Chair: Allan Greer
Professors: Jeffrey Bierman, John Byrne (Emeritus), Allan Greer, Steven Hoffmaster (retired), Eric Kincanon
Assistant Professor: Erik Aver, Christopher LaSota
Lecturers:  Heather Hoeck, Jared Stenson, John Wilson

The Department of Physics offers the Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Arts degrees in physics. Students are expected to declare their major in these areas in their freshman year; students in their sophomore year and students in the Florence program, however, can be accommodated by special arrangement with the department.

The Bachelor of Science is designed as a terminal degree. Students who are considering graduate school studies should plan on taking additional course work. Students should be able to work out a four-year course of study with their advisor that will satisfy graduate school requirements. Physics majors interested in careers in health sciences should discuss course requirements and potential accommodations with a physics faculty member.

Majors in physics are expected to achieve a familiarity with computer programming.

Students planning on majoring in physics and attending medical school should meet with a physics faculty member as early as possible to discuss course scheduling and potential course substitutions for particular degree requirements. Students may rather elect to earn a B.A. Physics degree. The basic degree requirements are essentially the same as the B.S. Physics degree except that rather than choosing two additional upper division PHYS courses, as the B.S. degree requires, the B.A. degree requires two courses from any area that are agreed to by the department chair. The B.A. physics degree is intended to better allow College of Arts and Sciences students to complete double majors, therefore, students who earn a B.A. physics degree must also be earning a B.A. degree in another College of Arts and Sciences department.

B.S. Major in Physics: 53 Credits

Lower Division Courses (30 credits)

Upper Division Courses (23 credits)

Minor in Physics: 28 Credits

Lower Division Courses

Courses that can be counted as a minor elective are any 300 or 400 level course other than PHYS 300. For chemistry and engineering students, consideration of their course work for their major has led to credit for part of the minor. These students, after finishing PHYS 205, need only get the following PHYS credits:

• Chemistry (assuming Physical Chemistry is taken for the major),  6 credits
• Civil Engineering,  8 credits
• Mechanical Engineering,  8 credits
• Computer Engineering,  9 credits
• Electrical Engineering (must be other than PHYS 306),  5 credits