Departments & Programs
Department of Physics
Bachelor of Science Physics and Master of Science Mechanical Engineering
Degree Requirements
First-Year Experience Course
Beginning freshmen and transfer students with fewer than 19 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 Competency
Written Communication (6 cr.)
ENG-W131 or ENG-W140 Reading Writing and Inquiry (3 cr.)
Students must complete TCM 32000 with a grade of C (2.0) or higher to satisfy the second semester of English composition
Speech Communication Competency
COMM-R110, 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 (3cr.) 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 IUPUI General Education Curriculum.
Area IIIC Life and Physical Sciences Competency
Chemistry Courses
Complete CHEM-C105/CHEM-C125 (5 credits) and CHEM-C106/CHEM-C126 (5 credits) with a grade of C- or better in each course.
Two additional lecture courses in this area chosen from biology, chemistry, forensic science, and geology. Not all courses offered through these department satisfy this requirement. Check with your academic advisor to confirm before you enroll in a science elective.
For physics majors, course options in this area also include: ECE 20100, ECE 20200, ECE 20400, ECE 27000, ME 30100, ME 31400, and ME 34000.
Students must have grades of C- or higher in the Life and Physical Sciences courses. A single grade of D or D+ will be allowed in one course only in this area.Area IIID Analytical Reasoning Competency (28 credits)
Required Math courses
Complete MATH 16500, MATH 16600, MATH 17100, MATH 26100, and MATH 26600 with a grade of C- or higher in each course.
Additional Courses
Complete MATH 53700 Applied Mathematics for Scientists and Engineers I (3 cr.) or approved alternative course.
Complete MATH 53800 Applied Mathematics for Scientists and Engineers II (3 cr.) or approved alternative course.
Computer Science courses
The computer programming requirement of the School of Science may be satisfied with CSCI 23000, CSCI-N305, CSCI-N317, CSCI-N331, CSCI-N341, or any higher-level CSCI course.
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.
NOTE: Computer Science CSCI-N241 and CSCI-N299 do not count in Area IIID, but may count as a general elective.
Area IV Physics Major Requirements
No grade below C- is acceptable for courses within the major subject.
Introductory:
- PHYS 15200 Mechanics (4 cr.)
- PHYS 25100 Heat, Electricity & Optics (5 cr.)
- PHYS 29900 Introduction to Computational Physics (2 cr.)
Intermediate/Advanced:
- PHYS 31000 Intermediate Mechanics (4 cr.)
- PHYS 33000 Intermediate Electricity & Magnetism (3 cr.)
- PHYS 34200 Modern Physics (3 cr.)
- PHYS 35300 Advanced Physics Laboratory I: Modern Physics and Electronics (2 cr.)
- PHYS 40000 Physical Optics (3 cr.)
- PHYS 40100 Advanced Physics Laboratory II Modern Optics (2 cr.)
- PHYS 41800 Thermal & Statistical Physics (3 cr.)
- PHYS 55000 Introduction to Quantum Mechanics (3 cr.)
Area IV Mechanical Engineering Major Requirements
No grade below C- is acceptable for courses within the major subject.
- ME 27200 Mechanics of Materials (4 cr.)
- ME 33000 Modeling and Analysis of Dynamic Systems (3 cr.)
- ME 46200 Engineering Design (4 cr.)
- ME 5##### ME Primary Area Electives (9 cr.)
- Additional ME 5## Primary Area Electives (9 cr.) for non-thesis option or ME 69800 Thesis (9 cr.)
Capstone Requirement
The Capstone Requirement is satisfied with ME 46200 Engineering Design (4 cr.)Students should take PHYS 55000 and one other PHYS or MATH course, e.g. PHYS 51000 Physical Mechanics or PHYS 60000 Methods of Theoretical Physics, during the last two years. Note that PHYS 60000 is routinely used as a substitute for the MATH requirement in the Physics graduate program, and hence could be taken in lieu of MATH 53800. Alternatively, PHYS 51000 or PHYS 60000 could be taken as the science elective in the tenth semester.
A minimum of 120 credits is required for graduation for the bachelor of science degree; 30 credit hours are required for graduation for the master of science degree. Residence of at least two semesters on the IUPUI 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.
