The curriculum and the expectations of student performance at the university assume that entering freshman have successfully completed a minimum of three-and-a-half years of math, including trigonometry, and three years of science beyond physical science, and have demonstrated strong general verbal-quantitative aptitudes as measured on standardized tests.
Degree Programs
Among the degree plans available:
Recommended course sequence
Below are typical schedules of course work for the degrees listed. Each semester you will be taking between 12 to 17 credit hours. These schedules are flexible and designed to be used as an aid.
- Physics, B.S. (requires Adobe Reader, opens in new window)
- Physics, B.A. (requires Adobe Reader, opens in new window)
Differences between B.S. and B.A. degrees
Students in the B.S. degree program generally will continue their studies in physics or closely related programs in graduate schools attaining the master's or doctorate degrees.
The degree requires 56 hours of physics, 8 hours of chemistry, and 16 hours of math toward a total of 122 credit hours needed to graduate.
Students seeking the B.A. degree generally use physics as a background for other fields. They may pursue graduate studies in biophysics, biotechnology, medicine, geophysics, aerospace, nano-scale technologies, and patent law, for example. The lower-division course requirements for the B.A. degree are the same as those for the B.S. degree. At the upper-division level, 26 hours of physics and 15 hours of science electives are required, making a total of 122 credit hours.
Fast track program
The fast track program allows qualified junior-level undergraduate students to enroll in up to 15 hours of approved graduate-level physics course work that can be used to satisfy the requirements for the undergraduate physics degree. This course work, when passed with an earned grade of B or better, may also be used to reduce the number of required credit hours for the master's degree in physics. Acceptance in the fast track program is based on the student’s attaining a GPA of at least 3.0 on a minimum of 30 hours of upper division courses that include PHYS 3311, 3312, 3416, 3330 and 3352.
- Updated: March 21, 2007
