Physics Bachelor of Science
Leading to the Bachelor of Science Degree in Applied Sciences
The Physics program equips students with foundational knowledge and technical skills to study all aspects of the natural world. Students build a solid foundation in fundamental scientific principles and computational fluency through active classrooms and hands-on learning while developing experimental know-how in project-focused laboratories. Beyond the core Physics requirements, students explore their specific interests in elective courses, culminating in a two-semester Senior Thesis under the guidance of a faculty expert. The analytic approaches and integrated understanding of physical phenomena built by the curriculum prepares students for a dynamic job market by ensuring they have the flexibility and self-directed learning capability to pursue a variety of careers.
Program Educational Objectives
- To be working in a variety of fields in industry, government, and academia, either in jobs directly related to STEM (such as research laboratories or data analytics) or indirectly (such as public policy or consulting).
- To be developing an expertise within their chosen field by leveraging the self-directed learning skills developed during their undergraduate experience.
- To be pursuing advanced degrees in fields such as science, medicine, law, or business.
Student Outcomes
- The ability to describe and model a variety of physical systems starting from basic principles, building to more specific and accurate models as the situation demands.
- The ability to construct a research question, design and carry out an experiment to test that question, and analyze any outcomes with mathematical and computational techniques.
- The ability to report their findings by written, verbal, and visual means to a range of audiences.
- The ability to function effectively on a diverse team, plan projects, design tasks, develop metrics for success, and communicate within and without the team.
- The ability to transfer all of the preceding skills into non-physics contexts.
Total credits for degree: 120
First Year | ||
---|---|---|
Fall Semester | Credits | |
MATH1776 | CALCULUS 1A | 2 |
MATH1777 | CALCULUS 1B | 2 |
PHYS1250 | ENGINEERING PHYSICS I | 4 |
English Sequence | 4 | |
Exploratory Physics Elective 1 | 4 | |
Credits | 16 | |
Spring Semester | ||
MATH1876 | CALCULUS 2A | 2 |
MATH1877 | CALCULUS 2B | 2 |
PHYS1750 | ENGINEERING PHYSICS II | 4 |
English Sequence | 4 | |
Exploratory Physics Elective 1 | 4 | |
Credits | 16 | |
Second Year | ||
Fall Semester | ||
PHYS3200 | OPTICS | 4 |
MATH2025 | MULTIVARIABLE CALCULUS | 4 |
HSS Elective* | 4 | |
Science/Math/CS Elective 1 | 4 | |
COOP2500 | CO-OP INSTITUTE | 0 |
Credits | 16 | |
Spring Semester | ||
MATH2500 or MATH2860 | DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS or LINEAR ALGEBRA & MATRIX THEORY | 4 |
PHYS3100 | MODERN PHYSICS | 4 |
PHYS3500 | THERMAL PHYSICS | 4 |
HSS Elective* | 4 | |
Credits | 16 | |
Summer Semester | ||
COOP3000 | PRE CO-OP WORK TERM (OPTIONAL) | 0 |
Credits | 0 | |
Third Year | ||
Fall Semester | ||
MATH2860 or MATH2500 | LINEAR ALGEBRA & MATRIX THEORY or DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS | 4 |
PHYS3600 | CLASSICAL MECHANICS | 4 |
Science/Math/CS Elective 2 | 4 | |
HSS Elective* | 4 | |
Credits | 16 | |
Spring Semester | ||
PHYS4700 | ELECTRODYNAMICS | 4 |
Science/Math/CS Elective 3 | 4 | |
HSS Elective* | 4 | |
General Elective | 4 | |
Credits | 16 | |
Summer Semester | ||
COOP3500 | COOP EDUCATION 1 | 0 |
Credits | 0 | |
Fourth Year | ||
Fall Semester | ||
PHYS3700 | ADVANCE LABORATORY TECHNIQUES IN PHYSICS | 4 |
PHYS4500 | INTRODUCTION TO QUANTUM MECHANICS | 4 |
PHYS5000 | SENIOR THESIS I | 4 |
Credits | 12 | |
Spring Semester | ||
PHYS3000 | COMPUTATIONAL PHYSICS | 4 |
PHYS5500 | SENIOR THESIS II | 4 |
HSS Elective* | 4 | |
Credits | 12 | |
Total Credits | 120 |
Math Placement may alter the course schedule above.
Exploratory Physics Electives
Course | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
PHYS1050 | VIDEO-GAME PHYSICS | 4 |
PHYS1100 | THE COSMIC SYSTEM | 3 |
PHYS1300 | EARLY-UNIVERSE COSMOLOGY | 4 |
PHYS1400 | INTRODUCTION TO MEDICAL PHYSICS | 4 |
PHYS2000 | INTRODUCTION TO ASTRONOMY | 4 |
PHYS2300 | SPACE EXPLORATION | 4 |
Math Placement may alter the course schedule above.
Exploratory Physics Electives
Course | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
PHYS1050 | VIDEO-GAME PHYSICS | 4 |
PHYS1100 | THE COSMIC SYSTEM | 3 |
PHYS1300 | EARLY-UNIVERSE COSMOLOGY | 4 |
PHYS1400 | INTRODUCTION TO MEDICAL PHYSICS | 4 |
PHYS2000 | INTRODUCTION TO ASTRONOMY | 4 |
PHYS2300 | SPACE EXPLORATION | 4 |