Physics Major for the High School Teaching License (9-12) / Bachelor of Arts
Program: BA-PHYS-1
Total Credit Hours: 120
Major Credit Hours: 66
The Department of Physics features a fully approved Physics program that prepares candidates to teach grades 9-12 in Illinois public and private schools. The program is approved by the State Educator Preparation and Licensure Board in conjunction with the Illinois State Board of Education and includes all the requirements for a major in Physics. Physics majors must declare majors in both Physics and Secondary Education. See advisors in the Department of Physics and the Department of Education for specific approval and a list of required courses.
Teacher Candidates seeking a Professional Educator License with a Physics Endorsement must complete all requirements of the Department of Education and the following coursework in the content area as well as professional education courses. For a detailed description of the courses, please click on the appropriate link. Only grades of “C” and above are acceptable in professional education courses and in any courses counted toward any endorsement or license. A “C-” or lower grade will require that the course be repeated.
Degree Requirements
A grade of "C-" or better must be earned in a prerequisite course in order to advance to the next course in the sequence. An overall GPA of 2.0 must be earned in the major in order for a student to graduate with a B.A. in Physics.
Physics majors and minors may take a Physics class only two times. If a student has not achieved a minimum of a "C-" after the second attempt, the student may not repeat the class.
I. Courses in Physics Major for Teacher Licensure (66)
| Code | Title | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Core Courses | ||
| CHEM 11000 | General Chemistry 1 | 4 |
| CHEM 11100 | General Chemistry 1 Lab | 1 |
| CHEM 11500 | General Chemistry 2 | 4 |
| CHEM 11600 | General Chemistry 2 Lab | 1 |
| MATH 20900 | Calculus 1 | 4 |
| MATH 23500 | Calculus 2 | 4 |
| MATH 25000 | Calculus 3 | 4 |
| MATH 30000 | Differential Equations | 3 |
| PHYS 10500 | Introduction to Astronomy | 3 |
| PHYS 21000 | General Physics 1 | 3 |
| PHYS 21100 | General Physics 1 Lab | 1 |
| PHYS 21500 | General Physics 2 | 3 |
| PHYS 21600 | General Physics 2 Lab | 1 |
| PHYS 21800 | General Physics 3 | 3 |
| PHYS 21900 | General Physics 3 Lab | 1 |
| PHYS 29600 | Research Methods Seminar | 1 |
| PHYS 30000 | Mechanics | 4 |
| PHYS 34100 | Modern Physics | 3 |
| PHYS 36500 | Intermediate Physics Laboratory | 3 |
| PHYS 46500 | Capstone Project | 1 |
| PHYS 49600 | Physics Seminar | 1 |
| PHYS 31000 | Electricity and Magnetism | 4 |
| or PHYS 31100 | Analog and Digital Electronics | |
| Select one of the following Biology courses/sequences: | 3-4 | |
| Introduction to Environmental Science | ||
| Introduction to Human Biology | ||
| Integrated Science 2 and Integrated Science 2 Lab | ||
| CPSC 20000 | Introduction to Computer Science | 3 |
| or CPSC 31500 | Scientific Computing | |
| Select two to three additional credit hours from the following courses to total at least 66 credit hours for the major: | 2-3 | |
| Introduction to Environmental Science | ||
| Human Heredity | ||
| Introduction to Human Biology | ||
| Applied Probability and Statistics | ||
| Linear Algebra | ||
| Mathematical Modeling | ||
| Energy and Society | ||
| Mathematical Methods for the Physical Sciences | ||
| Analog and Digital Electronics | ||
| Optics | ||
| Applied Modern Physics: Atoms, Molecules, and Condensed Matter | ||
| Applied Modern Physics: Nuclear and Particle Physics | ||
| Computational Mechanics | ||
| Computational Electrodynamics | ||
| Quantum Mechanics | ||
| Undergraduate Research | ||
PHYS-498XX | Special Topics in Physics | |
Mathematics minors cannot use any 30000 or 40000 level Mathematics course to satisfy both this requirement and a Mathematics minor requirement.
II. Professional Educator License
Secondary education majors must complete the professional educator program of study in their subject area. See content area for Secondary Licensure content requirements.
Advanced Writing Requirement
The Advanced Writing Requirement of the General Education Curriculum is satisfied by successful completion of PHYS 49600 Physics Seminar.