B.A. in Physics Requirements
This is content from the Catalog 2022–2023 past issue. Please visit the current catalog for current information.
Group 1. General Education Foundation, Diversification, Structural, and Integrative Requirements in effect Fall 2018
Students may choose to graduate under the General Education Foundation, Diversification, Structural and Integrative requirements and graduation requirements in force at the time they entered the UH System, when they entered UH Hilo, or when they graduate, provided there is no break in enrollment.
Students should meet with their academic advisor to ensure that they enroll in courses that will enable them to meet these requirements as well as requirements for the major and for graduation. Some courses may meet both General Education requirements and major requirements.
The new GE foundations, diversification, structural and integrative requirements and lists of certified courses are posted on the General Education website.
Group 2. Major Requirements (72 credits)
Please note any course pre-requisites.
- Required Courses in Physics (34)
- PHYS 170-170L Gen Phys I: Mechanics (4), Gen Phys I Lab (1)
- PHYS 272-272L Gen Phys II: Elec & Magnetism (4), Gen Phys II Lab (1)
- PHYS 260-260L Computational Physics & Astron (3), Computational Phys & Astr Lab (1)
- PHYS 274 Gen Phys III: Intro Modern Phy (3)
- PHYS 330 Electromagnetism (3)
- PHYS 331 Optics (3)
- PHYS 341 Thermodynamics (3)
- PHYS 371 Classical Mechanics (3)
- PHYS 430 Quantum Mechanics I (3)
- PHYS 495A-495B Seminar (1), Seminar (1)
- Required Courses in Mathematics and Computer Science (23)
- MATH 241 Calculus I (4)
- MATH 242 Calculus II (4)
- MATH 243 Calculus III (3)
- MATH 244 Calculus IV (3)
- MATH 300 Ordinary Diff Equations (3)
- MATH 311 Intro Linear Algebra (3)
- CS 150 Intro To Computer Science I (3) or CS 172 Python for Data Analysis (3)
- Required Elective Courses in Physics (6)
- Choose 6 Credits from the following courses:
- PHYS/MATH 360 Mathematical Physics (3)
- PHYS/MATH 380 Chaos (3)
- PHYS 431 Quantum Mechanics II (3)
- PHYS/ASTR 432 Senior Lab/Thesis Project (3)
- ASTR 350 Stellar Astrophysics (3)
- ASTR 351 Galactic & Extragal Astrophys (3)
- ASTR 460 Gravitation & Cosmology (3)
- MARE 440 Physical Oceanography (3)
- Required Natural Science Electives (9)
- ASTR 110 General Astronomy (3)
- ASTR 110L Gen Astronomy Lab (1)
- ASTR/PHYS 111 Intro to Space Exploration (3)
- ASTR 150 Life in The Universe (3)
- ASTR 180 Princ Of Astron I (3)
- ASTR 181 Princ Of Astron II (3)
- ASTR 250 Observational Astronomy (3)
- ASTR 250L Observational Astronomy Lab (2)
- CHEM 161 General Chemistry I (3)
- CHEM 161L General Chemistry I Lab (1)
- CHEM 162 General Chemistry II (3)
- CHEM 162L General Chemistry II Lab (1)
- BIOL 101 General Biology (3)
- BIOL 101L Gen Biol Lab (1)
- BIOL 171 Introductory Biology I (3) (Formerly offered as BIOL 175)
- BIOL 171L Introductory Biology I Lab (1) (Formerly offered as BIOL 175L)
- BIOL 172 Introductory Biology II (3) (Formerly offered as BIOL 176)
- BIOL 172L Introductory Biology II Lab (1) (Formerly offered as BIOL 176L)
- BIOL 280 Biostatistics (3)
- BIOL 281 General Ecology (3)
- CS 151 Intro to Computer Sci II (3)
- GEOG/PHYS 120 Weather & Climate Hawaiʻi (3)
- GEOG 201 Interp Geog Data (3)
- GEOG 280 Introduction to Geostatistics (3)
- GEOL 111 Understanding the Earth (3)
- GEOL 111L Understanding the Earth Lab (1)
- GEOL 112 Hist of the Earth & Its Life (3)
- GEOL 112L History of the Earth Lab (1)
- GEOL 212 Earth Materials I: Minerals (4)
- GEOL 330 Deformation of the Earth (4)
- GEOL 450 Geological Remote Sensing (3)
- PHYS 110 Physics of Contemporary Issues (3)
- PHYS 111 Intro to Space Exploration (3)
- PHYS 150 World Models (3)
- PHYS 151 College Physics I (3)
- PHYS 152 College Physics II (3)
Total Semester Hours Required for the B.A. in Physics
120 credits required.
Notes
- Students must earn at least a 2.0 GPA in courses required for the major and a minimum grade of C in each course required for the major.
- At least 36 credits must be earned in courses at the 300- or 400-level.
- Students are encouraged strongly to meet with their advisors regarding Natural Science elective courses appropriate to their career aspirations.
- To earn a Bachelor of Arts degree in Physics, students must fulfill the requirements for the major and meet all of the University’s other baccalaureate degree requirements. (Please see the Baccalaureate Degree Requirements in this Catalog.)
- Students wishing to make timely progress toward graduation are urged to pay careful attention to all degree requirements.
- In addition, when planning a schedule of courses, it is imperative to be aware of course prerequisites and the frequency with which courses are offered. This information is available in the course listings in this Catalog.
- To ensure progress toward degree completion, students are urged to meet with an advisor each semester before registering.