Bachelor of Science in Physical Sciences, Physics

New! Starting Spring 2026

Program Description

A Bachelor of Science (BS) in Physics is a versatile degree, with some students seeking immediate employment upon graduation, while others pursue advanced degrees in physics or a closely allied science or medical field.

Additionally, an undergraduate physics curriculum provides an excellent foundation for those ultimately interested in becoming engineers, with some becoming employed with no further education, some transferring to, or seeking a second undergraduate degree from, an engineering school, and some transitioning straight from a BS in Physics to a graduate programs in engineering.

Accordingly, even though we offer a single BS in Physics, we make strong recommendations for elective choices based upon each student’s intended path. We refer to these sets of recommendations as “tracks".

Academic Advising

Your academic advisor is a critical partner in fostering your success at IU South Bend and beyond. Your advisor will help you explore academic majors and careers, plan your degree, choose classes, learn about internships and study abroad, and much more. To see who is assigned as your advisor, visit your Student Online Advising Record in one.iu.edu. For more information about advising at IU South Bend, visit the website for the Undergraduate Advising Center.

Final responsibility for meeting degree requirements rests with the student.

Questions about advising? Email sbadvise@iu.edu or call (574) 520-4550.

Degree Requirements

Students receiving the Bachelor of Science in Physical Sciences degree must complete 120 credits including the following.

• IU South Bend General Education Curriculum (33 cr.) to include:

• MATH-M 215 | Fulfills Fundamental Literacies Quantitative Reasoning
• PHYS-P 303 | Fulfills Extended Literacies
• PSCI-S 106 (pending approval)| Fulfills Information Literacy

• School of Natural Science Bachelor of Arts Requirements (16-26 cr.)
• Required Minor (15-18 cr.)
• Core Requirements (47 cr.)

• Foundation (26 cr.)
• Major Coursework (21 cr.)

• Supporting Requirements (20-26 cr.)

• Mathematics (16 cr.)
• Computer Programming (4 cr.)
• World Languages (0-6 cr.)

• Free Electives (balance of credits needed to equal 120 credit requirement

• Minimum of 30 credit hours at the 300– or 400–level.
• Core Requirements must be completed with a grade of C– or higher.
• Must have a minimum GPA of 2.0 for Core Requirements.
• At least 30 credit hours must be taken in residence at IU South Bend, of which at least 12 credits must be in the major at the 300– or 400–level.
• All courses are 3 credit hours, unless otherwise noted.

Core Requirements (47 cr.)

Foundation (26 cr.)

• CHEM-C 105 Principles of Chemisty I
• CHEM-C 106 Principles of Chemistry II
• CHEM-C 125 Experimental Chemistry I (2 cr.) 
• CHEM-C 126 Experimental Chemistry II (2 cr.)
• PHYS-P 221 Physics 1 (5 cr.)
• PHYS-P 222 Physics 2 (5 cr.)
• PHYS-P 303 Digital Electronics (4 cr.)
• PSCI-S 106 Freshman Seminar (1 cr.)
  Pending final approval
• PSCI-S 490 Senior Seminar (1 cr.)
  Pending final approval

Major Coursework (21 cr.)

• PHYS-P 301 Physics 3
• PHYS-P 309Modern Physics Laboratory
• PHYS-P 340 Termodynamics and Statistical Mechanics
• PHYS-S 406 Research

Select 9-11 credits from the following:

• AST-A 453 Topical Astrophysics
• AST-N 390 The Natural World
• CHEM-C 360 Introductory Physical Chemistry
• CHEM-C 3XX Physical Chemistry Laboratory (1 cr.)
  Pending final approval
• CHEM-C 410 Principles of Chemical Instrumentation (4 cr.)
• PHYS-P 331 Theory of Electricity and Magnetism
• PHYS-P 441 Analytical Mechanics I
• PHYS-P 453 Introduction to Quantum Mechanics
• PHYS-P 321 Techniques of Theoretical Physics
• PHYS-P 334 Fundamentals of Optics
• PHYS-P 410 Computing Applications in Physics
• PHYS-S 405 Readings in Physics (1-3 cr.)
  Limited to 6 cr. total
• Other science courses may be substituted with approval of the department

Supporting Requirements (20-26 cr.)

Mathematics (16 cr.)

• MATH-M 215 Calculus (5 cr.)
• MATH-M 216 Calculus II (5 cr.)
• MATH-M 301 Linear Algebra and Applications
• MATH-M 311 Calculus 3 

Computer Programming (4 cr.)

Select one of the following:

• CSCI-A 201 Introduction to Programming I (4 cr.) 
• CSCI-B 100 Problem Solving Using Computers (4 cr.) 
• CSCI-C 101 Computer Programming I (4 cr.)  

World Language (0-6 cr.)

Successful completion of a second-semester language class (102), placement into/beyond the third-semester language class (203), or formal training, as evidenced by secondary or university diplomas or transcripts, in a language other than English. The Department of World Language Studies (WLS) offers a placement examination to determine into which semester a student should enroll and/or to qualify students for credit by examination.