Physics: Professional Concentration, B.S.

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About the Physics: Professional Concentration Bachelor’s Program

The professional concentration provides a traditional curriculum for students majoring in physics and is intended to prepare them for graduate study or employment in the private or government sector as a physicist. A typical sequence of courses begins with PHYS 1408 , PHYS 2401 , PHYS 2302 , PHYS 3201 /PHYS 3301 for a total of 16 hours at the introductory level. These are usually followed by the intermediate and advanced sequences, PHYS 2305 , PHYS 3305 , PHYS 3306 , PHYS 3401 , PHYS 4302 , PHYS 4304 , PHYS 4307 , and PHYS 4308 . Students desiring to pursue advanced degrees are recommended to take advanced topic courses.Two PHYS elective courses are required in the professional concentration.

The required mathematics courses for physics majors are MATH 1451 , MATH 1452 , MATH 2450 , PHYS 4325 and PHYS 4326 . MATH 3350 and MATH 3351 or MATH 3354 and MATH 4354 may be substituted for PHYS 4325 and PHYS 4326 . Students planning to pursue an advanced degree in physics should consult the physics undergraduate advisor about appropriate additional courses. Majors in this concentration are strongly encouraged to minor in mathematics.

Communication Literacy Requirement. Students attending Texas Tech University for the first time in the Fall 2017 term or later will complete a Communication Literacy requirement in their program(s) of study.

Texas Tech University’s transition from the Writing Intensive requirement to the Communication Literacy requirement signals the university’s awareness that in addition to the fundamental role that writing plays in enabling students to explore, develop, focus, and organize a message, other types of communication must also be taught as appropriate for a student’s discipline. Throughout each program of study, then, students must be given ample opportunity to develop their skills in forms of communication central to that program.

Communication Literacy courses for the Physics major (all concentrations) are: PHYS 2305 , PHYS 3304 , PHYS 3401 , and PHYS 4306 .

Recommended Curriculum

First Year

Fall

Social and Behavioral Sciences 3 Semester Credit Hours *
MATH 1451 - Calculus I with Applications 4 Semester Credit Hours
ENGL 1301 - Essentials of College Rhetoric 3 Semester Credit Hours
Personal Fitness and Wellness 1 Semester Credit Hour
COMS 2300 - Public Speaking 3 Semester Credit Hours

Total: 14

Spring

PHYS 1408 - Principles of Physics I 4 Semester Credit Hours
MATH 1452 - Calculus II with Applications 4 Semester Credit Hours
ENGL 1302 - Advanced College Rhetoric 3 Semester Credit Hours
Personal Fitness and Wellness 1 Semester Credit Hour
Creative Arts 3 Semester Credit Hours *

Total: 14

Second Year

Fall

PHYS 2302 - Principles of Physics III: Intermediate Classical Mechanics 3 Semester Credit Hours ^‡
PHYS 2401 - Principles of Physics II 4 Semester Credit Hours
MATH 2450 - Calculus III with Applications 4 Semester Credit Hours
POLS 1301 - American Government 3 Semester Credit Hours
Foreign Language 3 Semester Credit Hours

Total: 17

Spring

PHYS 3201 - Modern Physics Lab and Data Analysis 2 Semester Credit Hours ^‡
PHYS 3301 - Principles of Physics IV: Introduction to Quantum Physics 3 Semester Credit Hours
PHYS 4325 - Mathematical Methods in Physical Sciences I 3 Semester Credit Hours
(MATH 3350 and MATH 3351 may substitute for PHYS 4325 and MATH 4326 .)
POLS 2306 - Texas Politics and Topics 3 Semester Credit Hours
Multicultural 3 Semester Credit Hours (Choose from the university’s Multicultural Requirement list.)

Total: 14

Third Year

Fall

PHYS 2305 - Computation for the Physical Sciences 3 Semester Credit Hours
PHYS 3305 - Electricity and Magnetism 3 Semester Credit Hours
PHYS 3401 - Optics 4 Semester Credit Hours
PHYS 4326 - Mathematical Methods in Physical Sciences II 3 Semester Credit Hours
(MATH 3350 and MATH 3351 may substitute for PHYS 4325 and PHYS 4326 .)
Elective 3 Semester Credit Hours

Total: 16

Spring

PHYS 3306 - Electricity and Magnetism 3 Semester Credit Hours
PHYS 4302 - Statistical and Thermal Physics 3 Semester Credit Hours
PHYS 4304 - Mechanics 3 Semester Credit Hours
Elective 3 Semester Credit Hours
HIST 2300 - History of the United States to 1877 3 Semester Credit Hours

Total: 15

Fourth Year

Fall

HIST 2301 - History of the United States since 1877 3 Semester Credit Hours
Physics Elective 3 Semester Credit Hours^†
PHYS 4307 - Quantum Mechanics I 3 Semester Credit Hours
Elective 3 Semester Credit Hours
ENGL 2000 Level 3 Semester Credit Hours (Choose a course that fulfills the Language, Philosophy, and Culture core requirement.)

Total: 15

Spring

PHYS 3304 - Intermediate Physics Laboratory 3 Semester Credit Hours
PHYS Elective 3 Semester Credit Hours^†
Elective 3 Semester Credit Hours
PHYS 4308 - Quantum Mechanics II 3 Semester Credit Hours
PHYS 4306 - Capstone Project 3 Semester Credit Hours

Total: 15

Total Hours: 120

Professional concentration students are strongly encouraged to minor in mathematics, as assumed in the curriculum above.

* Choose from the university’s core curriculum .
^† Physics electives are offered in alternate years. Consult the current Physics Undergraduate Handbook at www.phys.ttu.edu for current scheduling.

^‡ Students who entered Tech prior to 2017 will take PHYS 3101 instead of PHYS 3201 , and are not required to take PHYS 2302 .

Foreign Language

A student must complete 6 hours at the sophomore level or above in a single language. The prerequisite for all sophomore language courses is credit for the freshman level. This credit can be determined through a credit by examination. The score attained on the exam will determine whether the student is placed in a second-year course, a 5-hour review course, or in some cases the first or second semester of a beginning (first-year) language course. See Arts and Sciences General Degree Requirements for further explanation.