Physics and Astronomy

Chair: Associate Professor C. Orzel
Faculty: Professors R. Koopmann, S. Maleki, J. Newman, G. Reich, M. Vineyard; Associate Professor S. Amanuel; Senior Lecturer S. LaBrake; Lecturers J. Marr, F. Wilken.
Staff: J. Sheehan (Technician), L. Stec (Administrative Assistant)

Common Curriculum (CC) Courses
Courses numbered in the 050’s are designed particularly for non-science majors seeking to satisfy Common Curriculum requirements, and all of these courses carry Common Curriculum credit. These courses may count toward the major in astronomy or the interdepartmental major (see requirements for the Astronomy, B.A. major and Astronomy, B.A. ID major), but they may not be counted toward the major in physics or toward any other science or engineering major.

Course Selection Guidelines

Placement: Students who score a grade of 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement C-exam (mechanics and/or electromagnetics), an A on the physics A-levels, a 5 or above on the Higher Level or a 6 or above on the standard exam of the International Baccalaureate (provided they earn the IB diploma), may be given credit for up to a maximum of two courses (PHY 120 and/or PHY 121 ). If a student does not earn the IB diploma, they will be given credit only if they pass the higher level exam with a grade of 6 or above.

Courses Suitable for Non-Majors: The following courses are designed to fulfill the Science and Technology Common Curriculum requirement (some of these courses have labs and some do not): AST 050 , AST 051 , AST 052 , AST 058 , PHY 051 , PHY 053 , and PHY 054 . Life-science students should take PHY 110 -PHY 111 . Engineering and physical-science students should take PHY 120 -PHY 121 . Other courses suitable for selected non-majors include AST 100 , AST 200 , AST 210 , AST 220 , AST 230 , AST 240 , PHY 122 , PHY 123 , PHY 200 , and PHY 210 .

Prerequisites: There are no placement test requirements for courses in the Department of Physics and Astronomy. All courses numbered 100 or above have prerequisites. Please review the course descriptions below to identify the requirements.

Programs

Major

Interdepartmental Major

Minor