Departments & Programs
Department of Physics
Bachelor of Science Physics
Degree Requirements
First-Year Experience Course
Beginning freshmen and transfer students with fewer than 19 credit hours are required to take SCI-I 120 Windows on Science (1 cr.) or an equivalent first-year experience course.
Area I English Composition and Communication Competency
Written Communication (6 cr.)
ENG-W 131 or ENG-W 140 Reading Writing and Inquiry (3 cr.) with a grade of C (2.0) or higher.
The second semester of English composition may be satisfied with ENG-W 230, ENG-W 231, ENG-W 250, ENG-W 270, ENG-W 331 or ENG-W 350 with a grade of C (2.0) or higher.
Speech Communication Competency
COMM-R 110 Fundamentals of Speech Communication (3 cr.)
Area II World Language Competency
No world language proficiency is required for a Bachelor of Science degree from the School of Science with the exception of Mathematical Science majors.
Area IIIA Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences, and Cultural Understanding Competencies (12 cr.)
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 (3 cr.) from this list. The list of course choices is located under the School of Science requirements “Undergraduate Programs” in this bulletin.
One additional course from either List H or List S.
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.
For the most current list of courses in the areas of Arts and Humanities, Social Sciences and Cultural Understanding, please refer to the IU Indianapolis General Education Curriculum.
Area IIIC Life and Physical Sciences Competency
Chemistry Courses
Complete CHEM-C 105/CHEM-C 125 (5 credits) and CHEM-C 106/CHEM-C 126 (5 credits) with a grade of C- or better in each course.
Science Electives
Complete two additional approved courses in biology, chemistry, forensic science, or geology (6 credits).
Students must have grades of C- or higher in Life and Physical Sciences courses. A grade of D or D+ will be allowed for one course only.
Area IIID Analytical Reasoning Competency (27 credits)
Required Math courses
Complete MATH-I 165, MATH-I 166, MATH-I 171, MATH-I 261, and MATH-I 266 with a grade of C- or higher in each course.
Math Electives
Complete an additional 6 credits of mathematics beyond MATH-I 266. Please consult your advisor for approved courses.
Computer Programming course
The computer programming requirement (3-4 cr.) of the School of Science may be satisfied with CSCI-C 200, CSCI-C 304 or any higher-level CSCI course (with advisor or department approval). Students with significant programming experience may request authorization to satisfy this requirement with other courses.
Note: Computer Science CSCI-N 241 and CSCI-N 299 do not count in Area IIID, but may count as a general elective.
Students must have grades of C- or higher in Analytical Reasoning courses. A grade of D or D+ will be allowed for one course only.
Area IV Physics Major Requirements
Physics: A minimum of 40 credit hours of physics is required. No grade below C- is acceptable for courses within the major subject.
Introductory:
- PHYS-I 152 Mechanics (4 cr.)
- PHYS-I 251 Heat, Electricity & Optics (5 cr.)
- PHYS-I 299 Introduction to Computational Physics (2 cr.)
Intermediate/Advanced:
- PHYS-I 300 Introduction to Elementary Mathematical Physics (3 cr.)
- PHYS-I 310 Intermediate Mechanics (4 cr.)
- PHYS-I 330 Intermediate Electricity & Magnetism (3 cr.)
- PHYS-I 342 Modern Physics (3 cr.)
- PHYS-I 353 Advanced Physics Laboratory I: Modern Physics and Electronics (2 cr.)
- PHYS-I 400 Physical Optics (3 cr.)
- PHYS-I 401 Advanced Physics Laboratory II Modern Optics (2 cr.)
- PHYS-I 416 Honors Thermal & Statistical Physics (4 cr.) or PHYS-I 418 Thermal & Statistical Physics (3 cr.)
- PHYS-I 442 Quantum Mechanics (3 cr.)
- PHYS-I 490 Capstone Experience (3 cr.)
A minimum of 120 credits is required for graduation. this total must include at least 32 credits in courses at the 300-400 level taken at the IU Indianapolis campus. Residence of at least two semesters on the IU Indianapolis campus is also required for graduation.
No more than 6 credit hours of clinical, athletic, or performing arts courses will be approved. see the advisor for your field for details.
