B.A. In Physics

This program provides an opportunity for a broad and liberal education, which in some cases may be sufficient for graduate work. This program can also be excellent preparation for middle and high school physics teachers, pre-med and pre-law students, and those wishing to pursue a technical career in industry. Because there are many fewer required courses than for a B.S., you have to time to pursue other academic interests.

Requirements

1. Satisfy the General Education Requirements. This includes 10 courses, two of which (Math 425 and English 401) are also Physics B.A. degree requirements.
   Note that no physics course can satisfy the general education requirement for a physics major. The rationale behind this is that a course in physics does not broaden the education of a physics major. CS 401 is also disallowed as a group 3 Gen Ed for physics majors.
2. Satisfy the Writing Requirements. This requirement includes 4 courses, two of which (English 401 and Physics 705) are also Physics B.A. degree requirements. A list of approved writing intensive courses appears on the web.
3. Satisfy the Bachelor of Arts Requirements; this includes proficiency in a foreign language, and a minimum of 128 credits at the 400-799 level, with a minimum GPA of 2.00.
4. Minimum Physics requirements: 407-408, 505, 508, 605, 615-616, 701, 703, 705.
5. Math: 425-426,527, 528. Note that these are required because they are prerequisites for one or more physics courses.

The following gives a suggested schedule for a student obtaining a B.A. in Physics. Please note that Physics courses numbered 500 and higher are offered only once a year, and elective courses (numbered above 706) are typically offered only every other year. Only 400 level physics courses are offered in the summer (and even these are not guaranteed to be offered at that time.) Also, most courses above 600 have several physics and mathematics prerequisites. All this means that the schedule given below is somewhat rigid (although Physics 508, 701 and 703 can be taken in any order in the spring of the last two years). If you feel you need to deviate from this schedule for any reason, it is best to do so in consultation with your Physics advisor.

There are spaces for seventeen electives. These spaces must be used to fulfill the following requirements:

• the two writing intensive requirements (in addition to ENG 401 and PHYS 705)
• the eight general education requirements (in addition to ENG 401 and MATH 425)

Note that many courses are both general education courses and writing intensive, so you can fulfill these requirements with as few as eight courses. The remaining electives can be used to pursue other academic interests.

Freshman Year	Fall credits	Spring credits
Phys 407-408 General Physics I and II	4	4
Math 425-426 Calculus I and II General Education Group 2	4	4
English 401 Freshman English General Education and a Writing Intensive Group 1	-	4
Electives General Education and/or Writing Intensive	8	4
Totals	16	16

Sophomore Year	Fall credits	Spring credits
Phys 505 General Physics III	4	-
Phys 615 Introduction to Mathematical Physics	-	4
Math 527-528 Differential Equations and Multidimensional Calculus	4	4
Electives General Education and/or Writing Intensive	8	8
Totals	16	16

Junior Year	Fall credits	Spring credits
Phys 605 Electronics Laboratory	5	-
Phys 616 Physical Mechanics	4	-
Phys 508 Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics	-	4
Phys 701 Quantum Mechanics I	-	4
Electives General Education and/or Writing Intensive	8	8
Totals	17	16

Senior Year	Fall credits	Spring credits
Phys 705 Modern Physics Lab Writing Intensive Course	-	4
Phys 703 Electricity and Magnetism I	-	4
Electives General Education and/or Writing Intensive	16	8
Totals	16	16