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Physics - B.S. Program Requirements PDFDownload to print

Type Legend: DD Diversity–Domestic; DG Diversity–Global; ELR Experiential Learning; KAD Kent Core Additional; KBS Kent Core Basic Sciences; KCM Kent Core Composition; KFA Kent Core Fine Arts: KHU Kent Core Humanities; KMC Kent Core Mathematics and Critical Reasoning; KSS Kent Core Social Sciences; WIC Writing Intensive

Please read the sections in the University Catalog on Kent Core, diversity, writing-intensive and the experiential learning requirements.

I.   DESTINATION KENT STATE: FIRST YEAR EXPERIENCE  (1 credit)
Type Course Title Credits
  US 10097 Destination Kent State: First Year Experience 1
II.   MAJOR PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS (56 credits)*  Courses count in major GPA 
Type Course Title Credits
KBS CHEM 10060 General Chemistry I 4
KAD   10061 General Chemistry II 4
KBS   10062 General Chemistry I Laboratory 1
KBS   10063 General Chemistry II Laboratory 1
KMC MATH 12002 Analytic Geometry and Calculus I 5
    12003 Analytic Geometry and Calculus II 5
    32051 Mathematical Methods in the Physical Sciences I 4
    32052 Mathematical Methods in the Physical Sciences II 4
  PHY 12000 Introductory Physics Seminar 1
KBS   23101 General University Physics I 5
KAD   23102 General University Physics II 5
WIC   30020 Intermediate Physics Laboratory** 2
    35101 Classical Mechanics 4
    36001 Introductory Modern Physics 3
WIC   40020 Advanced Physics Laboratory** 2
ELR   40092 Internship in Physics*** 2
    45201 Electromagnetic Theory 4
III.  ADDITIONAL PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS (35-43 credits)  
Type Course Title Credits
  Foreign Language**** 8-10
  Kent Core Composition 6-8
  Kent Core Humanities or Fine Arts 9
  Kent Core Social Sciences (must be from two disciplines) 0-6
  General Electives (lower or upper-division) Credit required depends on meeting minimum 121 credit hours and minimum 42 upper-division credit hours. 5-10
IV.  
 CONCENTRATION REQUIREMENTS (26-39 credits) 
  Research (26)
  Applied Mathematics (25)
  Applied Physics (26)
  Biological Sciences (28)
  Chemistry (29)
  Computer Science (29)
  Pre-Medicine/Pre-Osteopathy (39)
MINIMUM TOTAL 
121


* All courses taken from the list of major program requirements are used in the calculation of the major GPA.

**A minimum C grade must be earned in either PHY 30020 or PHY 40020 in order to fulfill the writing-intensive requirement.

*** With advisor’s permission. PHY 40092 may be replaced with PHY 40096 Individual Investigation or PHY 40099 Senior Honors Thesis. If PHY 40096 is taken, a suitable research project should be selected.

**** Fulfills College General Requirement.

Additional Notes for the Physics major:
The following courses may not count towards the major:
PHY 11030 Seven Ideas that Shook the Universe (3)
PHY 21040 Physics in The Entertainment and the Arts (3)   
PHY 21041 Physics in The Entertainment and the Arts Laboratory (1)
PHY 21430 Frontiers in Astronomy (3)
PHY 21431 Frontiers in Astronomy Laboratory (1)

Credit is not granted for both the PHY 13001/PHY 13002 and the PHY 23101/PHY 23102 series, nor for the PHY 13011/
PHY 13012 series.
 

 

Research Concentration

For semester-by-semester sequencing for this program, view the 2013-2014 Roadmap.

I.  CONCENTRATION REQUIREMENTS (26 credits)* Courses count in major GPA
Type Course Title Credits
  CS 13001 Computer Science I: Programming and Problem Solving 4
  PHY 36002 Applications of Modern Physics 3
    45301 Thermal Physics 3
    45403 Data Analysis and Computational Physics Techniques 3
    46101 Quantum Mechanics 4
    Physics elective (minimum 4 upper-division credit hours) 9
MINIMUM SUBTOTAL 
 26


* All courses taken from the list of major program requirements are used in the calculation of the major GPA.

** Must be from a category other than Kent Core Basic Sciences.

 


Applied Mathematics Concentration

For semester-by-semester sequencing for this program, view the 2013-2014 Roadmap.

I.  CONCENTRATION REQUIREMENTS (26 credits)* Courses count in major GPA
Type Course Title Credits
  CS 13001 Computer Science I: Programming and Problem Solving 4
  PHY 36002 Applications of Modern Physics 3
  PHY 45401 Mathematical Methods in Physics 4
    45403 Data Analysis and Computational Physics Techniques 3
    Physics Electives 6
  Choose from the following: MATH electives ** 6
  MATH 23022 Discrete Structures for Computer Sciences (3)***  
    31011 Discrete Mathematics (3)***  
    40011 Introduction to Probability Theory and Applications (3)  
    40012 Introduction to Statistical Concepts (3)  
    40041 Statistical Methods for Experiments (3)  
    40042 Sampling Theory (3)  
    40051 Topics in Probability Theory and Stochastic Processes (3)  
    41021 Theory of Matrices (3)  
    42011 Mathematical Optimization (3)  
    42031 Mathematical Models and Dynamical Systems (3)  
    42041 Advanced Calculus (3)  
    42045 Introduction to Partial Differential Equations (3)  
    42048 Introduction to Complex Variables (3)  
    42091 Seminar: Modeling Projects (3)  
    42201 Introduction to Numerical Computing I (3)  
    42202 Introduction to Numerical Computing II (3)  
TOTAL 
 26


* All courses taken from the list of major program requirements are used in the calculation of the major GPA.

** There may be additional prerequisites required for some courses in the MATH elective list. See course catalog or department for more information. MATH electives must be approved by an advisor.

