BS in Physics-Astronomy
(66–69 hours*)
Program Requirements |
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- No more than 3 hours of D credit is allowed in major courses.
- Complete the following:
PHSCS 123 : Principles of Physics 2.
(3:3:1)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Winter; Spring |
| PREREQUISITE: | MATH 112 & PHSCS 121 |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Waves, thermal physics, optics, special relativity, and introduction to modern physics. Weekly lab. |
PHSCS 127 : Descriptive Astronomy.
(3:3:1)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)| OFFERED: | Honors also. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Winter; Spring |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Nonmathematical presentation of knowledge of the content and history of the cosmos, frequently using observatory and planetarium. |
PHSCS 145 : Experimental Methods in Physics.
(1:0:3)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)| WHEN TAUGHT: | Winter; Summer |
| PREREQUISITE: | PHSCS 121 & PHSCS 140 |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Introduction to physical measurement and analysis, optics, sensors, actuators, and computer-based data acquisition. |
PHSCS 191 : Introduction to Physics Careers and Research 1.
(.5:1:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall Blk 1 |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Survey of BYU undergraduate physics and astronomy programs, careers in physics and astronomy, and current physics and astronomy research. |
| NOTE: | Take first semester after registered as physics major. |
PHSCS 220 : Principles of Physics 3.
(3:3:1)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Winter; Summer |
| PREREQUISITE: | Phscs 121 or equivalent; Math 113 or equivalent. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Electricity and magnetism. Weekly lab. |
PHSCS 222 : Modern Physics.
(3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Winter |
| PREREQUISITE: | PHSCS 121 & PHSCS 123 & PHSCS 220 |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Quantum physics, atoms, molecules, condensed matter, nuclei, elementary particles, and selected topics in contemporary physics. |
PHSCS 227 : Solar System Astronomy.
(3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall |
| PREREQUISITE: | PHSCS 121 & PHSCS 123; Phscs 127 or proficiency exam; Math 113 or concurrent enrollment. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Physics of light and matter, Newton's laws, solar-system dynamics, and planetary surfaces and atmospheres. |
PHSCS 228 : Stellar and Extragalactic Astronomy.
(3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)| WHEN TAUGHT: | Winter |
| PREREQUISITE: | MATH 113 & PHSCS 227 |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Stellar atmospheres, stellar interiors, stellar evolution, interstellar matter, galactic structure, external galaxies, and cosmology. |
PHSCS 230 : Computational Physics Lab 1.
(1:0:3)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Winter |
| PREREQUISITE: | MATH 112 & MATH 113 |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Introduction to numerical and symbolic computation and graphical analysis using a symbolic mathematics program. Applications to mechanics, optics, and special relativity. |
PHSCS 291 : Introduction to Physics Careers and Research 2.
(.5:1:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall Blk 2 |
| PREREQUISITE: | Phscs 191 or concurrently enrollment. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Career opportunities for physicists in industry, interdisciplinary research, national labs and observatories, and professions such as medicine, law, and business. Personal planning for research or internship involvement. |
| NOTE: | Take first semester as a sophomore. |
PHSCS 318 : Introduction to Mathematical Physics.
(3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Winter; Spring |
| PREREQUISITE: | MATH 303 & PHSCS 230; or MATH 334 & PHSCS 230 |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Partial differential equations, classical field equations, algebra of complex variables, Fourier analysis, integral transforms, and orthogonal functions. |
PHSCS 321 : Mechanics.
(3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Spring |
| PREREQUISITE: | PHSCS 121 & PHSCS 230; Math 303 or 334 or concurrent enrollment. |
| RECOMMENDED: | Concurrent enrollment in Phscs 330. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Newton's laws applied to particles and systems of particles, including rigid bodies. Conservation principles and Lagrange's and Hamilton's equations. |
PHSCS 329 : Observational Astronomy.
(3:2:4)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)| WHEN TAUGHT: | Winter |
| PREREQUISITE: | Phscs 127 or proficiency exam. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Basic techniques of observational astronomy, emphasizing practical experience in optical data acquisition and analysis. |
PHSCS 330 : Computational Physics Lab 2.
(1:0:3)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Spring |
| PREREQUISITE: | PHSCS 230; Phscs 321 or concurrent enrollment; Math 303 or 334 or equivalent. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Numerical solution of ordinary differential equations, linear algebra and eigenvalues, chaos theory. Applications to dynamics. Introduction to programming in Matlab. |
Note: Phscs 191 should be taken the first semester as a freshman. Phscs 291 should be taken the first semester as a sophomore.
- Complete two courses from the following:
PHSCS 360 : Statistical and Thermal Physics.
(3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)| WHEN TAUGHT: | Winter |
| PREREQUISITE: | PHSCS 222 & MATH 303; or PHSCS 222 & MATH 334 |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Principles of statistical mechanics and thermodynamics, with applications. |
PHSCS 442 : Electrodynamics.
(3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)| WHEN TAUGHT: | Winter; Summer |
| PREREQUISITE: | PHSCS 441 |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Maxwell's equations, radiation, interaction of electromagnetic fields with matter, and special relativity. |
PHSCS 452 : Applications of Quantum Mechanics.
(3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)| WHEN TAUGHT: | Winter |
| PREREQUISITE: | PHSCS 451 |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Applications of quantum mechanics to atomic, molecular, statistical, condensed-matter, and nuclear physics; elementary particles. |
PHSCS 471 : Principles of Optics.
(3:3:1)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)| WHEN TAUGHT: | Winter; Summer |
| PREREQUISITE: | PHSCS 123 & PHSCS 220; Math 303 or 334 or concurrent enrollment. |
| RECOMMENDED: | Phscs 318. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Electromagnetic wave phenomena, including polarization effects, interference, coherence, dispersion, ray theory, diffraction; introduction to quantum nature of light. Laboratory component emphasizes applications. |
- Complete one of the following options:
Either
Or
MATH 113 : Calculus 2.
(4:5:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)| OFFERED: | Honors also. |
| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Winter; Spring; Summer |
| PREREQUISITE: | Math 112 or equivalent. |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Techniques and applications of integration; sequences, series, convergence tests, power series; parametric equations; polar coordinates. |
MATH 314 : Calculus of Several Variables.
(3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Winter; Spring; Summer |
| PREREQUISITE: | MATH 313 |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Partial differentiation, the Jacobian matrix, and integral theorems of vector calculus. |
- Complete one course from the following:
MATH 334 : Ordinary Differential Equations.
(3:3:0)(Credit Hours:Lecture Hours:Lab Hours)| WHEN TAUGHT: | Fall; Winter; Spring; Summer |
| PREREQUISITE: | MATH 113 & MATH 313 |
| DESCRIPTION:  | Methods and theory of ordinary differential equations. |
- Complete a senior thesis, including the following:
- Choose a research mentor and group as early as possible, starting with information in Phscs 191 and 291, and discussions with faculty, your advisor, and the senior thesis coordinator. It is best to start as a freshman or sophomore. Some internships may qualify for your project.
- Complete two hours of the following
- Note: Students planning on graduate school in astronomy should consider taking all four of PHSCS 360, 442, 452, 471, instead of only two. Gain statistics and computer programming skills beyond what you get in this major by taking courses such as STAT 201 (Statistics for Engineers and Scientists) and courses such as PHSCS 430 (Computational Physics 3), CS 142 (Introduction to Programming), and ME EN 373 (Introduction to Scientific Computing).
*Hours include courses that may fulfill university core requirements.