hours of mathematics above the level of MATH 26600 in courses approved by the Department of Physics.

Students pursuing the program in physics and mechanical engineering must complete: PHYS 15200, PHYS 25100, PHYS 31000, PHYS 33000, PHYS 34200, PHYS 35300, and PHYS 41600. These students must complete 3 hours of mathematics above the level of MATH 26600 in courses approved by the Department of Physics. Students in this program must satisfy additional requirements specified by the Department of Mechanical Engineering.

In addition to the above requirements, courses taken outside the Schools of Science and Liberal Arts must receive departmental approval. No more than 6 credit hours of studio, clinical, athletic, or performing arts courses will be approved. See the departmental advisor for details.

Minor in Physics

The Department of Physics offers an undergraduate minor in physics with the following requirements:

  • The introductory physics sequence: PHYS 15200 and PHYS 25100.
  • Modern Physics: PHYS 34200.
  • Six (6) more credit hours chosen from PHYS 30000, PHYS 31000, PHYS 33000, PHYS 40000, PHYS 41600, or PHYS 44200.
  • The grade for each course submitted for the minor must be a C (2.0) or higher.

Correspondence courses may not be used to fulfill requirements for the minor.