BS in Physics

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.
Capstone Experience
All BS in Physics students perform at least one large research project, in which they are supervised by a faculty member. In addition to the large research project, which should start in the third year and be finalized in the fourth year, students are encouraged to do other research projects within the department. Students are also encouraged and supported to apply for research experiences and internships outside the department during the summer months.
To support them through their research experiences, every BS in Physics student takes the Physics Capstone (PHYS 4195W) and Physics Symposium (PHYS 4200) courses.
- PHYS 4195W (Physics Capstone)
PHYS 4195W fulfills Oral Communications and Writing in the Disciplines (WID) requirements. After taking the capstone, students will be able to:
- explain the issues and standards for ethical conduct of research,
- explain issues related to building a physics community,
- describe career paths in physics,
- create applications for employment and graduate studies including resumes and cover letters, and
- improve their scientific written and oral communication, including learning how to develop proposals for research funding.
Students will have opportunities to improve their writing and presentations based on instructor and peer feedback in class, and they will interact with the GW Career Services office. The overarching goal of the capstone is to help students think about, and develop, practical skills related to physics research, and prepare for their careers after graduation. This course also prepares students for a research project in their junior and senior year, and for presenting this research at various venues.
- PHYS 4200 (Physics Symposium)
After taking PHYS 4200, students will be able to communicate physics research in a disciplinarily and audience appropriate manner. During the course of the curriculum, students:
- write a final report on their research in subject-appropriate format and style
- present a poster on their research at the CCAS Research Showcase, and
- give an oral presentation on their research at the Physics Undergraduate Symposium Day.
All written and oral presentations will be guided by readings and examples, and feedback is provided by both the instructor and the students’ peers.
“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
Course Requirements
The following requirements must be fulfilled:
The general requirements stated under Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, Undergraduate Programs.
Program-specific curriculum:
Code | Title | Credits |
---|---|---|
Required | ||
Introductory courses (26 credits) | ||
CSCI 1012 | Introduction to Programming with Python | |
or MAE 1117 | Introduction to Engineering Computations | |
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 | |
Advanced courses (46 credits) | ||
MATH 3342 | Ordinary Differential Equations | |
PHYS 2151W | Intermediate Laboratory I: Techniques and Methods | |
PHYS 2152 | Intermediate Laboratory II: Instrumentation | |
PHYS 3100 | Math Methods for Physics | |
PHYS 3161 | Mechanics | |
PHYS 3164 | Thermal and Statistical Physics | |
PHYS 3165 | Electromagnetic Theory I | |
PHYS 3166 | Electromagnetic Theory II | |
PHYS 3167 | Principles of Quantum Physics | |
PHYS 3181 | Computational Physics | |
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 | |
Electives | ||
Three courses (9 credits) in Physics (PHYS) numbered 3000 or above and/or Astronomy (ASTR) numbered 2000 or above. |