You are in the official 2010-2011 General Catalog
for California State University, Fresno.
Department of Physics
Bachelor of Science in Physics
The B.S. in Physics offers preparation appropriate to employment in government
and industry involving a range of activities from laboratory work to technical
sales. It also offers appropriate background preparation for graduate study
in physics and a large number of other fields. With an appropriate choice
of electives, it provides a very strong premedical, predental, or preoptometry
program.
Beyond professional goals, the study of physics provides a deep understanding
of fundamental processes which underlie our physical world and fosters methods
of inquiry which promote intelligent analysis generally.
Bachelor of Science
Degree Requirements
Physics Major
Physics requirements (47 units)
(see note 1)
Physics core (33 units)
PHYS 4A, 4AL, 4B, 4BL, 4C, 102, 104, 105A, 105B, 107A, 110, 115
Upper-division electives (14 units)
Includes courses in physics and, with approval, in related fields. Students
planning to pursue graduate study in physics are strongly encouraged to
take courses from the following list: PHYS 107B, 135, 136, 137, 140, 162,
and 170A (see note 2)
Additional requirements (27-29 units)*
(see notes 1 and 3)
MATH 75, 76, 77, 81; CHEM 1A, 1B (25 units)
Plus one of the following
IT 52 or CSCI 15 or CSCI 40 or ECE 70 (2-4 units)
General Education requirements (45 units)**
Electives (0-1 units)
Total (120 units)*
__________
* The 120 unit total assumes students will select either IT 52, CSCI 15, or ECE 70 for this area.
* There are 51 units required for General Education. Of these 51 required
units, 6 units will be satisfied by the following two courses in additional
requirements: 3 units of CHEM 1A in G.E. Breadth B1 and 3 units of MATH
75 in G.E. Foundation B4.
Advising Notes
- CR/NC grading is not permitted in the physics major. Additional requirements, however, may be taken CR/NC (see Credit/No Credit Grading).
- Courses outside the Department of Physics may be substituted for physics upper-division electives with prior approval of the department chair.
- Students should be sure to take sufficient upper-division units in their General Education courses and electives to satisfy the university requirement of 40 upper-division units. It is important to fulfill the upper-division writing skills requirement by exam or W class after completing 60 units which a student may request 1 unit of credit.
Suggested Sequence of Courses for the B.S. in Physics
The list below is a suggested schedule of courses for the major for students
planning to complete the suggested pregraduate study sequence in four years.
In addition to the specific courses listed below, General Education requirements
and electives should be included to bring the average total of units to
15 per semester. A minimum total of 120 units must be completed for the
Bachelor of Science degree. (See Degree Requirements.)
1st Year: PHYS 4A, 4AL; CHEM 1A, 1B; MATH 75, 76; Computer Programming
2nd Year: PHYS 4B, 4BL, 4C; MATH 77, 81
3rd Year: PHYS 102, 104, 105A, 105B, 110, 150, 151, 170A
4th Year: PHYS 107A, 107B, 115, 140, 162; plus upper-division electives
Physics Minor
PHYS 4A, 4AL, 4B, 4BL, 4C (11 units)
PHYS 102 (3 units)
Other upper-division physics (6 units)
Total (20 units)
Note: The Physics Minor also requires a 2.0 GPA and 6 upper-division units in residence.
Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Physics
The B.S. in Biomedical Physics is an interdisciplinary program developed
with the assistance of the National Institute of Mental Health and the National
Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering to motivate students
pursuing careers in applications of physics in medicine. The curriculum
provides fundamental groundwork in physics, mathematics, and biology. For
further details, please contact Dr. Amir Huda at 559.278.8427 or visit http://medicalphysics.csufresno.edu.
Bachelor of Arts in Natural Sciences
Physics Option
The B.A. in Natural Sciences serves as a waiver program for the Single Subject
Teaching Credential in Science. This waiver program is currently under review
by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing and until program
approval is secured, the appropriate CSET exams will be required to establish
subject matter competency. Please contact Mr. Jaime Arvizu, College of Science
and Mathematics counselor, for advising and more information at 278-5173.
