Mar 28, 2024  
Rensselaer Catalog 2022-2023 
    
Rensselaer Catalog 2022-2023 [Archived Catalog]

Applied Physics


Return to {$returnto_text} Return to: Departments

First Year


Fall


  • HASS Elective Credit Hours: 4
    (See footnote 1 below)

Spring


  • Free Elective

Second Year


Fall


  • HASS Elective, Credit Hours: 4
    ​(See footnote 1 below.)

Spring


  • HASS Elective Credit Hours: 4
    (See footnote 1 below.)

Third Year


The Arch Summer Semester*


*For students who have applied for and been granted an exception, The Arch Summer courses would be taken during the fall semester. For listing of the exception process go to: http://info.rpi.edu/arch/students/#ExceptionProcess.

  • HASS Elective Credit Hours: 4
    (
    See footnote 1 below.)
  • Mathematics Elective Credit Hours: 4
    (See footnote 3 below.)
  • Elective Credit Hours: 4

Fall OR Spring*


*If following the B.S. in Applied Physics curriculum, students must select the spring term as their “on-campus” semester.

  • Technical Elective Credit Hours: 4
    (See footnote 4 below.)

Fourth Year


Fall


  • Culminating Experience Credit Hours: 4
    (See footnote 5 below.)
  • Technical Elective Credit Hours: 4
    (See footnote 4 below.)
  • Technical Elective Credit Hours: 4
    (See footnote 4 below.)
  • HASS Elective Credit Hours: 4
    (See footnote 1 below.)

Spring


  • Technical Elective Credit Hours: 4
    (See footnote 4 below.)
  • Free Elective Credit Hours: 4
  • HASS Elective Credit Hours: 4
    (See footnote 1 below.)

Tracks


The applied physics program requires a track of 16 credits in technical electives which focus on a specific technological area. Possible tracks include, but are not limited to optical physics, medical physics, microelectronics, semiconductor physics, optoelectronics, geophysics, biophysics, computational physics, environmental physics, nuclear science, and space science. Two such tracks are illustrated below:

Optical Physics


A track in optical physics might include four courses from the following list:

Microelectronics


A track in microelectronics might include four courses from the following list:

Electives


Applied physics majors planning to pursue graduate study should take advanced physics courses chosen from the following undergraduate- and graduate-level courses:

Additional Information


Students planning on graduate work in astronomy or astrophysics are urged to choose electives from the above list, as well as include the following:

Footnotes


  1. HASS courses shall total 24 credits and meet distribution requirements in the catalog.
  2. PHYS 1100   and PHYS 1200   may be substituted for PHYS 1150   and PHYS 1250  , respectively.
  3. MATH 4XXX electives to be chosen from the following:
    MATH 4100   - Linear Algebra
    MATH 4300   - Introduction to Complex Variables: Theory and Applications
    MATH 4400   - Ordinary Differential Equations and Dynamical Systems
    MATH 4500   - Methods of Partial Differential Equations of Mathematical Physics
    MATH 4600   - Advanced Calculus
    MATH 4700   - Foundations of Applied Mathematics
    MATH 4800   - Numerical Computing
    A Physics course approved by the Physics Undergraduate Program Committee.
  4. Technical Electives are to be selected with the aid of an adviser in order to create a track in an appropriate applied physics field. See “Applied Physics Track” below.
  5. Students must complete a culminating experience, which may be fulfilled (1) through research participation; (2) by passing a designated 4-credit senior elective course; or (3) by passing a designated 3-credit course in Physics or Astronomy plus 1 credit of PHYS 4910  .

 

Return to {$returnto_text} Return to: Departments