Undergraduate Physics & Astronomy Courses
Physics and Astronomy undergraduate majors and minors should consult the following resources to determine which courses to take for specific tracks, and to plan a four-year curriculum:
Courses in Physics and Astronomy are listed below.
- Course IDs link to the catalog description on TOPNET.
- Course types are: Lec=Lecture, Lab=Laboratory, L+L=Lecture and Laboratory, Sem=Seminar, and Ind=Independent Study.
- Separate lecture and laboratory courses that must be taken together are listed together, even if the course numbers are not in order.
- Timings of regularly-offered courses are given as "no"=not offered in a given semester, "Yes"=offered every year, "Odd"=offered in odd-numbered years, or "Even"=offered in even-numbered years. Other courses are offered on a less regular schedule; please inquire if interested. In all cases, "offered" means opened for registration and taught if enrollment is sufficient.
- Co-requisite and pre-requisite courses are encoded with A=ASTR, B=BIOL, C=CHEM, G=GEOL, M=MATH, P=PHYS, "+"="and", and "/"="or".
| Course ID | Course Name | Credit | Course | Offered | Course Requirements ("+"="and", "/"="or") | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catalog Link | Hours | Type | Fall | Spring | Co-Requisites | Pre-Requisites | |
| ASTR 104 | Astronomy of the Solar System | 3 | L+L | Yes | Yes | - | - |
| ASTR 106 | Astronomy of Stellar Systems | 3 | L+L | Yes | Yes | - | - |
| ASTR 108 | Descriptive Astronomy | 3 | Lec | Yes | Yes | - | - |
| PHYS 100 | Energy | 3 | Lec | - | - | - | - |
| PHYS 101 | Concepts of Motion | 3 | L+L | Yes | Yes | - | - |
| PHYS 103 | Light, Color and Vision | 3 | L+L | Yes | Yes | - | - |
| PHYS 105 | Concepts of the Physical World | 3 | L+L | - | - | - | - |
| PHYS 130 | Acoustics of Music and Speech | 3 | L+L | Yes | Yes | - | - |
| Course ID | Course Name | Credit | Course | Offered | Course Requirements ("+"="and", "/"="or") | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catalog Link | Hours | Type | Fall | Spring | Co-Requisites | Pre-Requisites | |
| ASTR 214 | General Astronomy | 4 | L+L | Yes | no | - | M136 |
| ASTR 275 | Astronomy Research Methods | 3 | Lec | - | - | - | M117 |
| ASTR 298 | Research Experience | 1-3 | Ind | - | - | - | M117+A106/A214/A275 |
| ASTR 305 | Introduction to Astrobiology | 3 | Lec | - | - | - | M116+A106/B120/C120/G111 |
| ASTR 314 | Observational Astronomy | 4 | L+L | no | Even | - | A214 |
| ASTR 414 | Astrophysics | 4 | L+L | no | Odd | M331 | P321+M237 |
| PHYS 180 | Introductory Modern Physics | 3 | Lec | Yes | Yes | P181 | M117 |
| PHYS 181 | Introductory Modern Physics Laboratory | 1 | Lab | Yes | Yes | P180 | M117 |
| PHYS 201 | College Physics I | 4 | L+L | Yes | Yes | - | - |
| PHYS 215 | Seminar for Physics Learning Assistants | 1 | Sem | - | - | - | See catalog |
| PHYS 231 | Physics and Biophysics I | 3 | Lec | Yes | Yes | P232 | - |
| PHYS 232 | Laboratory for Physics and Biophysics I | 1 | Lab | Yes | Yes | P231 | - |
| PHYS 332 | Physics and Biophysics II | 3 | Lec | Yes | Yes | P233 | P231 |
