A B.S. degree in computational physics reflects the increasing use of computer methods in physics and engineering. The program consists of a core physics curriculum with added course work in mathematics, computer science, and computational physics.
Requirements for a Bachelor of Science in Computational Physics
The following table summarizes all requirements for a Bachelor of Science in computational physics. For an overview of a particular course, click on its title. Our Course Descriptions page lists all physics and pre-engineering courses. For one possible breakdown of the major by semester, see the Plan of Study.
* The School of Arts and Sciences requires all majors to complete a foreign language course at the 202 level or higher. Students not prepared to begin at this level will need to take additional courses in the language, which count as general electives.
** It is recommended that some of the following courses be included among the electives:
- MATH 241, MATH 431, MATH 453, MATH 487;
- CS 131, CS 132, CS 256;
- CHEM 401, CHEM 402;
- PHYS 304, PHYS 309, PHYS 404, PHYS 408, PHYS 409, PHYS 410.
† The Clare College curriculum also includes a three-credit quantitative reasoning requirement. Computational physics majors satisfy this requirement by passing any of the courses listed in the above table under Mathematics.
The comprehensive requirement for physics majors is the passing of an oral examination (PHYS 490. Physics Senior Comprehensive) in the second semester of the senior year.