Undergraduate Program

General Information

Departmental Honors Program
A physics major with a satisfactory scholastic average (3.3 or higher) may apply for entry into the Departmental Honors Program. Application must be made to the Undergraduate Affairs Committee no earlier than the beginning of the junior year and no later than the first quarter of the senior year. Each applicant must solicit a faculty advisor to supervise the proposed research project. Honors will be granted upon (1) satisfactory completion of a thesis based on the research project, and (2) demonstration through an oral examination of a broad comprehension of physics generally and the special field of the thesis. The examining committee shall be appointed by the Chairperson and will consist of a two member faculty Honors Committee, and one additional examiner from the physics faculty or graduate student body.

Advanced undergraduate physics majors may, with the approval of the Chairperson, enroll in first-year graduate courses, such as PH 711, 732, or 741.

Information for First Year Majors and Non-Majors
Physics, chemistry, mathematics and biology majors planning on taking physics in the freshman year should enroll in PH 209 and the associated lab PH 203. Premedical students should enroll in the course PH 211, recitation section PH 213 and the associated lab PH 203. The Calculus I course specially designed for physics, mathematics, chemistry, geology, and geophysics majors is MT 102. MT 100 is intended for biology and premedical students. Physics majors entering with Mathematics AP placement are advised to substitute MT 210 Linear Algebra and MT 410 Differential Equations for MT 305.

Course Offerings
Courses numbered below 200 are introductory courses directed towards non-science majors. These courses have no prerequisites and need no mathematics beyond ordinary college entrance requirements. Introductory physics courses may be used to fulfill the Science Core requirement. PH 209-210 Introductory Physics I, II (Calculus) or PH 211-212 Introduction to Physics I, II (Calculus) and PH 203-204 Introductory Physics Laboratory I and II are required of all biology, chemistry and physics majors. Courses numbered above 300 are advanced offerings primarily for physics majors.