The degree is also a suitable choice for students with a general interest
in physics and interest in pursuing a career in law, medicine, dentistry,
optometry, and other areas for which the breadth of scientific coverage
of this degree is advantageous.
The B.A. in Natural Sciences with the Physics Emphasis is as follows:
Bachelor of Arts Degree Requirements
Natural Sciences Major
Core requirements (36 units)
Biology (see note 1) (12 units)
BIOL 1A, 1B, 130
Chemistry (10 units)
CHEM 1A, 1B
Geology (7 units)
EES 1 and 168
Natural Science (3 units)
NSCI 106
Physical Science (4 units)
PSCI 21
Physics Option (41 units)
CHEM 128A (3 units)
PSCI 168 (3 units)
MATH 75, 76, 77, 81 (15 units)
PHYS 4A, 4AL, 4B, 4BL, 4C (11 units)
PHYS 102, 105A, 107A (9 units)
General Education requirements (see notes 1,2) (51 units)
Electives and remaining degree requirements (4 units)
Total (120 units)
Advising Notes for the Natural Sciences Major
- Of the 51 General Education units, 12 units may be satisfied as follows: CHEM 1A (3 units), BIOL 1A (3 units), EES 168 (3 units), and MATH 75 (3 units). Consult your major adviser for details. CHEM 1A (3 units), BIOL 1A (3 units), EES 168 (3 units), and MATH 75 (3 units). Consult your major adviser for details.
- Students should be sure to take sufficient upper-division units in their General Education courses and electives to satisfy the graduation requirements of 40 upper-division units and upper-division writing skills.
- No physical science Integration B course may be used to satisfy the General Education requirements for majors in physical science.
Waiver Program for the Single Subject
Credential in the Sciences
Students interested in satisfying the waiver program in the Natural Sciences
should consult an appropriate adviser early in their academic program.
Astronomy Minor
PHYS 150 (3 units)
PHYS 151 (4 units)
Remaining requirements (6 units)
Choose two courses from EES 112 or 150T (Planetary Science), PHYS 110, 136,
137, 175T (Computational Physics), 175T (Galaxies and Cosmology), or 190
by approval
Total (13 units)
Note: Prerequisites may include MATH 75, 76, 77, 81, PHYS 4A, 4AL, 4B, BL, 4C, and 102. All prerequisites must also be completed. Courses in the Astronomy Minor may not count toward a physics major (or any other major), except as additional requirements to that major. PHYS 190 may not be counted for more than 2 credits for the Astronomy Minor.
Medical Physics
PHYS 4A, 4 AL, 4B, 4BL, 4C (11 units)
PHYS 136 (3 units)
PHYS 137 (3 units)
Choose one course from
PHYS 135 (Intro to MRI/MRS), PHYS 175T (Nuclear Medicine), or PHYS 175T
(Radiation Biology)(4 units)
Total (21 units)
Note: The Medical Physics Minor also requires a 2.0 GPA and 6 upper-division units in residence.
Physical Science Minor
The Physical Science Minor offers an opportunity for both nonscience
and science majors to diversify into important and interesting fields. It
consists of 21 units of courses selected according to one of the patterns
below:
A. CHEM 3A and 3B* (7 units)
PHYS 2A and 2B* (8 units)
Upper-division electives** (6 units)
Total (21 units)
B. CHEM 10 (3 units)
PHYS 2A and 2B* (8 units)
EES 1 (4 units)
Upper-division electives** (6 units)
Total (21 units)
C. CHEM 3A and 3B* (7 units)
PHYS 10 (4 units)
EES 1 (4 units)
Upper-division electives** (6 units)
Total (21 units)
For chemistry, geology or physics majors, all courses must be outside the
major department. The revised program must be approved by the chair of the
major department.
Note: The Physical Science Minor also requires a 2.0 GPA and 6 upper-division
units in residence.
