Physics (BA/BS)

Explore the laws of nature and the relationship between energy and matter with the Department of Physics. You will have the opportunity to research with award-winning faculty, participate in practical applications such as labs and demonstrations, and develop career skills through internships. We encourage physics majors to study across disciplines, pairing their work with chemistry, biology, or anything else of interest—at the University of Oregon, you have the freedom to choose your own path.

A degree in physics will give you a solid foundation to pursue careers and graduate studies in astrophysics, engineering, teaching, astronomy, medicine, technology, communication, and a host of other disciplines.

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this program, students will be able to:

• Understand principles and concepts of core subject areas in Physics.
• Apply physical principles and concepts to analyze problems.
• Apply quantitative methods and concepts to analyze problems.
• Analyze and interpret quantitative results.
• Analyze complex problems by integrating concepts across multiple core areas.
• Collect and analyze data working independently and in collaboration with others (experimentation; data collection; analysis; model-based computation including simulations; and literature research).
• Communicate orally and in writing, making appropriate use of current presentation technology.
• Be familiar with current developments in physics.

Physics Major Requirements

Courses used to fulfill the major requirements must be taken for letter grade. Coursework transferred in from Advanced Placement or International Baccalaureate exams are acceptable with a mark of P*. 

Physics majors must keep an average Physics GPA of 2.0 or better in all Physics/Astronomy Courses.

¹

To be repeated, totaling 2 credits.

²

Students are strongly urged to complete this requirement in the first two years.

³

The advanced courses span a range of both fundamental and applied topics.  Students may take the subsequent courses in the multi-term Thermal and Statistical Physics (PHYS 353), Electricity and Magnetism (PHYS 412), or Quantum Physics (PHYS 415 and 417) series, other upper-division physics courses, or at most one upper-division astronomy course. Of the 22 credits, 6 must be research/lab credits and/or Advanced Projects Lab; and up to 12 credits of lab work may count toward the 22-credit requirement. Some courses can fill either the lab credit requirement or the non-lab requirement -- for instance, Analog Electronics (PHYS 431) or Digital Electronics (PHYS 432). Note the prerequisites for advanced courses.

⁴

Students may apply no more than 4 total credits from ASTR 320, ASTR 321, and ASTR 322 towards the PHYS major.

Approved Research/Lab Credits/Advanced Projects Lab Courses 

Honors

To be recommended by the faculty for graduation with honors in physics, a student must complete at least 46 credits in upper-division physics courses, of which at least 40 credits must be taken for letter grades, and earn at least a 3.50 grade point average in these courses.

As an alternative, undergraduate research leading to the defense of a thesis accompanied by at least a 3.30 grade point average can lead to recommendation for graduation with honors. Contact the director of undergraduate studies for more information.

Four-Year Degree Plan

Bachelor of Arts in Physics

Bachelor of Science in Physics