Enrollment Guidance for Physics Majors

Click here to view the physics course offerings. Most major-related courses are available once a year, with few offered in summer. The schedule generally repeats annually, though specialization courses may vary each year.

Remember that you’ll use our Annual Schedule of Physics Course Offerings and our course descriptions w/ prereqs to schedule physics major requirements you must self-select (eg. PHYS UD RE, PHYS UD DEPTH, PHYS UD LAB, etc.).

Prerequisites are strictly enforced (see policies here). If you don’t meet them, you cannot enroll and may need to select a different plan (see STEP 1, above).

Starting during PASS 2, the campus can (and does) change the room a course is assigned based on enrollment numbers. For this reason, PHYS majors are strongly encouraged to follow the term-specific enrollment guidance, below, to ensure their seating in major requirements. The waitlisting and unit limit exception info. on this webpage is important to keep in mind. 

You can only waitlist a course once your PASS 2 begins. The PHYS Department monitors waitlists and tries to increase class sizes. Departments cannot guarantee that sections/seats can be added and no one in Physics can guess your chances of making it off a course waitlist. ​​​​

Submit enrollment clearance requests through the Enrollment Authorization System (EASy); email requests or VAC messages will not be accepted. If seeking clearance for a W25 grad course based on FA24 prerequisites, wait until your FA24 grades are posted for manual verification.

Do not use unit limit requests for major requirements. Enroll in all major requirements by the first day of PASS 2 to ensure no delays in graduation (eg. if a class is full by day 1).

Avoid enrolling in courses that conflict; instructors are not expected to accommodate students who have schedule conflicts.

There are special deadlines to apply to these courses. Please click here to learn about independent reading/research (aka Special Studies) courses in physics and apply as early as today (the deadline is Friday of week 1; late requests are not accepted).

Each department has sole control/discretion over the policies, procedures, options, limitations, and advice for enrolling in their courses (including policies/options re. course prereqs, 1st pass vs 2nd pass, waitlisting, etc.). If you have a question about a course offered by another dept., send your question to that dept. through the VAC.

Consider...

• taking remaining GEs and/or university requirements;
• getting ahead in math/physics requirements;
• taking courses for a double major and/or a minor;
• taking courses that will enhance your Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) in your target career field;
• looking for research that could result in enrollment in a Special Studies 99, 199, or 199H course under the supervision of a faculty member;
• Enrolling as a part-time student. 

Please contact the appropriate office based on your questions/concerns: