Any physics course at the 5000 or 6000 level can be applied to the 30-hour requirement. Any other courses to be applied toward the 30-hour-course requirement must be approved, in advance, by the Physics Department. Courses approved by the Physics Department as appropriate for meeting the 30-hourdegree requirement are listed below. A minimum of 15 credit hours must be in courses with a 6000 number.

PHYS 5000. Selected Topics in Physics. (0-4) Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Selected advanced topics in physics. May be repeated with approval of the Department. (On demand)

PHYS 5220. Computational Methods in Physics. (3) Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Use of computers in solving physics problems including computational and mathematical methods to solve problems in classical
mechanics, quantum mechanics, electromagnetism, nuclear physics, optics, and solid state physics. Computer solutions include numerical methods of integration, solving differential equations, curve fitting, and statistical analysis in physics. (On demand)

PHYS 5222. Classical Mechanics II. (3) Prerequisite: PHYS 3121 and MATH 2241. Continuation of PHYS
3121. The second course of a two-semester sequence treating particle dynamics, the motion of systems of
particles, rigid body motion, moving coordinate systems, Lagrange’s equations, Hamilton’s equations, and small oscillations. Three lecture hours a week. (Spring)

PHYS 5231. Electromagnetic Theory I. (3) Prerequisites: For physics majors, PHYS 3121 with a grade of C or better; Others: permission of instructor; MATH 2171, MATH 2241. Corequisite: MATH 2242. The first course of a twosemester sequence. Topics considered include electrostatics and magnetostatics in free space and in matter, the motion of charged particles in electric and magnetic fields, capacitance, dielectric theory, field energy, electromagnetic induction and inductance, vector and scalar potentials, magnetic properties of matter. Maxwell’s equations, solutions of Maxwell’s equations in free space and in matter, propagating electromagnetic waves, and boundary value problems. (Spring)

PHYS 5232. Electromagnetic Theory II. (3) Prerequisite: PHYS 4231. Continuation of PHYS 4231. The second
course in a two-semester sequence. Topics include magnetostatics in free space and in matter, electromagnetic
induction, vector and scalar potentials, magnetic properties of materials, Maxwell’s equations in free space and in matter, propagating electromagnetic waves, boundary value problems. Three lecture hours a week. (Fall)

PHYS 5242. Modern Physics II. (3) Prerequisite: PHYS 4241. An extension of PHYS 4241 to include more
advanced topics such as generalized eigenvalue problems, angular momentum, spin, the hydrogen atom, and
perturbation theory, with selected applications from atomic, solid state, and nuclear physics. Three lecture hours a week. (Spring)

PHYS 5271. Principles of Geometrical and Physical Optics. (3) Prerequisites: PHYS 2102 with a grade of C or
better, senior standing, and MATH 2171. Exceptions by permission of the instructor. Topics include the
mathematics of wave motion, light as an example of an electromagnetic wave, the superposition of periodic and non-periodic waves, and selected topics from geometrical and physical optics. (Fall)

PHYS 5350. Teaching and Learning Physics. (3) Prerequisites: PHYS 2102 or permission of instructor. A
course on how people learn and understand key ideas related to physics. Course focus includes physics content, pedagogical methods and curriculum, cognitive science, and physics education research. Course includes opportunities for teaching and individualized projects. (Fall)

PHYS 6101. Biophysics. (3) Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Will include principles of physics relevant to biological media; electrical activity, optical microscopy, and spectrophotometry. Photosynthesis and light absorption. Models of blood flow and the cardiovascular system. Dynamics of membrane lipids and ionic flow. Visual and audio systems. Radiation biophysics, ultrasonic interaction in biological media. Credit cannot be awarded for both PHYS 6101 and 8101. (Fall)

PHYS 6121. Classical Dynamics. (3) Prerequisite: PHYS 4222. Variational principles and Lagrange's equations.
Hamilton's principles and mechanics of particles. The twobody central force problem. Rigid body motion. Small oscillations and the eigenvalue equation. (Spring, alternate years)

PHYS 6131. Classical Electromagnetism I. (3) Prerequisite: PHYS 4232. Electrostatic and boundary value
problems. Multipole expansions, dielectrics and magnetostatics. Maxwell's equations, time varying fields and
conservation laws. Plane electromagnetic waves and wave propagation. Wave guides and resonant cavities. Simple radiating systems. Scattering and diffraction theory. (Fall, alternate years)

PHYS 6132. Classical Electromagnetism II. (3) Prerequisite: PHYS 6131. Special theory of relativity. Dynamics of relativistic particles and electromagnetic fields. Charged particle collision and scattering. Radiation by
moving charges. Bremsstrahlung, virtual quanta, and beta decay theory. Multipole expansions and fields. Radiation damping. Self-fields of particles. Scattering and absorption of radiation by a bound system. (On demand)

PHYS 6141. Quantum Theory I. (3) Prerequisite: PHYS 4242. Principles of non-relativistic wave mechanics. The Schrodinger equation, linear harmonic oscillator and WKB approximation. Central forces and angular momentum. The hydrogen atom. (Fall, alternate years)

PHYS 6142. Quantum Theory II. (3) Prerequisite: PHYS 6141. Scattering theory, linear vector spaces, spin, two level systems. Quantum dynamics, symmetry operations, bound state and time-dependent perturbation theory. Theory of scattering, angular momentum, and identical particles. (On demand)

PHYS 6201. Fourier Optics. (3) Prerequisite: PHYS 4271 or permission of instructor. Principles of scalar, Fresnel, and Fraunhofer diffraction theory. Coherent optical imaging systems, optical filtering, optical data processing, and holography. Application of Fourier optics and holography. (Fall, Even years)

