Enrollment Guidance for Physics Majors

This page will be updated the day the schedule goes live for the upcoming term and throughout the enrollment period. Please refer to this information before seeking personalized guidance. Be sure to read General & Term-specific guidance to know special options and how to use PASS 1 vs PASS 2.

 

Enrollment Steps

STEP 1: Check your degree audit and then check your official qtr-by-qtr plan for major-related courses for the upcoming term. Remember, Informal Exceptions appear on your degree audit, but NOT on your plan!

See:

  • Standard Plans
    • PY29 Students: Please remember that you've been moved to the new curriculum in which PHYS UD Depth courses are now PHYS UD REs as shown on your degree audit.
  • Alternate Plans 
  • VAC (for personalized plans for graduation provided/approved by the Physics Department if you are not on one of the plans above).

STEP 2: View General Guidance, below.

STEP 3: View Term-Specific Guidance, below. 

STEP 4: View the schedule in WebReg and adhere to the UCSD Enrollment Checklist.

 

General Guidance

The following guidance applies every term. Be sure to also read the Term-Specific Guidance below.

  • See Department Comments below the qtr-by-qtr section of your plan to understand all major requirements and recommendations for your major. 

  • ​​​Remember Informal Exceptions to the Major Requirements only appear on your degree audit. 

  • See Physics Course Frequency info. to know when particular courses are likely to be offered in upcoming academic years.

  • Secure full time status no later than day 1 of PASS 2. If enrolling in less than 12 units for the term, apply for part-time status by the deadline. 

Enrollment is a perfect time to check to make sure you’re in the best major for your goals!

Physics BS: For students aiming for graduate studies or technical careers. The BS requires advanced courses and has fewer electives than the BA, typically resulting in a longer time-to-degree.

  • Note: B.S. specializations have been retired. Students currrently in a major w/ a specialization can remain in it and graduate with it. No new declarations of majors w/ specializations are available. 

Physics BA: For students aiming to enter the job market directly after graduation pursuing a wide range of careers. The BA does not require advanced theoretical courses (eg. PHYS 105A, 130B, 140A), has less requirements overall, and allows the student to tailor a high number of restricted electives to their target field within or even outside of Physics. 

Adhere to all Physics Department Major Regulations. 

Click here to view the physics course offerings.

Read the guidance at the top of the webpage, especially for more long-term planning (eg. see course frequency info.). 

See Special Topics Course Info. for unique descriptions, prereqs, enrollment procedures, and applicability to the major.

Follow unique enrollment instructions listed.

Use the physics course offerings to schedule physics major requirements you must self-select, such as PHYS UD LAB, PHYS UD RE, and/or PHYS UD DEPTH.

Adhere to prerequisites and Pilot Prereqs.

Prerequisites and pilot prereqs will be enforced as listed. Corequisites are not enforced at UCSD at this time and no special exception is required to "waive" a listed corequisite. 

Pilot Prereqs

These are used to test potential formal changes and/or to address situations in which the faculty are piloting adjustments in a particular series that may impact the necessary prerequisites.

In most cases, potential formal changes will typically be piloted for several years before any changes are seen in the campus system (official changes are not guaranteed).

An EASy request is required to have the pilot prereqs applied. 

Term Course Pilot
FA22-SP26 2DL Combo of ECE 35 + 45 replace PHYS 2CL prereq
FA25 116 ASTR 102 can replace PHYS 100B; ASTR 101 can replace PHYS 110B
SP23-SP26 120 All students in 4E or beyond may enroll, provided PHYS 2CL has also been completed
W23-W26 152A All students with prior completion of PHYS 4A-B-C-D-E and 100A and 110A may enroll.
SP25 170 Upper division standing AND completion of lower division physics series (Phys 1, 2, or 4) AND (Chem126 or 131 or 132 OR an upper division / graduate biophysics course (Phys17X or 27x) or a 4-unit PHYS 199 under a biophysics faculty member (with recommendation)).
FA23-FA25 175 Upper division standing AND completion of lower division physics series (Phys 1, 2, or 4) AND (Chem126 or 131 or 132 OR an upper division / graduate biophysics course (Phys17X or 27x) or a 4-unit PHYS 199 under a biophysics faculty member (with recommendation)).
SP26 176 Upper division standing AND completion of the PHYS 2 or PHYS 4 series AND completion of MATH 20D. Recommended preparation: PHYS 140A or CHEM 126B or CHEM 132.

