Physics Majors and Minors

Majors

All students who major in Physics, Engineering Physics, or Physics Pre-Health will need to complete an introductory physics sequence, calculus I and II, the physics core and research sequences, and additional requirements based on the major. Some of these requirements will count towards the general education curriculum. Detailed descriptions are below. Although they are not required, students are strongly urged to take MTH 2210, Calculus III, and MTH 2240, Differential Equations, during the year following the introductory sequence.

Students are strongly encouraged to take the calculus-based introductory physics sequence (Option 1 below). However, with advisor approval, Options 2 and 3 may be chosen based on an individual student's academic needs:

Option 1: PHY 2110, 2120 (preferred, MTH 1210, Calculus I, and MTH 1220, Calculus II, are co-requisites); Option 2: PHY 1110, 1120 (pre-calculus is a prerequisite); Option 3: PHY 1140, 2010, and 2250 (pre-calculus is a prerequisite). If students take Option 3, then PHY 2250 replaces an elective.

The physics core consists of the following courses for a total of 14 credit hours and designed to provide a solid foundation in physics for all students in the major:

PHY 2230, Introduction to Modern Physics (4 hours) PHY 3110, Analytical Mechanics (3) PHY 3120, Electricity and Magnetism (4) PHY 4210, Quantum Mechanics I (3)

The physics research sequence consists of the following courses for a total of 6 hours: PHY 4010, Advanced Laboratory (2) PHY 3700, Research in Physics I (1) PHY 4700, Research in Physics II (2) PHY 4050, Physics Capstone (1)

Physics 4700 may be replaced by two semesters of research in the form of an independent study. Alternatively, independent study courses may be counted towards elective credit as described below.

The specific requirements for each major are detailed below:

¹ Advisor approval required.

² These courses may also count towards other majors or minors according to their catalog requirements.

³ PHY 4700 may be replaced by two semesters of independent study with advisor approval.

⁴ Up to 3 hours of elective credit may be in the form of independent studies and/or research with advisor approval.

⁵ A minor in math (10 additional hours above the general education and technical requirements) is strongly encouraged for all physics majors, especially students planning to attend graduate school. Other minors may be chosen; the number of free electives and/or minor hours may vary based on the chosen minor.

Engineering Physics

The Engineering Physics program (54-55 hours) is a program designed to provide students with a solid foundation and technical skills desirable for success in applied physics and engineering fields. It is an interdisciplinary program with several tracks for students. The tracks are:

1. The Computational Physics track leans heavily on math and computer skills for students in the fast growing field of computational physics ranging from gaming to simulations in areas such as material science, biomedical engineering, and modeling.

2. The Material Science and Applied Physics track for those students who wish to work in industry or pursue advanced study in an applied physics field or the interdisciplinary field of material science.

3. The Pre-Engineering track is for those students who may wish to pursue engineering related work in graduate school.

All tracks involve multiple courses from other areas designed to give our students a solid foundation for them to pursue their goals.

No minor is required for the Engineering Physics Major.

¹ Advisor approval required.

² PHY 4700 may be replaced by two semesters of independent study with advisor approval.

³ Up to 3 hours of elective credit may be in the form of independent studies and/or research with advisor approval.

Physics Pre-Health program (56-57 hours)

The Physics Pre-Health program is designed for pre-health related areas such as medical physics, medical school, dental school, biophysics, and graduate work in biomedical science areas.  The program includes the biology and chemistry courses that would prepare students for admission to medical or other pre-health programs while allowing students who wish to pursue other options the flexiblity to take courses aimes at their specific career interests.  

Minor is not required for Physics Pre-Health major.

¹ Although the courses in this major were chosen to meet the most common prerequisites of medical or other health professional schools, each school may have additional (or less) requirements.  Please consult with your pre-medical advisor and the individual schools for which you expect to apply.  Typically, students preparing for the MCAT or a pre-health profession graduate program will choose BIO 1120, Principles of Biology II (4) under "Biology Requirements" and should consider taking SOC 1010, Introduction to Sociology (3) or SOC 1020, Social Problems (3) as part of their general education courses.  Additionally, PSY 1100, General Psychology (3) and MTH 1151, Statistics for Sciences (3), may help in preparation for the MCAT and can be taken as electives.  Students are also urged to check on additional requirements for medical school entrance and plan accordingly in consultation with the pre-health advisor.  

² Advisor approval required.

³ The research sequence should be customized to include a design project based on the career track chosen by the student.  PHY 4700 may be replaced by two semesters of independent study.  

⁴ Other upper level courses from relevant departments may be considered with approval by the department chair.  

Minors