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Department of Physics

BS Major Requirements

The B.S. physics major (68 credits total) is primarily for students planning to work toward an advanced degree in physics. A four-year plan for completion of the degree is included below the list of requirements.

The offical description of each major can be found in the UMD Catalog. Although the description given here is as accurate as possible, the catalog 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.

Lower Division (45 credits)

A second semester of Chemistry is recommended. With departmental approval, any one-semester course in a scientific programming language may be substituted for CS 1131.

Upper Division (23 credits)


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Four-Year Plan

The program of study suggested below reflects the minimum requirements for the degree. Additional courses taken as electives in Physics, Mathematics, or other technical areas would be useful. Some electives must be taken from various categories of the liberal education program, in order to satisfy general requirements for UMD degrees. For official statements of degree requirements, please refer to the UMD Catalog.

Most Physics courses at the 3000 level and above are offered in alternate years only. The courses suggested in the junior and senior years may be interchanged to match the course offerings. An individual upper-division program should be planned in consultation with a Physics Faculty advisor.

Freshman Year Sophomore Year
Fall Spring Fall Spring
Math 1296 (5) Math 1297 (5) Math 3298 (4) Math 3280 (4)
Comp 1120 (3) Phys 2011 (4) Phys 2012 (4) Phys 2022 (4)
Phys 1021 (1) Phys 2111 (1) Phys 2112 (1) Phys 2021 (4)
Chem 1151 (5) CS 1131 (3) Electives (7) Phys 2033 (2)
Elective (3)
Total credits: 14 Total credits: 16 Total credits: 16 Total credits: 14
Junior Year Senior Year
Fall Spring Fall Spring
Phys 4001 (4) Phys 4011 (4) Phys 4031 (4) Phys 5090 (1)
Phys 4021 (4) Electives (11) Phys 3061 (3) Phys 5061 (3)
Electives (7) Electives (8) Electives (11)
Total credits: 15 Total credits: 15 Total credits: 15 Total credits: 15

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