Physics Major

1st Year Study Planner

What do the different requirements mean?

• Compulsory for program – all BSc students must complete this course
• Prerequisite for major – course required for this major
• Recommended – other science course which complements the major, but can be substituted for an elective
• Elective - choose a Level 1 course that interests you

1. Students without at least a Sound Achievement in Senior Maths C are required to take MATH1050 as an elective before MATH1051.
2. MATH1050 is not available for students with a High Achievement or higher in Senior Maths C. MATH1050 is not available to students who have passed MATH1051 and/or MATH1071 and/or MATH1052 and/or MATH1072
3. Students with a high achievement in Senior Maths C (or a 6 or 7 in MATH1050) should take the sequence MATH1071 and MATH1072. Students with a sound achievement in Senior Maths C (or a 4 or 5 in MATH1050) should take the sequence MATH1051 and MATH1052.

Year 2 to 3 Study Planner

The following are suggested study plans for this major and should be used as a guide to planning your program. Please refer to the course list to ensure you complete the major requirements.

What do the different columns mean?

• Sem - Semester
• Compulsory courses – compulsory for the major.
• Key courses – electives from the major's course list.
• Recommended courses – complements the major.

Choose a study plan

• General Studies

  Year 2

  Sem	Compulsory Courses Complete all courses	Key Courses	Recommended Courses
  1	PHYS2020 Thermodyn & Condensed Matter PHYS2055 Intro to Fields in Physics	-	MATH2001 Advanced Calculus and Linear Algebra PHYS2810 Electronics & Circuit Theory Suggested elective: SCIE2100 Intro to Bioinfomatics
  2	PHYS2041 Quantum Physics	-	MATH2100 Applied Mathematical Analysis PHYS2100 Dynamics, Chaos & Special Rela Suggested electives: PHYS2082 Space Sc & Stellar Astrophysic BIPH2000 Foundations of Biophysics PHIL2011 Phil of Modern Physics COSC2500 Num Meth in Computational Sci

   

  Year 3

  Sem	Compulsory Courses Complete all courses	Key Courses Choose at least #6 from:	Recommended Courses
  1		PHYS3040 Quantum Physics1 PHYS3051 Fields in Physics1 PHYS3071 Computational Physics	COSC3000 Visualization & Graphics SCIE3250 Introduction to Research
  2	PHYS3900 Perspectives in Physics	BIHP3001 Frontiers in Biophysics PHYS3020 Statistical Mechanics1 PHYS3080 Extragalatic Astrophys & Cosm PHYS3825 Experimental Design	COSC3500 High-Performance Computing SCIE3250 Introduction to Research

  1. Students must choose at least #4 from PHYS3040, PHYS3051 and/or PHYS3020 to complete the requirements for the Physics major.

• Astronomy / Astrophysics

  Year 2

  Sem	Compulsory Courses Complete all courses	Key Courses	Recommended Courses
  1	PHYS2020 Thermodyn & Condensed Matter PHYS2055 Intro to Fields in Physics		MATH2001Advanced Calculus and Linear Algebra Suggested elective: PHYS2810 Electronics & Circuit Theory SCIE3250 Introduction to Research
  2	PHYS2041 Quantum Physics		PHYS2100 Dynamics, Chaos & Special Rela MATH2100 Applied Mathematical Analysis PHYS2082 Space Sc & Stellar Astrophysic

   

  Year 3

  Sem	Compulsory Courses Complete all courses	Key Courses Choose at least #6 from:	Recommended Courses
  1		PHYS3040 Quantum Physics1 PHYS3051 Fields in Physics1 PHYS3071 Computational Physics	SCIE3250 Introduction to Research
  2	PHYS3900 Perspectives in Physics	BIHP3001 Frontiers in Biophysics PHYS3020 Statistical Mechanics1 PHYS3080 Extragalatic Astrophys & Cosm	Suggested electives: PHYS3825 Experimental Design SCIE3250 Introduction to Research

  1. Students must choose at least #4 from PHYS3040, PHYS3051 and/or PHYS3020 to complete the requirements for the Physics major.

• Mathematical Physics

  Year 2

  Sem	Compulsory Courses Complete all courses	Key Courses	Recommended Courses
  1	PHYS2020 Thermodyn & Condensed Matter PHYS2055 Intro to Fields in Physics		MATH2001 Advanced Calculus and Linear Algebra Suggested electives: PHYS2810 Electronics & Circuit Theory MATH2400 Mathematical Analysis
  2	PHYS2041 Quantum Physics		MATH2100 Applied Mathematical Analysis Suggested electives: PHYS2100 Dynamics, Chaos & Special Rela PHYS2082 Space Sc & Stellar Astrophysic PHIL2011 Phil of Modern Physics

   

  Year 3

  Sem	Compulsory Courses Complete all courses	Key Courses Choose at least #4 from:	Recommended Courses
  1		PHYS3040 Quantum Physics1 PHYS3051 Fields in Physics1	MATH3401 Complex Analysis Suggested electives: PHYS3071 Computational Physics MATH3101 Bifurcation and Chaos MATH3201 Advanced Scientific Computing MATH3302 Coding & Cryptography MATH3303 Abstr Algebra & Number Th SCIE3250 Introduction to Research
  2	PHYS3900 Perspectives in Physics	BIHP3001 Frontiers in Biophysics PHYS3020 Statistical Mechanics1 Plus #2 of 3rd or 4th year Physics course from the Physics course list.	MATH3403 Partial Differential Equations Suggested electives: PHYS3080 Extragalatic Astrophys & Cosm PHYS3825 Experimental Design MATH3102 Applied Mathematics MATH3103 Algebraic Meth of Math Physics SCIE3250 Introduction to Research

  1. Students must choose at least #4 from PHYS3040, PHYS3051 and/or PHYS3020 to complete the requirements for the Physics major.

Careers in Physics

Physicists engage in a wide range of exciting and rewarding careers across many industries in both the public and private sectors. Physics graduate attributes include robust, high-level analytical and problem-solving skills that are widely applicable and highly valued by a diverse range of employers in the public and private sector, including such areas as:

• Education and Science Communicators
• Engineering
• Computing
• Management
• Finance
• Research and Technical Positions
• Health and Medical Sectors
• Nuclear Physics

Many BSc graduates also enter into further research-based studies in Honours, Masters and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) programs. Subsequently physicists can find employment opportunities in research and development to increase scientific knowledge, or applied research to develop new devices, products or processes.