PHYS 6210. Theoretical Physics. (3) Prerequisite: Permission of department. Topics include: Matrices, power
series, solutions to ordinary and partial differential equations, Hilbert space, Fourier integrals, boundary value
problems, Green's functions, and complex analysis. (Fall)

PHYS 6211. Introduction to Modern Optics. (3) Prerequisite: PHYS 4271 or permission of department.
Theory of laser oscillation, optical resonators, interaction of radiation and atomic systems, giant pulsed lasers, laser systems. Wave propogation in non-linear media, modulation of optical radiation, noise in optical detection and generation. Interaction of light and sound. Laser types and applications including the free-electron laser. (Spring)

PHYS 6220. Computational Methods in Physics. (3) Prerequisite: PHYS 5210. Use of computers in solving
physics problems including computational and mathematical methods to solve problems in classical
mechanics, quantum mechanics, electromagnetism, nuclear physics, optics, and solid state physics. Computer solutions include numerical methods of integration, solving differential equations, curve fitting, and statistical analysis in physics. (On demand)

PHYS 6221 Optical Communications I. (3) Prerequisite: Prerequisites: PHYS 4242, 6241,or ECGR 5165.
Introduction to optical communications. Optical waveguides (attenuation, dispersions, etc.). Basic communication blocks such as lasers, optical modulators, and optical transceivers. Passive and active photonic components such as tunable lasers, optical amplifiers, SOAs, l-converters, and filters. Coherent and incoherent detection. Signal processing, photonic switching, and point-to-point connections. Three lecture hours per week. (Spring)

PHYS 6241. Light Sources and Detectors. (3) Prerequisite: PHYS 4241 or permission of department. Wave nature of light, basic semiconductor properties, light sources, light detectors and modulators, optical waveguides, optical systems with applications, and selected topics in non-linear optics. (Fall, Odd years)

PHYS 6251. Statistical Physics. (3) Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Classical and quantum statistical
mechanics. Statistical thermodynamics. Ensembles, partition functions, fluctuations, ideal Fermi and Bose gas systems. (On demand)

PHYS 6261. Nuclear Physics. (3) Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. A study of the nucleus, radioactivity, nuclear reactions, fission, fusion, interactions of radiation with matter and measurement of radiation. (Spring)

PHYS 6271. Advanced Solid State Physics. (3) Prerequisite: Permission of instructor. Crystal structure.
Electromagnetic, electron, mechanical, and elastic wave interactions with crystals. Theory of X-ray diffraction.
Energy band theory of metals and semiconductors. Optical properties of solids, phase transitions, and amorphous solids. Quantum mechanics of covalent bonding, phonon excitation, and thermal energy. (On demand)

PHYS 6281. Modern Optics Laboratory. (3) Prerequisite: PHYS 3281 or permission of instructor. Selected
experiments in such modern optics areas as fiber optics, holography, spectroscopy, and Fourier optics. Six laboratory hours each week. (Spring, Even years)

PHYS 6301. Radiation Detection, Instrumentation, and Data Analysis. (3) Charged particle, neutron, and photon detection. Signal processing and data recording methods including techniques of data analysis and error propagation. The course will consist of two lectures and one two-hour laboratory each week. The course will emphasize application of radiation detectors used in radiotherapy and diagnostic radiology. Two lecture hours and one two-hour laboratory each week. (Fall)

PHYS 6302. Radiation Protection and Dosimetry. (3) Radiation dosimetry fundamentals including photon,
electron, and neutron dosimetry. Radiation transport. Fundamentals of radiation protection and shielding.
Assessment of effective dose. Three lecture hours per week. (Fall)

PHYS 6303. Imaging in Medicine. (3) Prerequisites: PHYS 6210 and PHYS 6301. The fundamental conceptual,
mathematical, and statistical aspects of imaging science, and a survey from this formal viewpoint of various medical imaging modalities, including film-screen radiography, positron and x-ray computed tomography, ultrasound, and magnetic resonance imaging. (Spring)

PHYS 6304. Physics of Diagnostic Radiology and Radiotherapy. (3) Prerequisites: PHYS 6210 and PHYS
6302. Physics of x-ray diagnostic procedures and equipment. Physics of the interaction of the various
radiation modalities with body-equivalent materials. Physical aspects of clinical applications including radiation therapy to cause controlled biological effects in patients. Three lecture hours per week. (Spring)

PHYS 6401. Clinical Medical Physics. (1-3) Prerequisite: Permission of Program Director. Eighty to one hundred supervised contact hours of clinical internship at a regional health care system. May be repeated for a maximum of 12 credit hours. Graded Pass/No-credit. (Fall, Spring, Summer)

PHYS 6991. Physics Thesis Research I. (1-3) Prerequisite: admission to candidacy and permission of instructor. Research for the thesis. Letter grade assigned. May be repeated to accumulate a maximum of 6 hours credit. (Fall, Spring, Summer)

PHYS 6992. Physics Thesis Research II. (1-4) Prerequisite: PHYS 6991 and permission of instructor. Research for the thesis. Graded pass/no-credit. May be repeated to accumulate a maximum of 4 hours credit. (Fall, Spring, Summer)

PHYS 7999. Master’s Degree Graduate Residency Credit. (1) Required of all master’s students who are working on or defending thesis projects, and/or are scheduled for comprehensive examinations, but who are not enrolled in other graduate courses. (Fall, Spring, Summer)

PHYS 8101. Biophysics. (3) See PHYS 6101 for Course Description.