Seminar in astrophysics covering current topics in the field.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026← Physics (PHYSICS)
Easiest courses in Physics
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Highest historical GPA first. At least 100 letter grades over the five years through the selected term. Grades reflect past outcomes, not workload or a guaranteed result.
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33 courses
Ranked courses have at least 100 recorded letter grades.
#2 ·PHYSICS 805
Special Topics in Physics
1–3 creditsA graduate-level course covering special topics in physics, with content varying by offering.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2023–Spring 2026#3 ·PHYSICS 301
Physics Today
1 creditsPhysics Today features weekly presentations and discussions on current physics research topics led by scientists directly involved in the studies.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2023–Spring 2026The Ideas of Modern Physics explores the twentieth-century physical world picture, covering classical physics, relativity, and quantum theory with an emphasis on conceptual meaning over practical applications.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Gerry Bauer
The course included five exams, four quizzes, and frequent weekly homework assignments, which one student felt was excessive for a three-credit class.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026#5 ·PHYSICS 900
Colloquium
0–1 creditsPhysics Colloquium features lectures delivered by staff and visitors.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026Introduction to machine learning in physics covering probability, optimization, and applications like collider data and image classification.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2024–Spring 2026#7 ·PHYSICS 407
Advanced Laboratory
2–4 creditsAdvanced Laboratory covers experiments in classical and modern physics, emphasizing statistical data analysis and research lab notebooks.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Jim Reardon
Students reported that the instructor made them work hard, though the effort was structured to ensure they could handle diverse lab scenarios afterwards.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2023–Spring 2026Introduction to modern physics covering kinetic theory, relativity, quantum theory origins, atomic structure, spectral lines, and solid state, nuclear, and particle physics.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Duncan Carlsmith
Homework was tougher than exams, and lectures sometimes went beyond the course scope, though the textbook provided helpful support.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026Intermediate laboratory course covering modern physics experiments, including gamma-ray spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, blackbody radiation, and Cavendish G measurement, with emphasis on statistical uncertainties and error propagation.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026#10 ·PHYSICS 109
Physics in the Arts
3 creditsPhysics in the Arts covers sound perception, harmony, musical scales, instruments, and studies of light including lenses, photography, color perception, and mixing.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Pupa Gilbert
The material was described as manageable, with one student advising to read the textbook rather than doing prelecture work for solid prep.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026#11 ·PHYSICS 106
Physics of Sports
3 creditsPhysics of Sports applies physical principles to competitive sports like track and field, cycling, archery, golf, football, and basketball to enhance performance understanding.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Jim Reardon
Homework packets were long and due on Wednesdays, while lectures involved writing on the board with limited explanation, requiring attendance for both homework and Fridays.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2023–Spring 2026A Modern Introduction to Physics covering electromagnetism, circuits, optics, and modern physics topics with computation.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Yibin Pan
The lecture pace was described as challenging, requiring students to stay engaged. One student noted that using resources like the textbook and Unstuck study made all the difference in succeeding.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2023–Spring 2026#13 ·PHYSICS 732
Quantum Mechanics
3 creditsAdvanced quantum mechanics covering electromagnetic field quantization, atomic structure, molecules, and relativistic effects via the Dirac equation.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2023–Spring 2026#14 ·PHYSICS 325
Optics
4 creditsPhysics 325 covers classical and modern optics topics like imaging, lasers, and interferometry, reinforced by weekly laboratory experiments.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2023–Spring 2026#15 ·PHYSICS 551
Solid State Physics
3 creditsCovers mechanical, thermal, electric, and magnetic properties of solids, including band theory, semiconductors, and crystal imperfections.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Mark Rzchowski
Homework was considered quite easy once students put in some thought, and tests were reasonable in difficulty.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026A Modern Introduction to Physics is a calculus-based course covering mechanics, waves, thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, and modern physics with computation, aimed at Physics, AMEP, and Astronomy-Physics majors.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Duncan Carlsmith
Students reported heavy homework loads and time-consuming lab reports, with programming components described as difficult and unconnected to lecture material.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026#17 ·PHYSICS 115
Energy and Climate
3 creditsIntroduction to energy sources and environmental impacts, applying mechanics, heat, electricity, and nuclear physics to fossil fuels, renewables, and nuclear energy.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · John Sarff
The class was described as very math-heavy, but students noted it was not hard if they completed the homework and attended discussion sessions.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026Advanced Quantum Computing explores quantum theory applications to the hardware and software of modern quantum information technology, covering circuit theory, decoherence, error correction, and physical implementations.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2023–Spring 2026Electrostatics, magnetostatics, Green functions, boundary value problems, macroscopic media, Maxwell's equations, the stress tensor and conservation laws, electromagnetic waves, wave propagation, dispersion, waveguides, radiation, multipole expansions, diffraction and scattering, special relativity, covariance of Maxwell's equations, Lienard-Wiechert potentials, radiation by accelerated charges. Knowledge of electrodynamics (such asPHYSICS 322) strongly encouraged.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Jeffrey Schmidt
The course used Jackson E&M as a tough text, with a significant workload of many problems assigned every week.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026Advanced quantum mechanics covering atomic physics, special relativity, and applications to molecular, solid state, nuclear, particle physics, and quantum statistics.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Thad Walker
One student rated the difficulty at 4 out of 5, indicating a challenging but manageable workload under Thad Walker's instruction.
