A graduate seminar covering current topics in astrophysics.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026← Physics (PHYSICS)
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33 coursesHistorical grades cover up to five years through the selected term. Only courses with at least 100 letter grades are ranked.
#2 ·PHYSICS 805
Special Topics in Physics
1–3 creditsPHYSICS 805 covers special topics in physics at the graduate level.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2023–Spring 2026Survey of state-of-the-art microscopic, cellular, and molecular imaging techniques from subcellular to whole animal scales
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Fall 2025#4 ·PHYSICS 900
Colloquium
0–1 creditsPHYSICS 900 is a colloquium course consisting of lectures delivered by staff and visiting speakers.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026PHYSICS 107 explores the origins of the twentieth-century physical world through selected topics in classical physics, relativity, and quantum theory, emphasizing conceptual meaning over practical applications.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Gerry Bauer: Gerry Bauer's section required five exams, four quizzes, and weekly homework, which reviewers found disproportionately difficult for non-science majors.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026#6 ·PHYSICS 407
Advanced Laboratory
2–4 creditsPHYSICS 407 is an advanced laboratory course covering classical and modern physics experiments with emphasis on statistical data analysis and research documentation.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Jim Reardon: Reviewers note that the work was challenging but independent, requiring students to solve problems on their own while receiving assistance when stuck.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026Introduction to modern physics covering kinetic theory, relativity, quantum theory origins, atomic structure, and topics in solid state, nuclear, and particle physics.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Homework is reported as tougher than exams, with the course providing significant feedback on assignments.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026#8 ·PHYSICS 109
Physics in the Arts
3 creditsPHYSICS IN THE ARTS covers the physics of sound, musical fundamentals, and optics including photography and color.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Homework is usually due weekly and relevant to exams, with TAs cited as helpful resources. Attending class is considered important, and using the textbook and labs aids understanding, though labs can be confusing.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026#9 ·PHYSICS 106
Physics of Sports
3 creditsPHYSICS OF SPORTS applies physical principles to analyze performance in sports like track, cycling, and basketball.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Homework packets are long and exams can be difficult, but students can recover points through unlimited extra credit worksheet attempts.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2023–Spring 2026A continuation of PHYSICS 247 covering electromagnetism, circuits, optics, and modern physics with computational methods.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Brian Rebel, Michael Winokur, Yibin Pan: Exams are described as incredibly difficult, though some instructors curve grades generously. The workload includes dense textbook chapters and substantial homework, requiring students to dedicate significant time to digesting the material and staying engaged with lectures.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026An intermediate laboratory course focusing on modern physics experiments, error analysis, and statistical uncertainties.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026#12 ·PHYSICS 731
Quantum Mechanics
3 creditsPHYSICS 731 covers advanced quantum mechanics topics including operator theory, scattering, and perturbation methods.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Fall 2025A calculus-based, rigorous introduction to physics covering mechanics, waves, thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, and modern physics with computation.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Duncan Carlsmith, Kam Arnold: The workload involves substantial homework and difficult lab reports, particularly those requiring MATLAB programming. Reviewers note that coding components are extensive and often feel disconnected from lecture content, requiring significant time to complete.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026#14 ·PHYSICS 551
Solid State Physics
3 creditsSolid State Physics covers the mechanical, thermal, electric, and magnetic properties of solids, including band theory and semiconductors.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Mark Rzchowski: Homework is considered easy after initial thought, and tests are rated as reasonable in difficulty.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026PHYSICS 711 covers advanced theoretical dynamics, including Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics, chaos, and an introduction to general relativity.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Fall 2025Introduction to quantum computation, information processing, and algorithms.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Fall 2025A graduate course covering advanced electrodynamics, including Maxwell's equations, wave propagation, and relativistic electrodynamics.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Jeffrey Schmidt: Reviewers note that Jackson E&M is tough and assigns a lot of problems per week.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026Introduction to plasmas covering collective phenomena, waves, instabilities, and kinetic theory with applications to fusion and materials processing.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Oliver Schmitz: The course was rated as difficult, with a difficulty rating of 4, reflecting the challenges of the material and the online format during the pandemic.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026#19 ·PHYSICS 115
Energy and Climate
3 creditsENERGY AND CLIMATE introduces energy sources and their environmental impacts, applying basic physics principles to evaluate energy issues.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Reviewers note increased workload and tedious lectures, though one finds the course easy if they have prior physics background.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026ATOMIC AND QUANTUM PHYSICS covers advanced atomic physics, quantum mechanics, and applications to molecular, solid state, nuclear, and particle physics.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Jeffrey Schmidt: Reviewers describe the course as difficult, noting that quantum problems are bearable only with support and that exams are anxiety-inducing.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Fall 2025Introduction to the physical principles of solid-state electronic and photonic devices.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Irena Knezevic: Grading relies on three exams, but homework is important for understanding; one review notes excessive late assignments and difficult textbook readings as a burden.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026A modern physics course covering quantum mechanics, nuclear, particle, condensed matter, and atomic physics.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Jeffrey Schmidt, Peter Timbie: Peter Timbie’s exams were described as incredibly difficult and unrelated to homework, while Jeffrey Schmidt’s course required copying formulas from practice exams to succeed.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026Covers electric circuits, electronics, and digital logic analysis.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Dan McCammon, Peter Timbie: Reviewers rate the difficulty as high, noting that lectures are scattered or disorganized, requiring significant independent study to understand the material.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Fall 2025Covers electrostatics, magnetostatics, Maxwell's equations, electromagnetic waves, and relativistic electromagnetism.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Ke Fang: Homework can be confusing and lectures difficult to follow, but the textbook is helpful and exams mirror problem sets.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026#25 ·PHYSICS 415
Thermal Physics
3 creditsIntroduces thermodynamics and statistical mechanics, covering phase equilibrium, kinetic theory, and classical and quantum statistical mechanics.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Vladimir Zhdankin: Exams are difficult but assignments prepare students well, with one review noting reasonable exam difficulty and another citing difficult exams.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026#26 ·PHYSICS 311
Mechanics
3 creditsCovers the origin and development of classical mechanics, including vector analysis, conservation laws, and Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formalisms.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
The class is very tough, but homework carries significant weight in the final grade, making the challenge worthwhile for student understanding.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026Introduction to quantum mechanics covering historical background, experimental basis, and key principles like the Schrödinger equation and Pauli principle.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Historical reviews of Thad Walker: Workload clarity depends on proficiency with Mathematica, which is required to understand the homework and exam expectations.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026#28 ·PHYSICS 104
General Physics
4 creditsPHYSICS 104 is a general physics course covering electricity, magnetism, optics, and modern physics as a continuation of PHYSICS 103.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Exams are high-stakes with no notes and minimal partial credit, while labs and homeworks involve significant busy work.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026#29 ·PHYSICS 208
General Physics
5 creditsA calculus-based physics course for biological science majors covering electricity, magnetism, light, and modern physics.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
Several reviewers report that exams are significantly harder than lectures or homework, featuring ambiguous questions and topics not covered in class. The course is described as disorganized, with lectures that are useless, incoherent, or difficult to follow.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026#30 ·PHYSICS 207
General Physics
5 creditsCalculus-based physics for biological science majors covering mechanics, energy, momentum, heat, and sound.
Offering recorded · Fall 2026
The course is rated difficult, with exams often perceived as harder than homework or lecture content suggests. Success reportedly requires significant self-study, utilizing past exams, and completing all homework and labs.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2022–Spring 2026