Department of Physics

BA Major Requirements

The B.A. physics major (49 credits total) is for students who wish to complete a liberal arts degree.

The offical description of the major can be found in the UMD Catalog. Although the description given here is as accurate as possible, the bulletin must be consulted before any degree program is finalized.

Required Core (29 credits)

The following courses are common to all undergraduate majors and minors in physics. The department also recommends the supplementary courses Phys 2111---Solving Physics Problems I and Phys 2112---Solving Physics Problems II.

• Math 1296-1297---Calculus I-II (10)
• Phys 1021---Exploring Current Topics in Physics (1)
• Phys 2011---General Physics I (4)
• Phys 2012---General Physics II (4)
• Phys 2021---Relativity and Quantum Physics (4)
• Phys 2022---Classical Physics (4)
• Phys 2033---Classical and Quantum Physics Lab (2)

Lower Division (37 credits)

• Required core (29)
• Math 3280---Differential Equations (4)
• Math 3298---Calculus III (4)

Upper Division (12 credits)

• Electives chosen from the following list totaling at least 12 credits:
  • Lim 5101---Physical Limnology (3)
  • Phys 3061---Instrumentation (3)
  • Phys 4001---Classical Mechanics (4)
  • Phys 4011---Electromagnetic Theory (4)
  • Phys 4021---Quantum Physics II (4)
  • Phys 4031---Thermal & Statistical Physics (4)
  • Phys 5041---Optics (3)
  • Phys 5052---Computational Methods in Physics (3)
  • Phys 5053---Data Analysis Methods in Physics (3)
  • Phys 5061---Experimental Methods (3)
  • Phys 5062---Advanced Laboratory (2)
  • Phys 5531---Introduction to Solid State Physics (3)
  • Phys 5541---Fluid Dynamics (3)
  • or other courses approved by the department.

[Back to the top]