Pathways Through the Major

Courses for the Physics Major

An outline of the required courses beyond the intro sequence is below.  Full details of the requirements for the physics major can be found on the requirements page.  For a graphical summary of courses in the physics major, jump to the flowchart below.  Please consult with the faculty in the physics and astronomy department for detailed advising. 

Intermediate Level Courses

Introductory courses (PHYS 0108: The Physics of Motion or PHYS 0109: Introductory Mechanics, and PHYS 0114: Electricity & Magnetism) should be taken as soon as possible, since they are required for all other courses in the major.  After taking these introductory courses, most physics and astronomy students will take the following 200-level courses beginning in their sophomore year.

*Students focused on physics should take PHYS 0214 during their sophomore year.  Students pursuing an astrophysics focus can take either PHYS 0214 or PHYS 0255 in their sophomore year (see below for the trade-offs between these options). Also note that PHYS 0214, PHYS 0216, PHYS 0218, and PHYS 0222 are required courses for the physics major, whereas PHYS 0255 is not required but instead counts as an elective.  Thus any student that takes PHYS 0255 in their sophomore year must take PHYS 0214 in a later year.

Upper-Level Sequence

In the third year and beyond, students must take PHYS 0350 (Statistical Mechanics) and either PHYS 0321 (Experimental Physics 2) or PHYS 0355 (Observational Astrophysics).  In addition, students must take a minimum of 4 electives, at least one of which must be selected from the “core” electives: PHYS 0314 (Electromagnetic Theory), PHYS 0318 (Quantum Mechanics), and/or PHYS 0330 (Analytical Mechanics).

Senior Work and Honors (not required)

PHYS 0704 (Senior Project) and PHYS 0705 (Senior Thesis) may be taken by permission only and are not required.  Neither is counted as an elective.  Completion of a senior project (PHYS 0704) is one of the requirements to be eligible for honors.  All physics majors entering their senior year will receive an email describing the process for declaring their interest in taking PHYS 0704.

Pathways through the Physics Major 

Depending on your particular circumstances, there are multiple viable pathways to complete the requirements for the physics major in four years at Middlebury. We encourage students to seek out advice from a professor in the physics and astronomy department about course selection, even if you have not yet declared the major.  As a reminder, the college requires you to declare the major by the end of your third term, and meeting this deadline will help ensure you receive proper advising on pathways through the major.

Two typical pathways are shown in the table below, with the second pathway recommended for those interested in a pathway focused on astrophysics.  For other pathways, including those for students that do not start the major in their first semester and those for students that want to study abroad, please see the possibilities in this document. Please note that not all elective courses are offered each year, and electives are not always available in winter term.

Example Path Through the Major (Fall start)

(Prerequisite courses are listed in parentheses.)

Example Path Through the Major (Fall start, astrophysics focus)

(Prerequisite courses are listed in parentheses.)

*Taking PHYS 0255 in the sophomore year enables an earlier start to courses focused specifically on astrophysics, but delays exposure to the core topics of relativity and electromagnetism covered in PHYS 0214 until the junior year.  Students are advised to discuss these tradeoffs with a faculty member in the physics and astronomy department.

**PHYS 0255 counts as one of the four elective requirements.  Possible electives focused on astrophysics include PHYS 0345 (High Energy Astrophysics), PHYS 0370 (Cosmological Physics), and PHYS 0380 (General Relativity), along with many of the more traditional physics electives routinely offered by the department
 

Other Pathways Through the Major

As noted above, this document details other possible pathways through the major, including for Febs, starting in your second semester, studying abroad, etc, as well as an alternative astrophysics path that places PHYS 0255 (Introduction to Astrophysics) in the sophomore year.  As always, please consult a faculty member of the physics and astronomy department for advising when choosing courses.