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: 28 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.

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 and CHM 2045L General Chemistry I Laboratory
• CHM 2046 General Chemistry II and 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
• PHY 2048 General Physics I – Calculus Based and PHY 2048L General Physics I Laboratory
  • or PHY 2060 Enriched General Physics I with Calculus and PHY 2048L is strongly recommended
• PHY 2049 General Physics II – Calculus Based and PHY 2049L General Physics II Laboratory
  • or PHY 2061 Enriched General Physics II with Calculus and PHY 2049L is strongly recommended

Total Major Hours: 25 Hours

Major Core Courses - 6 Hours

Computational Science Requirement (6 credit hours)

Choose any two of the following courses:

• COP 4313 Symbolic Computations in Mathematics (PR: MAS 3105 and MAP 2302)
• GLY 3866 Computational Geology
• PHZ 4151C Computational Physics
• MAD 4401 Numerical Analysis I (PR: MAP 2302 and MAS 3105)
• MAD 4471 Introduction to Cryptography and Coding Theory (PR: MAS 3105 and MGF 3301)
• MAD 4504 Theory of Computation (PR: MGF 3301 and MAD 3107)

Major Elective Courses - 19 Hours

Choose 19 credit hours from the following list of courses:

• CHM 2210 Organic Chemistry I
• CHM 2210L Organic Chemistry I Laboratory
• CHM 3120C Elementary Analytical Chemistry
• CHM 3610 Intermediate Inorganic Chemistry
• CHM 3610L Intermediate Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory
• CHM 4410 Physical Chemistry I
• CHM 4410L Physical Chemistry I Lab
• CHM 4413 Biophysical Chemistry
• ESC 2000 Introduction to Earth Science
• GEO 3280 Environmental Hydrology
• GLY 2010 Dynamic Earth: Introduction to Physical Geology
• GLY 3311C Mineral, Petrology, Geochemistry
• MAP 2302 Differential Equations
• MAS 3105 Linear Algebra
• MAS 3156 Vector Calculus
• MGF 3301 Bridge to Abstract Math
• OCE 2001 Introduction to Oceanography
• PHY 3101 Modern Physics
• PHY 3220 Classical Mechanics (PR: PHY 3101 and PHZ 3113)
• PHY 3323 Electricity and Magnetism I (PR: PHY 3101 and PHZ 3113)
• PHY 3822L Intermediate Laboratory (CR: PHY 3101)
• PHY 4424 Optics (PR: PHY 3101)
• PHY 4604 Introduction to Quantum Mechanics (PR: PHY 3101 and PHZ 3113)
• PHY 4744C Introduction to Electronics and Test Instrumentation (PR: PHY 3822L)
• PHY 4823L Advanced Laboratory (PR: PHY 3822L)
• PHY 4930 Undergraduate Seminar
• PHZ 3113 Mathematical Methods in Physics
• PHZ 4151C Computational Physics (may not count for both the computational science and major electives requirements)

Other courses may count, subject to approval by the Physics Undergraduate Coordinator. A maximum of 12 credit hours may be included from courses in Chemical, Biomedical, Electrical, Mechanical, and Civil Engineering that have either PHY 2049, PHY 2061 or CHM 2046 as prerequisites.

Note: Students may need to satisfy additional prerequisites prior to taking some of the listed courses.