M University of Minnesota
CONTACT INFORMATION
School of Physics & Astronomy
116 Church Street S.E.
Minneapolis, MN, 55455
Phone: 612-624-7375
Fax: 612-624-4578
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Professional Physics

This emphasis is ideal for those students who want the strongest possible grounding in physics. The course work in this emphasis supports and expands the physics core curriculum. It is designed to suit the needs of students who are interested in fundamental physics or astrophysics, applying physics to the workplace, or who are planning on continuing their physics education in graduate school.

Course Work

Physics Emphasis: Additional Programmatic Requirements (30-33 cr)
Credits

The remaining two courses not already chosen from the list of Phys 4001, 4002, 4101, and 4201 above.
7-8

Upper Division or Graduate Physics elective.
3-4

Upper Division or Graduate Math elective.
3-4

Technical electives with approval of advisor.
19
 

For their physics elective, students can choose any course with a "Phys" designator. Technical electives can be picked from an even wider field. Any course in the sciences, math, or engineering will fill these requirements. Phys 4303, Waves, Optics, and Relativity is strongly recommended for students intending to pursue graduate study in physics. Other courses that might be of particular interest include a variety of single-semester courses which introduce active fields in physics. A technical elective is any course in IT or CBS at the 3xxx level and above. The 1xxx level Csci programming courses in java and C++ are also accepted.

Active Fields in Physics: Introductory Courses
Credits

Phys 4211. Introduction to Solid State Physics
3

Phys 4511. Introduction to Nuclear and Particle Physics
3

Phys 4611. Introduction to Space Physics
3

Phys 4621. Introduction to Plasma Physics
3

Phys 4711. Introduction to Optics
3

Phys 4811. Introduction to Relativity and Cosmology
3

Other physics possibilities include history of physics (Phys 4111, 4121), or any astrophysics course. In areas outside of physics, a student could include chemistry, engineering, mathematics, or computer science courses. In the area of mathematics, students are encouraged to study ordinary and partial differential equations, Fourier series, and complex variables.