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 advised to follow our enrollment guidance 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.

See the Prerequisites section of the Enrollment Policies for eligibility and timelines for submitting EASy requests. Requests that are ineligible and/or are submitted too early will be denied. 

Submit enrollment clearance requests through the Enrollment Authorization System (EASy); email requests or VAC messages will not be accepted.

Do not use unit limit requests for major requirements. Follow term-specific PASS 1 and PASS 2 guidance, below. 

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

There are special deadlines to apply to these courses. Please click here to learn about independent reading/research (aka Special Studies) courses and how to sign up. Start arranging and submitting your enrollment requests TODAY -- do not delay! The deadline to submit PHYS Special Studies requests is Friday of week 1; late requests are not accepted.

If you want to sign up for Special Studies under a non-PHYS faculty member, see policies here for enrolling and for seeking to apply the course to your major. 

If you are doing well in the UD physics program, please consider the Physics Honors Program and contact PHYSICS through VAC to discuss this.

Check the posted info. of the department offering the course and contact the department through VAC with any questions/concerns about policies and procedures for their courses (eg. add, drop, waitlist, prereqs, PASS 1 vs PASS 2, etc.). 

Consider...

  • taking remaining GEs and/or university requirements;
  • getting ahead in math/physics requirements;
    • Students exempt from PHYS 2A-B via AP/IB credit can move PHYS 2CL earlier on their plan
  • 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;
  • taking courses merely for personal interest;
  • enrolling as a part-time student. 

If you need an enrollment-related document processed by the Physics Department, please click here and submit it several weeks before you need it back. Rush processing of documents is not available in Physics and we do not use appointments to process documents. 

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

Your College

Questions about GE and University Requirements

PHYSICS via VAC

Questions  about your major and physics courses. Also plan to attend related advising workshops (see here). 

Another Department

Questions about their major(s), minor(s), and courses they offer

EAP

Questions about Studying Abroad

 

Term-Specific Guidance

Which Courses to Enroll in for PASS 1 vs PASS 2:

PHYS 2CL, 4A, 4D: Enroll no later than day 1 of your PASS 1*

PHYS 41: Enroll no later than day 1 of your PASS 2**

MATH 20B (4A students only), 20D (4D students only), MATH 20A (1st year Freshman still needing this class): Enroll no later than day 1 of your PASS 1

OTHER MATH COURSES (including 20B for non-W26 PHYS 4A students and 20D for non-W26 PHYS 4D students): Enroll/waitlist no later than day 1 of your PASS 2

*If you contact PHYSICS through VAC on your first day of your PASS 1 to report the entire class is full, we will get you a seat in the class but we cannot guarantee a particular section. (Only those who meet all listed prereqs and were declared PHYS majors as of 9/1/2025 are eligible for this provision.) 

**If you contact PHYSICS through VAC on your first day of your PASS 2 to report the entire class is full, we will get you a seat in the class. (Only those who meet all listed prereqs and were declared PHYS majors as of 9/1/2025 are eligible for this provision.) 

Which Courses to Enroll in for PASS 1 vs PASS 2:

PHYS 100B, 105A: Enroll no later than day 1 of your PASS 1*

All Other UD PHYS: Enroll no later than day 1 of your PASS 2

*If you contact PHYSICS through VAC on your first day of your PASS 1 to report the entire class is full, we will get you a seat in the class. (Only those who meet all listed prereqs and were declared PHYS majors as of 9/1/2025 are eligible for this provision.) 

Special Topics courses have special enrollment procedures you will need to follow.