BS in Physics

A male physics student examining circuit boards on a table

The Bachelor of Science in Physics prepares students for careers as practicing physicists or for graduate-level education. The program also equips students for professional environments that require scientific thinking, critical thinking and problem-solving skills.

The BS is a 66-credit program, with a stronger focus on computer science and math, as well as more physics courses than the BA in Physics. In both the BS and BA curricula, students take a capstone course. In the BS, students also complete a required three-credit undergraduate research course in biophysics, nuclear physics or astrophysics.

Declare a Major

All students should visit the undergraduate program director or another physics advisor before submitting the Declaration of Major/Minor Form. Current advisors are listed on the faculty directory.

Declaration of Major/Minor Form

“One summer, I was able to work on one of the experiments at [the European Council for Nuclear Research] and actually help shape the future of the detector layout. We started each day with crash courses in particle physics from experts. The afternoons were spent working with an advisor on a project selected for each of us students.”

Brian Alden

BS '16, Physics

Capstone Course

Students majoring in physics complete a required capstone course. Learning objectives for the capstone include:

Working in a mentored learning environment to design and conduct physics research in an ethical manner
Exploring and preparing for various careers
Practicing how to share research findings with different audiences

Course Requirements

The following requirements must be fulfilled:

The general requirements stated under Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Undergraduate Programs.

Program-specific curriculum:

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
Required introductory courses (36 credits):
PHYS 1021	University Physics I
or PHYS 1025	University Physics I with Biological Applications
PHYS 1022	University Physics II
or PHYS 1026	University Physics II with Biological Applications
PHYS 2023	Modern Physics
MATH 1231	Single-Variable Calculus I
MATH 1232	Single-Variable Calculus II
MATH 2233	Multivariable Calculus
MATH 2184	Linear Algebra I
MATH 3342	Ordinary Differential Equations
MATH 3343	Partial Differential Equations
CSCI 1111	Introduction to Software Development
or CSCI 1041	Introduction to FORTRAN Programming
or CSCI 1121	Introduction to C Programming
or CSCI 1131	Introduction to Programming with C
CHEM 1111	General Chemistry I
or CHEM 1112	General Chemistry II
or
BISC 1111	Introductory Biology: Cells and Molecules
or BISC 1115 & BISC 1125	Introductory Biology: Cells and Molecules and Introduction to Cells and Molecules Laboratory
or
BISC 1112	Introductory Biology: The Biology of Organisms
or BISC 1116 & BISC 1126	Introductory Biology: The Biology of Organisms and Introduction to Organisms Laboratory

Course List
Code	Title	Credits
PHYS 2151	Intermediate Laboratory I: Techniques and Methods
or PHYS 2151W	Intermediate Laboratory I: Techniques and Methods
PHYS 3161	Mechanics
PHYS 3164	Thermal and Statistical Physics
PHYS 3165	Electromagnetic Theory I
PHYS 3167	Principles of Quantum Physics
PHYS 3181	Computational Physics
PHYS 4195	Physics Capstone
or PHYS 4195W	Physics Capstone
PHYS 4196	Undergraduate Research in Biophysics
or PHYS 4197	Undergraduate Research in Nuclear Physics
or ASTR 4195	Undergraduate Research in Astrophysics
PHYS 4200	Physics Symposium
Two additional physics (PHYS) courses (6 credits) numbered 3000 or above or ASTR course numbered 2000 or above