| PHYS 233 | Laboratory for Physics and Biophysics II | 1 | Lab | Yes | Yes | P332 | - |
| PHYS 255 | University Physics I | 4 | Lec | Yes | Yes | P256+M137 | M136 |
| PHYS 256 | University Physics I Laboratory | 1 | Lab | Yes | Yes | P255 | - |
| PHYS 265 | University Physics II | 4 | Lec | Yes | Yes | P266 | P255+M137 |
| PHYS 266 | University Physics II Laboratory | 1 | Lab | Yes | Yes | P265 | M137 |
| PHYS 295 | Introduction to Research Methodology | 1 | Lec | - | - | - | See catalog |
| PHYS 299 | Research Experience | 1-3 | Ind | - | - | - | M117+P180/P201/P231/P255 |
| PHYS 359 | Clinical Optics | 4 | Lec | - | - | - | P332/P265 |
| PHYS 379 | Nanotechnology in Biophysics and Medicine | 4 | Lec | no | Even | - | P332/P265 |
| Course ID | Course Name | Credit | Course | Offered | Course Requirements ("+"="and", "/"="or") | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Catalog Link | Hours | Type | Fall | Spring | Co-Requisites | Pre-Requisites | |
| PHYS 301 | ELectrical Measurements Laboratory | 1 | Lab | no | Yes | - | P265+P266 |
| PHYS 302 | Atomic Physics Laboratory | 1 | Lab | Yes | no | - | P321 |
| PHYS 316 | Computational Physics | 3 | Lec | - | - | - | P265 |
| PHYS 318 | Data Acquisition Using LabVIEW | 3 | L+L | no | Yes | - | P265 |
| PHYS 321 | Introductory Modern Physics II | 3 | Lec | Yes | Yes | - | P180+P265+M237+C120+C121 |
| PHYS 330 | Thermodynamics | 3 | Lec | no | Yes | - | P321+M237+M331 |
| PHYS 335 | General Biophysics | 4 | L+L | - | - | - | P332+B120 |
| PHYS 337 | Medical Imaging | 4 | Lec | Odd | no | - | B120+M136+P332/P265 |
| PHYS 350 | Classical Mechanics I | 3 | Lec | Yes | no | M237+M331 | P265 |
| PHYS 389 | Practicum in Physics and Astronomy | 3-6 | Ind | - | - | - | - |
| PHYS 398 | Junior Seminar | 0.5 | Sem | no | Yes | - | P321+P350 |
| PHYS 399 | Research Problems in Physics and Astronomy | 1-3 | Ind | - | - | - | P321 |
| PHYS 425 | Physics of Materials Science | 3 | Lec | - | - | P440+M431 | P321+M237 |
| PHYS 431 | Radiation Biophysics | 1-4 | L+L | no | Odd | - | P202/P332 |
| PHYS 440 | ELectricity and Magnetism I | 3 | Lec | no | Yes | - | P350+M237+M331 |
| PHYS 441 | Optics | 3 | Lec | Yes | no | P404 | P180+P265+M137 |
| PHYS 404 | Optics Laboratory | 1 | Lab | Yes | no | P441 | - |
| PHYS 445 | ELectricity and Magnetism II | 3 | Lec | - | - | - | P440 |
| PHYS 450 | Classical Mechanics II | 3 | Lec | - | - | - | P350+M237+M331 |
| PHYS 460 | Solid State Physics | 3 | Lec | Odd | no | P406 | P321+M237+M331 |
| PHYS 406 | Solid State Physics Laboratory | 1 | Lab | Odd | no | P460 | - |
| PHYS 465 | Geophysics | 3 | Lec | - | - | - | P202/P332/P265+G111 |
| PHYS 470 | Nuclear Physics | 3 | Lec | no | Even | P407 | P302+P321+M331 |
| PHYS 407 | Nuclear Physics Laboratory | 1 | Lab | no | Even | P470 | - |
| PHYS 475 | SeLected Topics in Physics | 1-3 | Lec | - | - | - | See catalog |
| PHYS 480 | Quantum Mechanics | 3 | Lec | Yes | no | - | P321+P350+M237+P440/P450/M435 |
| PHYS 489 | Internship in Physics and Astronomy | 3-6 | Ind | - | - | - | See catalog |
| PHYS 498 | Senior Seminar | 0.5 | Sem | Yes | no | - | P398 |
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