Physics

Kirk Korista, Chair
Main Office: 1122 Everett Tower
Telephone: (269) 387-4941
Fax: (269) 387-4939

Manual Bautista
Nora Berrah
Clement Burns
Sung Chung
Michael Famiano
Thomas Gorczyca
Dean Halderson
Charles Henderson
Emanuel Kamber
Asghar Kayani
Arthur McGurn
Paul Pancella
Lisa Paulius
Alvin Rosenthal
David Schuster
John Tanis
Alan Wuosmaa

The Department of Physics offers four programs of study leading to a major in physics. Three of these are in the Liberal Education Curriculum. The Physics Major, the Physics Major with Electrical Engineering Option, and the Geophysics Major (sponsored jointly by the Departments of Geosciences and Physics) are programs that prepare students for graduate study in physics or physics-related fields or for professional employment in applied physics fields. Finally the Secondary Education Curriculum Physics major prepares students to teach physics at the high school level.

Any student contemplating majoring or minoring in physics should contact the Department of Physics as early as possible. This is especially true for transfer students from community colleges in regard to transfer credit and course of study. Students will want to contact the department undergraduate advisor regarding courses, employment opportunities, and graduate study in physics.

Any physics major may qualify for departmental honors in physics by fulfilling the following requirements:

Complete the courses recommended for students planning to enter graduate school.
Attain by the end of the semester preceding graduation an accumulated grade point average of at least 3.5 in physics courses and an accumulated grade point average of at least 3.0 in other courses.

Minor programs are available in physics, in secondary education physics, and in astronomy.

All students majoring or minoring in Physics are required to complete the introductory courses PHYS 2050, PHYS 2060, PHYS 2070, PHYS 2080, PHYS 3090, and PHYS 3100 with a grade of “C” or better in each course.

For all students, in all cases in which a course is listed as a prerequisite for a physics course, a grade of “C” or better must be earned in that course or the prerequisite is not satisfied. This includes math courses which are prerequisites

5000-level courses are offered only to advanced physics majors. Department policy requires that undergraduates enrolling in these courses have successfully completed all prerequisite studies prior to enrollment. The Department recommends that Physics majors who plan to enter a graduate college complete two of the following courses: PHYS 5620, PHYS 5630, or PHYS 5640.