Beyond the solid background provided by the must courses, each concentration guides students toward a particular area of physics during their undergraduate study, or prepares them for graduate work. Every concentration pairs two core courses with a set of courses of different flavors.
Requirement
Students are required to take four courses from the concentrations; two of these must be the core courses of a single concentration. Students planning graduate study in physics are strongly advised to take all four courses from the same concentration, chosen to match their career objectives.
ASTAstrophysics
Core courses
one course from each pair
ASTR 300Introduction to Astrophysics
or
ASTR 321Stellar Astrophysics
ASTR 322High Energy Astrophysics
or
ASTR 404Introduction to Cosmology
Elective courses
- ASTR 200Introductory Astronomy
- ASTR 310Celestial Mechanics
- PHYS 418Principles of Measurement and Instrumentation II
- PHYS 427Introduction to Plasma Physics
- PHYS 428Introduction to Magnetohydrodynamics
- PHYS 443Computational Physics I
- PHYS 444Computational Physics II
CMCondensed Matter Physics
Core courses
PHYS 312, plus one of the pair
PHYS 312Elementary Condensed Matter Physics
PHYS 409Physics of Condensed Matter I
or
PHYS 410Physics of Condensed Matter II
Elective courses
- PHYS 343Introductory Computational Methods for Physicists
- PHYS 411Solid State Physics Laboratory I
- PHYS 412Solid State Physics Laboratory II
- PHYS 417Principles of Measurement and Instrumentation I
- PHYS 418Principles of Measurement and Instrumentation II
- PHYS 439Physics of Semiconductor Devices I
- PHYS 440Physics of Semiconductor Devices II
- PHYS 443Computational Physics I
- PHYS 444Computational Physics II
- PHYS 445Computational Methods in Solid State Physics
INSTInstrumentation in Physics
Core courses
one course from each pair
PHYS 305Analog Electronics
or
PHYS 306Digital Electronics
PHYS 417Principles of Measurement and Instrumentation I
or
PHYS 418Principles of Measurement and Instrumentation II
Elective courses
- CENG 240Introduction to C Programming
- PHYS 404Nuclear Electronics
- PHYS 443Computational Physics I
- PHYS 444Computational Physics II
MRMathematical Physics and Relativity
Core courses
one of the pair, plus PHYS 481
PHYS 434Mathematical Methods in Physics III
or
PHYS 493Special Functions for Physicists
PHYS 481Special Relativity
Elective courses
- ASTR 321Stellar Astrophysics
- ASTR 404Introduction to Cosmology
- PHYS 318Physics of Fluids
- PHYS 407Particle Physics I
- PHYS 427Introduction to Plasma Physics
- PHYS 435Introduction to Nonlinear Dynamical Systems and Chaos I
- PHYS 436Introduction to Nonlinear Dynamical Systems and Chaos II
- PHYS 444Computational Physics II
- PHYS 448Introduction to Stochastic Processes in Physics
- PHYS 455Introduction to Quantum Information Theory
- PHYS 482General Relativity
- PHYS 485String Theory I
- PHYS 486String Theory II
- PHYS 491Geometry and Topology in Physics I
- PHYS 492Geometry and Topology in Physics II
- PHYS 495Group Theory in Physics
OPOptoelectronics and Photonics
Core courses
any two of the following
PHYS 419Introduction to Photonics and Optoelectronics I
PHYS 420Introduction to Photonics and Optoelectronics II
PHYS 425Introduction to Laser Physics
Elective courses
- PHYS 312Elementary Condensed Matter Physics
- PHYS 343Introductory Computational Methods for Physicists
- PHYS 409Physics of Condensed Matter I
- PHYS 410Physics of Condensed Matter II
- PHYS 418Principles of Measurement and Instrumentation II
- PHYS 426Lasers and Their Applications
- PHYS 439Physics of Semiconductor Devices I
- PHYS 440Physics of Semiconductor Devices II
- PHYS 443Computational Physics I
- PHYS 444Computational Physics II
PNAParticle, Nuclear and Atomic Physics
Core courses
any two of the following
PHYS 401Atomic Physics
PHYS 402Nuclear Physics I
PHYS 403Nuclear Physics II
PHYS 407Particle Physics I
PHYS 408Particle Physics II
Elective courses
- PHYS 328Nuclear Physics and Particles
- PHYS 353Physics of Energy
- PHYS 404Nuclear Electronics
- PHYS 405Neutron and Reactor Physics
- PHYS 432Quantum Mechanics II
- PHYS 443Computational Physics I
- PHYS 444Computational Physics II
- PHYS 450Health Physics
- PHYS 451Spectroscopy
- PHYS 455Introduction to Quantum Information Theory
- PHYS 481Special Relativity
- PHYS 495Group Theory in Physics
PPPlasma Physics
Core courses
both courses required
PHYS 427Introduction to Plasma Physics
PHYS 428Introduction to Magnetohydrodynamics
Elective courses
- PHYS 318Physics of Fluids
- PHYS 425Introduction to Laser Physics
- PHYS 426Lasers and Their Applications
- EE 475High Voltage Techniques I
- EE 476High Voltage Techniques II
- PHYS 305Analog Electronics
- PHYS 443Computational Physics I
- PHYS 444Computational Physics II
QITQuantum Information and Technologies
Core courses
PHYS 455, plus one of the following
PHYS 455Introduction to Quantum Information Theory
PHYS 432Quantum Mechanics II
or
PHYS 433Applications of Quantum Mechanics
or
PHYS 456Quantum Technologies
Elective courses
- PHYS 402Nuclear Physics I
- PHYS 407Particle Physics I
- PHYS 409Physics of Condensed Matter I
- PHYS 410Physics of Condensed Matter II
- PHYS 419Introduction to Photonics and Optoelectronics I
- PHYS 420Introduction to Photonics and Optoelectronics II
- PHYS 423Physics and Design of High-Power Fiber Lasers
- PHYS 425Introduction to Laser Physics
- PHYS 426Lasers and Their Applications
- PHYS 437Practical Quantum Computing for Scientists
- PHYS 439Physics of Semiconductor Devices I
- PHYS 440Physics of Semiconductor Devices II
- PHYS 448Introduction to Stochastic Processes in Physics
- PHYS 495Group Theory in Physics
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