Contiguous Bachelor's/Master's Pathway
The five-year combined B.S./M.S. in physics pathway provides highly motivated undergraduate majors the opportunity to earn a M.S. in a fifth post-baccalaureate year. The B.S./M.S. pathway provides the additional level of preparation and experience that students need to pursue careers in industry and government. Students in the B.S./M.S. physics pathway can pursue concentrations in materials and device physics, energy and the environment, computational physics, and medical biophysics.
Students apply to be admitted to the B.S./M.S. pathway, in consultation with their faculty or undergraduate adviser, no later than the end of the second quarter of the junior year. They should contact the Physics Department office for instructions on how to apply: they will work with the B.S./M.S. faculty coordinator to prepare the application, which is then reviewed by the department. Students will also go through a streamlined campus M.S. application process in their senior year.
To be accepted to the pathway, students will need to have demonstrated solid performance in general as well as in the major, as demonstrated by: 1) a GPA in physics courses of at least 3.0; 2) an overall GPA of at least 3.0; and 3) a recommendation from a faculty member attesting to the student’s promise for the M.S. degree in physics.
Take all of the following:
PHYS 212, Electromagnetism I (5 credits)
PHYS 215, Intro Non-Rel Quantum Mech (5 credits)
PHYS 216, Adv Topics in Non-Rel Quantum Mech (5 credits)
PHYS 219, Statistical Physics (5 credits)
Choose four graduate courses from one of the Concentration Areas for the B.S./M.S. Pathway
Concentration Areas for the B.S./M.S. Pathway
Materials and Device Physics
This concentration prepares students who are interested in pursuing industrial jobs in the areas of materials science, semiconductors, and optoelectronic devices.
Elective courses include
CHEM 261,
CHEM 269,
ECE 201,
ECE 218,
ECE 218L,
ECE 223,
ECE 231,
PHYS 231,
PHYS 232,
PHYS 233,
PHYS 242.
Energy and the Environment
This concentration prepares students who are interested in pursuing industrial or government jobs in the areas of sustainable-energy technologies, environmental and climate change and scientific policy related to these areas.
Elective courses include
CHEM 268,
CHEM 269,
EART 220,
EART 254,
EART 272,
EART 280D,
ECON 250A,
ECON 259B,
ENVS 271,
PHYS 233,
PHYS 242.
Computational Physics
This concentration prepares students who are interested in pursuing industrial or government jobs in the areas related to using computational methods to solve applied problems as well as computer‐based visualization methods for data presentation. Students interested in computational methods in biology could also consider the concentration in medical biophysics.
Elective courses include
AM 215,
BME 205,
CHEM 265,
ECE 215,
CSE 210A,
CSE 204,
CSE 202,
CSE 240,
CSE 261,
PHYS 242.
Medical Bio-Physics
This concentration prepares students who are interested in pursuing industrial and hospital jobs in the areas of medical technology, biomolecular engineering, and biophysics.
Elective courses include AM 215, BME 205, BME 215, CHEM 200A, BIOL 200B, PHYS 180.