Program Structure and Requirements

Content of the page:

Undergraduate program Lower division, Upper division, Research projects.
Graduate Program: Core classes & thesis units, Required classes and electives For the options Applied/Computational/General physics, Research and thesis projects Including for each option a list of faculty and their specialization.
PhysTEC program Physics teacher preparation program of the American Physical Society. This project is for undergraduate and graduate students, in conjunction with the above programs. Events @ PhysTEC CSULB, About PhysTEC.

Undergraduate Program:

Two degrees are offered in Physics: a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) and a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.). [see the undergraduate roadmap for details]. In each case the program has three components:

1. Lower division classes,
2. Upper divison classes,
3. Research project performed with one of the faculty (optional but encouraged).

The minimum number of units for each bachelor degree is 120.

1. Lower division classes

2. Upper division classes

3. Research Project for Undergraduates:

We encourage all undergraduate students, irrespective of their career choice, to participate in a project with one of the faculty (see end of this page for a list of faculty and their specialization). These projects generally take place during the semester or the summer. This is an excellent way to obtain hands-on experience through experimental or theoretical physics activities and get a taste of what beyond-the-classroom Physics is about.

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Graduate Program:

There are three components to the program (see the graduate handbook for details):

1. Core classes that every student has to take (19 units),
2. Electives (a minimum of 5 or 6 units) chosen in accordance with one of the three options: Applied Physics, Computational Physics or General Physics,
3. Research performed with one of the faculty (a minimum of 6 units) resulting in a Master's thesis.

The minimum number of units required for the Master's degree is 30 or 31 units. Students may take more units depending on interest and research foci.

The possibility to do a comprehensive exam instead of the Master's thesis is offered. Students should express their interest early by contacting the graduate advisor.

A description of each option and a list of faculty doing research in these options can be found at the end of this page.

1. Core classes & Thesis units:

Core classes are mandatory for every Master's student and should preferably be taken in the order presented in the following table

Although only one unit of Colloquium (PHYS-695) is required for one of the above semesters the faculty strongly encourages students to attend the colloquium regularly during the entire time they are at the department, unless there is a conflict with class and teaching schedules.

2. Required classes for each option and electives:

Students will specialize their knowledge in one of three options: Applied Physics, Computational Physics or General Physics. Students aiming at a teaching career can choose any of these options and will be involved in the PhysTEC program.

The table below indicates the additional required classes a student has to take for each option.

In addition to the above requirements we encourage students to take any 500-level (or above) physics class useful for the Master's thesis (optional).

3. Research:

We highly recommend Master's students to perform research in close supervision with one or several faculty members during the academic year and/or the summer. This activity offers the opportunity to expand the knowledge acquired in class and to apply this knowledge on an actual scientific problem. The publication of research results in peer reviewed journals is often an achievable goal.

The research topics are listed for each option:

A. Applied Physics

A student choosing Applied Physics will acquire skills in state-of-the-art experimental techniques used primarily in Condensed Matter, Materials Science and Chemical Physics. Theoretical work in these areas is also possible.

Faculty working in areas related to Experimental Condensed Matter & Materials Science are: Y. Abate (Optics, nanoparticles), T. Gredig (Organic semiconductors, solar cells), J.Y. Gu (Magnetism & superconductivity), C. Kwon (superconductivity, nanoparticles), A. Leung (Optics)

Faculty working in areas related to Condensed Matter & Materials Theory are: A. Bill (Superconductivity, magnetism, crystallization), M. Peterson (strongly correlated systems, quantum topological phases), G.T. Pickett (polymer physics, origami).

More information on this option can be found on the Applied Physics Option homepage.

B. Computational Physics

Computers are one of the essential modern tools used to solve a physical problem or simulate or model a real system. A student choosing Computational Physics will acquire practical skills on how to solve differential and integral equations how to model a system and write a program that allows calculating quantities that can be compared with experimental data or predict the outcome of an experiment. The skills are universal in the sense that they may be applied to any field of Physics.

Faculty working in areas involving Computational Physics are: A. Bill and M. Peterson (Condensed Matter & Materials Theory), P. Jaikumar (Astrophysics), Z. Papp (Few Body Systems, Quantum Mechanics), G.T. Pickett (Condensed Matter & Materials Theory).

More information on this option can be found on the Computational Physics Option homepage.

C. General Physics

Students interested in any topic not covered by the above options, such as Particle Physics, will choose this path to acquire in depth knowledge in a chosen subject. Faculty working in these fields are: Z. Hlousek and S. Rajpoot (Particle Physics), or any other faculty of the department for other topics.

More information on this option can be found on the General Physics Option homepage.

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PhysTEC Program:

The department values educating future physics teachers and is one of only 17 institutions to be part of the Physics Teacher Education Coalition (PhysTEC) led by the American Physical Society. Undergraduate and graduate students aiming at a teaching career can choose any of the options listed above (applied, computational or general physics). More details on the PhysTEC project activities can be found on the project webpage.

Events @ PhysTEC CSULB About PhysTEC at CSULB. Programs and Courses at PhysTEC CSULB. National PhysTEC site.

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