__________
* CHEM 1A may be substituted for CHEM 3A, and CHEM 1B may be substituted
for CHEM 3B. PHYS 4A and 4AL may be substituted for PHYS 2A, and PHYS 4B
and 4BL may be substituted for PHYS 2B.
** The upper-division electives may be any upper-division courses for which
the student is qualified, from the three departments. Courses with very
few prerequisites are EES 105, 114, 154, 168, 169; PHYS 100; PSCI 131, 168.
Graduate Program
The Department of Physics offers graduate instruction and research leading
to the Master of Science degree.
For general information, read the Graduate Studies
section in this catalog, and in particular, the sections on Admission
to Graduate Standing, Advancement
to Candidacy, and Program Requirements.
The minimum entrance requirements are a GPA of 2.5 over the last 60 units,
satisfactory scores on the GRE General Examination, and good references.
Although the GRE scores are not the only, or most important, criteria used
in the admission process, we generally look for scores above 600 on the
quantitative portion of the exam or for a total above 1,000 on the combined
quantitative and verbal portions. The GRE General Examination must be taken
before applying for admission.
It is important to achieve classified standing quickly, before completion
of 10 units. The next step is advancement to candidacy, after completion
of at least 9 units of graduate study with a minimum GPA of 3.0 and satisfaction
of the graduate writing requirement. To satisfy the writing requirement,
students must submit a formal paper demonstrating writing skills at the
graduate level. This graduate-level paper may be a research proposal, a
literature review in their field, a paper from a graduate-directed research
project, or another paper. Detailed writing requirement regulations are
available from the department's graduate coordinator. Please contact the
graduate coordinator for more information. Advancement also requires a scoring
at or above the 25th percentile on the Advanced Physics GRE Subject Examination.
Teaching assistantships are usually available, as is general financial aid.
For some forms of financial aid, applications must be completed before the
end of February.
For specific questions, consult the chair of the department or the graduate
adviser/coordinator.
Master of Science in Physics
The objective of our M.S. program is to build a firm basis for subsequent Ph.D. study in physics or in related fields, for positions in industry, and for teaching at the community college level. We offer a broad-based academic program with the opportunity for specialized theoretical or experimental research. Students completing degrees have successfully pursued all three of these career goals - with roughly equal numbers going to doctoral programs and industry, and a smaller number directly into teaching.
Areas of research in which our faculty are active include physics pedagogy, condensed matter theory and experiment, characterization of materials properties (amorphous semiconductors), dipolar magnetism, Fullerene research, laser Raman spectroscopy, radiation medical physics, classical and quantum field theory, and gravitation. Faculty also study forces and interaction of fundamental constituents of matter with experiments using the world's most powerful particle accelerator at Fermi National Laboratory. Astronomy research includes observations of cataclysmic variables, black holes, and extrasolar planets. It is done with the most powerful instruments available today, including Hubble Space Telescope, Chandra X-ray Observatory, other NASA spacecraft, and the Keck I telescope, the largest on Earth, as well as many other telescopes around the world.
Under the direction of the graduate adviser and the graduate faculty,
a coherent program, directed toward the student's goal in graduate study
and designed within the framework outlined in the copy that follows, is
prepared and submitted to the department. There is a standard core of classical
mechanics (PHYS 203), classical electrodynamics (PHYS 220A, B) and quantum
mechanics (PHYS 222A, B) which is strongly recommended for students planning
to pursue further graduate study - and, at least in part, for all students.
Other courses, both from within and from outside the department, can be
used to complete the 30 unit master's program. A culminating experience,
consisting of either a thesis (PHYS 299) or a project (PHYS 298) plus a
competency examination, is required.
Undergraduate education equivalent to a physics major at California State
University, Fresno is necessary for admission. Note the other requirements
under Graduate Program.
Physics graduate courses (21 units)
PHYS 290 [minimum 3 units] and PHYS 298 or 299 [minimum 3 units] (6 units)
Additional graduate courses in physics (15 units)
Students planning further graduate study should include PHYS 203, 220A-B,
222A, and 222B.
Upper-division or graduate electives in physics or related fields (9 units)
Total (30 units)
Physics
Courses