Physics, BS

Degree Requirements

120 Credits Required

Curriculum and Degree Requirements for College of Science

A College of Science degree is conferred when a student successfully completes all requirements in their degree program.  Students will complete coursework or approved experiential learning activities to meet the following three degree components:

1. Major
2. Science Core Curriculum
3. Electives

Students may use any of the following options to meet College of Science degree requirements:

• Purdue Coursework
• Ap, IB, and CLEP credit.  The use of AP and IB coursework varies between College of Science degree plans.
• Transfer Credit. Students should consult the Admissions Transfer Credit Resource page for all available transfer options.

College of Science degree programs vary widely in their approval and use of the proceeding options and thus students are strongly encouraged to work closely with their academic advisors and to regularly consult their MyPurduePlan to view the use of each option in their degree plan. 

Most College of Science degree programs contain elective credits students may use to pursue courses that relate to their interests or which support their major area of study. The elective area of a degree plan may also be used to complete minors, second majors and certificates such as the Entrepreneurial Certificate. With the exception of courses on the No Count List, any Purdue course may be used to meet the elective area of a student’s degree plan.

College of Science Core Requirements

All Students starting Purdue University Fall semester, 2007 or later are required to pursue the 2007 Science Core curriculum.

The College of Science Core Curriculum requires the completion of approved coursework and/or experiential learning opportunities in the following academic areas:

• Composition and Presentation  
• Computing   
• Cultural Diversity (Language and Culture)   
• General Education  
• Great Issues in Science   
• Laboratory Science   
• Mathematics    
• Multidisciplinary Experience  
• Statistics   
• Teambuilding and Collaboration    
• No Count List   

Earning Core Curricular Requirements through Experience

Students may meet selected core curriculum requirements through approved experiential learning opportunities. Interested students should contact their academic advisor for more information on this option and incorporating experiential learning into their four-year program of study. For more information on earning requirements through experience, please click here.

Physics Major Courses (53-55 credits)

Other Departmental/Program Course Requirements (37-66 credits)

• CHM 11500 - General Chemistry (satisfies Science for core)
• CHM 11600 - General Chemistry (satisfies Science for core)
• First Year Composition Option (satisfies Written Communication and Information Literacy for core) - Credit Hours: 3.00 - 4.00
• Technical Writing Option (Select courses COULD satisfy Oral Communication for core) - Credit Hours: 0.00 - 3.00
• Technical Presenting Option (Select courses COULD satisfy Oral Communication for core) - Credit Hours: 0.00 - 3.00
• Teambuilding and Collaboration Experience - Credit Hours: 0.00 - 4.00
• Language I Option - Credit Hours: 0.00 - 4.00
• Language II Option - Credit Hours: 0.00 - 4.00
• Language III/Culture/Diversity Option (Select courses COULD satisfy Human Cultures Humanities for core) - Credit Hours: 0.00 - 4.00
• Great Issues Option (satisfies one of the Science/Engineering requirements for Physics Selective) - Credit Hours: 3.00
• Multidisciplinary Experience (Select courses could satisfy Science, Technology & Society Selective for core) - Credit Hours: 0.00 - 3.00
• Statistics Option - Credit Hours: 3.00
• Computing Option - Credit Hours: 3.00 - 4.00
• General Education I Option (Select courses could satisfy Human Cultures Humanities for core) - Credit Hours: 3.00
• General Education II Option (Select courses could satisfy Human Cultures Humanities for core) - Credit Hours: 3.00
• General Education III Option (Select courses could satisfy Humanities Behavioral/Social Science for core) - Credit Hours: 3.00

Electives (1-30 credits)

University Core Requirements

• Human Cultures Humanities
• Human Cultures Behavioral/Social Science
• Information Literacy
• Science #1
• Science #2
• Science, Technology, and Society
• Written Communication
• Oral Communication
• Quantitative Reasoning

For a complete listing of course selectives, visit the Provost’s Website.

Program Requirements

Notes

• * Satisfies a University Core Requirement
• 2.0 Graduation GPA required for Bachelor of Science degree.
• 2.0 average in PHYS/ASTR classes required to graduate.
• ♦ Identified as a critical course. Students should earn minimum of a B- see advisor for futher details

Foreign Language Courses

Foreign Language proficiency requirements vary by program. 

For acceptable languages and proficiency levels, see your advisor: American Sign Language, Arabic, Chinese, French, German, (ancient) Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish

Critical Course

The ♦ course is considered critical.

In alignment with the Degree Map Guidance for Indiana’s Public Colleges and Universities, published by the Commission for Higher Education (pursuant to HEA 1348-2013), a Critical Course is identified as “one that a student must be able to pass to persist and succeed in a particular major.  Students who want to be nurses, for example, should know that they are expected to be proficient in courses like biology in order to be successful.  These would be identified by the institutions for each degree program”. 

Disclaimer

The student is ultimately responsible for knowing and completing all degree requirements.

The myPurduePlan powered by DegreeWorks is the knowledge source for specific requirements and completion.