"Old" Requirements for the B.S. Degree as of Fall 2011
Required Physics Courses
- Physics 41L and 42L or their equivalents.
- Physics 143L, 176, 181, 182, 211, and 212.
- Two experimental courses: 217s plus either 171L, or a laboratory
based independent study course. Note: an engineering student double
majoring in physics can satisfy the 171L requirement by completing
instead EE 27L and EE 51L or instead BME 153L and
BME 154L.
- One additional physics course numbered above 100 except for
Physics 115 and Physics 230.
Required Mathematics Courses
- Math 31, 32, 103, 107, and 108.
Other math courses are possible if approved by the DUS. For example,
students with AP credits are recommended to take the math
sequence 104, 105, 131 and 133.
B.S. Major Worksheet (PDF File)
Brief descriptions of these courses can be found in the
Duke
University Undergraduate Bulletin and on
this official
course listing.
Students planning to attend a physics graduate program
should also:
- get research experience through an independent study
(Physics 225 or 226) or through summer research.
- take at least one additional upper level physics
course and take one additional course in mathematics, for
example, Math 135, Math 181, Math 231 or Physics 230.
All physics majors should know how to write computer programs at the
level of an introductory computer science course such as Computer
Science 6. Although not presently a requirement for a physics
degree, knowing how to program is an important skill for both
theoretical and experimental research, and greatly increases the
opportunities for undergraduate research.