State Mandated Common Course Prerequisites

Students wishing to transfer to USF should complete an A.A. degree at a Florida College System institution. Some courses required for the major may also meet General Education requirements thereby transferring maximum hours to the university.

If a student wishes to transfer without an A.A. degree and has fewer than 60 semester hours of acceptable credit, the student must meet the university’s entering freshman requirements including ACT or SAT test scores, GPA, and course requirements.

Transfer students are also required to comply with the immunization, foreign language, and continuous enrollment policies of the university.

Students should complete the following prerequisite courses at the lower level prior to entering the university. If these courses are not taken at a Florida College System institution, they must be completed before the degree is granted.

Unless stated otherwise, a grade of C is the minimum acceptable grade in prerequisite courses.

• CHM X045/X045L General Chemistry I (with lab) or CHM X040 & CHM X041 or CHM X045C
• CHM X046/X046L General Chemistry II (with lab) or CHM X046C
• MAC X311 Calculus I or MAC X281
• MAC X312 Calculus II or MAC X282
• MAC X313 Calculus III or MAC X283
• PHY X048/X048L General Physics I or PHY X048C
• PHY X049/X049L General Physics II or PHY X049C

Required Supporting Courses for the Major: 20 Hours

The following courses are prerequisite and supporting courses for this major. They are required for the major, but are not counted in the total hours for this major. The degree will not be awarded if these courses have not been taken by the end of the student’s final semester.

• CHM 2045 General Chemistry I
• CHM 2045L General Chemistry I Laboratory
• CHM 2046 General Chemistry II
• CHM 2046L General Chemistry II Laboratory
• MAC 2311 Calculus I or MAC 2281 Engineering Calculus I
• MAC 2312 Calculus II or MAC 2282 Engineering Calculus II
• MAC 2313 Calculus III or MAC 2283 Engineering Calculus III

Total Major Hours: 47 Hours

Major Core Courses - 42 Hours

Physics Courses (42 hours):

• PHY 2048 General Physics I
• PHY 2048L General Physics I Laboratory
• PHY 2049 General Physics II
• PHY 2049L General Physics II Laboratory
• PHY 3101 Modern Physics
• PHZ 3113 Mathematical Methods in Physics
• PHY 3822L Intermediate Laboratory
• PHY 3220 Classical Mechanics
• PHY 3323 Electricity and Magnetism I
• PHY 4823L Advanced Laboratory
• PHY 4910 Undergraduate Research (2 hours recommended)
• PHY 4604 Introduction to Quantum Mechanics
• PHY 4930 Undergraduate Seminar
• PHY 4324 Electricity and Magnetism II
• PHY 4523 Statistical Physics
• PHY 4605 Quantum Mechanics II

Major Elective Courses - 5 Hours

Plus 5 credit hours of Physics electives subject to approval of undergraduate advisor.