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2023–Spring 2026An introduction to the physical principles underlying solid-state electronic and photonic devices, including elements of quantum mechanics, crystal structure, semiconductor band theory, carrier statistics, and band diagrams. Offers examples of modern semiconductor structures. Prior experience with MATLAB [such asE C E 203] is strongly encouraged but not required.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Irena Knezevic
The grade was determined entirely by three exams, which were curved such that an 85 percent resulted in an A.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026Graduate course covering statistical foundations, ensembles, distribution functions, thermodynamics, quantum gases, phase transitions, and non-equilibrium problems in statistical mechanics.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
historical GPA · grades
Spring 2023–Spring 2026Modern physics continuation covering quantum mechanics, nuclear/particle physics, condensed matter, and atomic physics with weekly lectures and discussions.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Jeffrey Schmidt
The instructor derived everything from memory and moved through the material at a very fast pace.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026Covers electrostatics, magnetostatics, induction, Maxwell's equations, electromagnetic waves, and relativity in the context of electromagnetism.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Ke Fang
Problem sets and discussion problems helped students understand the material, with exams reflecting similar content to the problem sets and textbook examples.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026#25 ·PHYSICS 311
Mechanics
3 creditsAdvanced classical mechanics covering vector analysis, conservation laws, symmetry, rigid-body dynamics, and Lagrangian/Hamiltonian formalisms.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Roman Kuzmin
Homework assignments were characterized as hard and long, contributing to the overall challenging nature of the class.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026#26 ·PHYSICS 415
Thermal Physics
3 creditsThermal Physics introduces thermodynamics and statistical mechanics from a physics perspective, covering phase equilibrium, kinetic theory, and classical and quantum statistical mechanics.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Alex Levchenko
One student described the course as heavily theoretical, noting it was 90% analysis and required strong math skills to succeed with the homework.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026Introduction to Quantum Mechanics covers historical background, experimental basis, wave mechanics, the Schrodinger equation, and the hydrogen atom.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Thad Walker
The course required proficiency in Mathematica to navigate the assignments and exams effectively.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026#28 ·PHYSICS 104
General Physics
4 creditsContinuation of PHYSICS 103 covering electricity, magnetism, light, optics, and modern physics with cross-field applications; not recommended for physical science or engineering majors.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Daniel Thurs
Students reported spending a couple of hours each week on pre-lectures, homework, and quizzes, and found Thurs’s exams difficult.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026#29 ·PHYSICS 207
General Physics
5 creditsCalculus-based General Physics for biology majors covering mechanics (kinematics, statics, dynamics, energy, momentum), heat, and sound.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Abdollah Mohammadi
Exams were described as difficult and sometimes covered material not in homework, requiring extensive practice with past tests to succeed.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026#30 ·PHYSICS 208
General Physics
5 creditsCalculus-based intro physics for biology majors covering electricity, magnetism, light, and modern physics as a continuation of PHYSICS 207.
Offering recorded · Spring 2027 · Sources
Past student reviews · Abdollah Mohammadi
Lectures often moved quickly, requiring independent study to grasp concepts. Students reported that the course elements and practice materials were difficult and did not align with each other.
historical GPA · grades
Fall 2022–Spring 2026