Click here to view the Suggested Plan of Study
General Education Foundations
Please use this link to view a list of courses that meet each GEF requirement.
NOTE: Some major requirements will fulfill specific GEF requirements. Please see the curriculum requirements listed below for details on which GEFs you will need to select.
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| General Education Foundations | ||
| F1 - Composition & Rhetoric | 3-6 | |
| Introduction to Composition and Rhetoric and Composition, Rhetoric, and Research | ||
or ENGL 103 | Accelerated Academic Writing | |
| F2A/F2B - Science & Technology | 4-6 | |
| F3 - Math & Quantitative Reasoning | 3-4 | |
| F4 - Society & Connections | 3 | |
| F5 - Human Inquiry & the Past | 3 | |
| F6 - The Arts & Creativity | 3 | |
| F7 - Global Studies & Diversity | 3 | |
| F8 - Focus (may be satisfied by completion of a minor, double major, or dual degree) | 9 | |
| Total Hours | 31-37 | |
Please note that not all of the GEF courses are offered at all campuses. Students should consult with their advisor or academic department regarding the GEF course offerings available at their campus.
Degree Requirements
Students must complete WVU General Education Foundations requirements, College B.A. requirements, major requirements, and electives to total a minimum of 120 hours. For complete details on these requirements, visit the B.A. Degrees tab on the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences page.
Departmental Requirements for the B.A. in Physics
Students may not earn both a B.A. and a B.S. in Physics. All students wishing to obtain a B.A. degree in Physics must comply with the following:
-
Calculation of the GPA in the Major: A minimum grade point average of a 2.0 is required in all courses applied to major requirements, including the STEM Foundations. If a course is repeated, all attempts will be included in the calculation of the GPA, unless the course is eligible for a D/F repeat.
- Writing and Communication Skills Requirement: Physics Bachelor of Arts students fulfill the Writing and Communication Skills requirement by completing ENGL 101 and ENGL 102 (or ENGL 103), and two of the following SpeakWrite Certified CoursesTM: PHYS 341L, PHYS 496, ASTR 469.
- Capstone Requirement: The university requires the successful completion of a Capstone course. Students majoring in Physics must complete PHYS 496.
- Benchmark Expectations: For details, go to the Physics admissions tab.
Curriculum Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| University Requirements | 62 | |
| ECAS B.A. Requirements | 6 | |
| Physics Major Requirements | 52 | |
| Total Hours | 120 | |
University Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| General Education Foundations (GEF) 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 (31-37 Credits) | ||
| Outstanding GEF Requirements 1, 4, and 5 | 12 | |
| PHYS 191 | First-Year Seminar | 1 |
| General Electives | 49 | |
| Total Hours | 62 | |
ECAS Bachelor of Arts Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Fine Arts Requirement | 3 | |
| Global Studies and Diversity Requirement | 3 | |
| Total Hours | 6 | |
Physics Major Requirements
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| STEM FOUNDATIONS * | 22 | |
| Science Foundation | ||
| Select a pair of courses | ||
| Principles of Biology and Principles of Biology Laboratory and Introductory Physiology and Introductory Physiology Laboratory | ||
| Survey of General, Organic, and Biological Chemistry 1 and Survey of Chemistry 1 Laboratory and Survey of General Organic Biological Chemistry 2 and Survey of Chemistry 2 Laboratory | ||
| Fundamentals of Chemistry 1 and Fundamentals of Chemistry 1 Laboratory and Fundamentals of Chemistry 2 and Fundamentals of Chemistry 2 Laboratory | ||
| Introduction to Computer Science and Introduction to Data Structures | ||
| Sustainable Earth and Sustainable Earth Laboratory and Earth System Science and Earth System Science Laboratory | ||
| Mathematics Foundation | ||
| Calculus 1a with Precalculus and Calculus 1b with Precalculus | ||
or MATH 155 | Calculus 1 | |
| Calculus 2 | ||
| Multivariable Calculus | ||
| Elementary Differential Equations (or any upper-division MATH course) ** | ||
| FOUNDATION COURSES | 11 | |
| General Physics 1 and General Physics 1 Laboratory | ||
| General Physics 2 and General Physics 2 Laboratory | ||
| Oscillations and Thermal Physics | ||
| CORE COURSES | 16 | |
| Introductory Modern Physics | ||
| Advanced Physics 1 Laboratory | ||
or PHYS 376L | Research Methods Laboratory | |
Additional Physics or Astronomy Courses at the 300 or 400-level *** | ||
| CAPSTONE EXPERIENCE | 3 | |
| Senior Thesis | ||
| Total Hours | 52 | |
- *
STEM foundation courses are common to most STEM majors and excluded from the calculation of the percentage of upper-division course
- **
Exclusive of MATH 490, 494, 495 and 497.
- ***
No more than 3 hours may be chosen from PHYS 490, 491, 494, 495, or 497
Suggested Plan of Study
| First Year | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| PHYS 191 (First Year Seminar) | 1 | MATH 156 (GEF 8) | 4 |
| MATH 155 (GEF 3) | 4 | PHYS 111 & 111L (GEF 2) | 4 |
| Science Elective 1 (GEF 8) | 4 | Science Elective 2 | 4 |
| General Elective | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
| General Elective | 3 | ||
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Second Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| GEF 4 | 3 | PHYS 312 | 3 |
| MATH 251 | 4 | PHYS 314 | 4 |
| PHYS 112 & 112L (GEF 8) | 4 | General Elective | 4 |
| General Elective | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
| General Elective | 1 | General Elective | 1 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Third Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| ENGL 101 (GEF 1) | 3 | ENGL 102 (GEF 1) | 3 |
| GEF 5 | 3 | ECAS Global Studies and Diversity Requirement (GEF 7) | 3 |
| PHYS Elective 1 | 3 | MATH 261 (or 300- or 400-level MATH class) | 4 |
| General Elective | 3 | PHYS 341L | 2-3 |
| General Elective | 3 | General Elective | 3 |
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Fourth Year | |||
| Fall | Hours | Spring | Hours |
| ECAS Fine Arts Requirement (GEF 6) | 3 | PHYS 496 | 3 |
| PHYS Elective 2 | 3 | General Elective | 4 |
| PHYS Elective 3 | 3 | General Elective | 4 |
| General Elective | 3 | General Elective | 4 |
| General Elective | 3 | ||
| 15 | 15 | ||
| Total credit hours: 120 | |||
Major Learning Outcomes
Physics B.A.
Upon successful completion of the B.A. degree, Physics majors will demonstrate:
- An understanding of and ability to solve basic conceptual and quantitative problems in foundational physics areas and to apply complex reasoning and problem solving skills developed in physics across disciplines, with focus on such application in a cognate area.
- A range of effective strategies, both written and oral, to communicate physics theories, processes, and results.
- An ability to develop experiments to test basic or applied research questions, to perform accurate experimental measurements, and to critically evaluate others’ answers to research questions.