Physics Major

Program Requirements

  • Total Units Required: 42-44
  • Grade Requirement: Students must complete all course work for the Physics major with a grade of at least a C-.

Required Introductory Courses

Majors in Physics are required to complete a series of introductory courses. They may take either:

PHYSICS 1740Physics I3
PHYSICS 1741Physics I Laboratory1
PHYSICS 1742Physics II3
PHYSICS 1743Physics II Laboratory1
Total Units8

or (recommended for majors):

PHYSICS 1741Physics Laboratory I1
PHYSICS 1743Physics II Laboratory1
PHYSICS 1760Focused Physics I4
PHYSICS 1762Focused Physics II4
Total Units10

Required Courses

In addition, majors in Physics are required to complete the following courses:

PHYSICS 2170Introduction to Quantum Physics3
PHYSICS 3331Physical Measurement Laboratory3
PHYSICS 4011Mechanics3
PHYSICS 4021Electricity and Magnetism3
Total Units12

They must also complete one additional upper-level laboratory course, chosen from the following:

CHEM 4035Nuclear and Radiochemistry Lab3
PHYSICS 3321Electronics Laboratory3
PHYSICS 3323Optics and Wave Physics Laboratory3
PHYSICS 3324Biophysics Laboratory3
PHYSICS 4027Introduction to Computational Physics3

Upper-level courses: Majors are required to complete a minimum of 21 units of advanced courses (3000 level or higher) in Physics, excluding PHYSICS 3941, PHYSICS 3942, PHYSICS 4941, PHYSICS 4942, PHYSICS 4998, and PHYSICS 5000. These 21 units may include courses listed above and may also include one upper-level engineering course chosen from the following:

ESE 3510Signals and Systems3
ESE 4280Digital Signal Processing3
ESE 4290 Basic Principles of Quantum Optics and Quantum Information3
ESE 4360Semiconductor Devices3
ESE 4380Applied Optics3
ESE 4410Control Systems3
ESE 5310Nano and Micro Phontonics3
ESE 5320Introduction to Nao-Photonic Devices3
ESE 5820Fundamentals and Applications of Modern Optical Imaging3
MEMS 3410Fluid Mechanics3

Students must receive letter grades for these advanced courses, and the course must be completed with a grade of at least a C-.

Math courses required for the physics major:

MATH 1510Calculus I3
MATH 1520Calculus II3
MATH 2130Calculus III3
MATH 2500Differential Equations3
Total Units12

Students who have completed MATH 2801 Honors Mathematics I and MATH 2802 Honors Mathematic II will have fulfilled the requirement for MATH 1510 Calculus I, MATH 1520 Calculus II, and MATH 2130 Calculus III.

Math courses recommended for the physics major:

  • MATH 3008 Mathematics for the Physical Sciences or MATH 3180 Engineering Mathematics A (We recommend that this course precede PHYSICS 4021 Electricity and Magnetism.)
  • MATH 3300 Matrix Algebra (We recommend that this course precede PHYSICS 4074 Introduction to Particle Physics.)
  • PHYSICS 5010 Theoretical Physics and PHYSICS 5020 Methods of Theoretical Physics II are also recommended.

Science-breadth requirement: Majors must select three of the following courses to satisfy the science-breadth requirement. One of the three courses must be CHEM 1030 Advanced Placement Chemistry I, CHEM 1040 Advanced Placement Chemistry II, CHEM 1601 Principles of General Chemistry I, CHEM 1602 Principles of General Chemistry II, CHEM 1701 General Chemistry I, CHEM 1702 General Chemistry II, CHEM 4010 Physical Chemistry I, or CHEM 4020 Physical Chemistry II.

BIOL 2960Principle of Biology I4
BIOL 2970Principles of Biology II4
CHEM 1030Advanced Placement Chemistry I3
CHEM 1040Advanced Placement Chemistry II3
CHEM 1601Principles of General Chemistry I3
CHEM 1602Principles of General Chemistry II3
CHEM 1701General Chemistry I3
CHEM 1702General Chemistry II3
CHEM 1751General Chemistry Laboratory I2
CHEM 1752General Chemistry Laboratory II2
CHEM 4010Physical Chemistry I3
CHEM 4020Physical Chemistry II3
CHEM 4079Instrumental Methods: Physical Chemistry3
CSE 1301Introduction to Computer Science3
CSE 1302Introductory to Computer Engineering3
CSE 2407Data Structures and Algorithms3
EEPS 2021Introduction to Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Science3

Students who have received credit for CHEM 1030 Advanced Placement Chemistry I and CHEM 1040 Advanced Placement Chemistry II can use them toward the science-breadth requirement.

Additional Information

Senior Honors

Students are encouraged to work toward Latin honors (i.e., cum laude, magna cum laude, and summa cum laude). To qualify, students must meet the academic requirements of the College and successfully complete a suitable project under the supervision of a faculty member in the department. The project, whether experimental or theoretical, should demonstrate the student's capacity for independent work. Honors candidates must apply to the Undergraduate Studies Committee no later than the the first day of classes of their senior year. The application should include a description of the proposed project, co-signed by the supervising professor. A written report of the completed work must be submitted to the committee by a March deadline. By enrolling in PHYSICS 4998 Honors Program, students may earn up to 6 units of credit for the honors project.
 

The Physics department also offers Physics majors the possibility to earn departmental distinctions. These distinctions require the same grade point average cutoffs as Latin honors but are calculated exclusively from the grades in Physics courses (i.e., all courses with the prefix PHYSICS). Three levels of distinction are offered: 1) highest distinction; 2) high distinction; and 3) distinction. The highest and high distinctions require at least one semester of undergraduate research and a senior thesis describing the results; these distinctions are limited to the top 15% (highest distinction) and the top 15% to 50% (high distinction) of the physics majors in their senior year as ranked by their GPA in Physics courses. Students who meet the GPA cutoff but who do not undertake undergraduate research and a senior thesis may only receive the third level of distinction.

Transfer Credit and Study Abroad

Students may transfer up to 9 credits of advanced coursework (3000+ level) to satisfy major requirements by taking comparable physics courses at another institution. Prior approval by the department is needed. Online or other distance learning courses are not eligible for transfer credit.

Visit the Physics page
for additional information about this program.

Contact Info

Website:http://physics.wustl.edu