*** Credit for both MATH 23022 and 31011 is not permitted.

 

 

Applied Physics Concentration

For semester-by-semester sequencing for this program, view the 2013-2014 Roadmap.

I.  CONCENTRATION REQUIREMENTS (26 credits)* Courses count in major GPA
Type Course Title Credits
  CS 13001 Computer Science I: Programming and Problem Solving 4
  PHY 22564 Introduction to Materials Physics 3
    32511 Electronics 4
    36002 Applications of Modern Physics 3
    45403 Data Analysis and Computational Physics Techniques 3
    45501 Electromagnetic Waves and Modern Optics 3
    Physics electives (minimum 3 upper-division credit hours) 6
MINIMUM SUBTOTAL 
 26


* All courses taken from the list of major program requirements are used in the calculation of the major GPA.

 

 

Biological Sciences Concentration

For semester-by-semester sequencing for this program, view the 2013-2014 Roadmap.

I.  CONCENTRATION REQUIREMENTS (28 credits)* Courses count in major GPA
Type Course Title Credits
KBS BSCI 10110 Biological Diversity 4
KBS   10120 Biological Foundations 4
    30140 Cell Biology 4
    30156 Elements of Genetics 3
    40163 Evolution 3
    3/4xxxx Biological Sciences upper-division electives 4
  PHY 45301 Thermal Physics 3
  XXXX 3/4xxxx Major upper-division elective** 3
MINIMUM SUBTOTAL 
 28


* All courses taken from the list of major program requirements are used in the calculation of the major GPA.

**Recommended Major Electives:

BSCI  40158 Molecular Biology (3)
CHEM 30481 Organic Chemistry I (3)
PHY 41010 Biophotonics (3)
PHY 44600  Introduction to Biological Physics (3)

 

 

Chemistry Concentration

For semester-by-semester sequencing for this program, view the 2013-2014 Roadmap.

I.  CONCENTRATION REQUIREMENTS (29 credits)* Courses count in major GPA
Type Course Title Credits
  CHEM 20481

30481
30482		 Basic Organic Chemistry I (4)
or
Organic Chemistry I (3) and
Organic Chemistry II (3)		 4-6
    30105 Analytical Chemistry I 3
    30107 Analytical Chemistry Laboratory I 1
    30301 Inorganic Chemistry I 2
  PHY 36002 Applications of Modern Physics 3
    45301 Thermal Physics 3
    Physics Elective 8
  Choose from the following: Chemistry electives 3-5
  CHEM 20482 Basic Organic Chemistry II (2)**  
    30050 Introduction to Materials Chemistry (2)  
    30106 Analytical Chemistry II (2)  
    30108 Analytical Chemistry Laboratory II (2)  
    30284 Introductory Biological Chemistry (4)  
    30475 Organic Chemistry Laboratory I (1)  
    30476 Organic Chemistry Laboratory II (1)  
    40556 Elementary Physical Chemistry (3)  
    40567 Basic Concepts of Physical Chemistry (4)***  
    40568 Elementary Physical Chemistry Laboratory(1)****  
MINIMUM SUBTOTAL 
 29


* All courses taken from the list of major program requirements are used in the calculation of the major GPA.

** CHEM 20482 may not be taken if CHEM 30481 and 30482 are taken

*** Students who choose CHEM 40567 should not take CHEM 40556

****CHEM 40568 may be selected only if CHEM 40556 or 40567 is taken as a pre/corequisite.

 

 

Computer Science Concentration

For semester-by-semester sequencing for this program, view the 2013-2014 Roadmap.

I.  CONCENTRATION REQUIREMENTS (29 credits)* Courses count in major GPA
Type Course Title Credits
  CS 13001 Computer Science I: Programming and Problem Solving 4
    23001 Computer Science II: Data Structures and Abstraction 4
    23022 Discrete Structures for Computer Science 3
    42201 Introduction to Numerical Computing I 3
    3/4xxxx Computer Science upper-division electives 6
  PHY 36002 Applications of Modern Physics 3
    Physics upper-division elective 6
MINIMUM SUBTOTAL 
 29


* All courses taken from the list of major program requirements are used in the calculation of the major GPA. **Must be from a category other than Kent Core Basic Sciences.

 

 

Pre-Medicine/Pre-Osteopathy Concentration

For semester-by-semester sequencing for this program, view the 2013-2014 Roadmap.

I.  CONCENTRATION REQUIREMENTS (39 credits)* Courses count in major GPA
Type Course Title Credits
KBS BSCI 10120 Biological Foundations 4
    30140 Cell Biology 4
    30156 Elements of Genetics 3
    30171 General Microbiology 4
    30030

40430		 Human Physiology (4)
or
Animal Physiology (3)		 3-4
  CHEM 30475 Organic Chemistry Laboratory I 1
    30476 Organic Chemistry Laboratory II 1
    30481 Organic Chemistry I 3
    30482 Organic Chemistry II 3
    30284

40245		 Introductory Biological Chemistry (4)
or
Biochemical Foundations of Medicine (4)		 4
KSS
DD		 PSYC 11762 General Psychology 3
KSS
DD		 SOC 12050 Introduction to Sociology 3
Choose from the following concentration elective: 3-4
  BSCI 30518 Vertebrate Anatomy (4)  
    40174 Immunology (3)  
    40517 Medical Histology (3)  
  PHY 41010 Biophotonics (3)  
    44600 Introduction to Biological Physics (3)  
MINIMUM SUBTOTAL 
 39


*All courses taken from the list of major program requirements are used in the calculation of the major GPA.

Note: PHIL 21001, Introduction to Ethics (3), is highly recommended to fulfill the Kent Core Humanities category. This course also fulfills the global diversity requirement.