The Physics major at Stony Brook will provide you with an understanding of how the world works along with the skills to apply this understanding in any field. You will develop a strong background in classical physics, learn about modern experiments and the theory behind them, and apply your knowledge with practical labs. Physics also requires a good amount of mathematics, taught in MAT or AMS courses, and some experience in other STEM subjects. The major itself about 65 credits and leads to a Bachelor of Science.
There are several different introductory physics sequences to choose from, usually in freshman year, that include lecture and lab classes. Generally, the first semester covers mechanics and the second semester covers electricity and magnetism.
- PHY 133, 134 - Introductory labs, taken alongside any of the physics lecture sequences.
- PHY 131, 132 - The recommended course sequence for physics majors.
- PHY 141, 142 - An honors track, recommended for students who may have taken AP Physics classes or otherwise already have a background understanding of classical physics.
- PHY 125, 126, 127 - Geared towards other physical science and engineering majors, although they can be taken by Physics majors. PHY 127 can be taken before PHY 126.
- PHY 121, 122 - Physics for the life sciences such as biology majors.
As a sophomore, you will learn about modern physics in the lectures of PHY 251 and its associated lab, PHY 252. You'll study waves and optics in PHY 300, which includes a lab portion. You will also take a course on basic programming techniques for physics and astronomy, PHY 277, involving programming languages such as FORTRAN and C++. The order in which you take these courses does not matter as long as you have the prerequisites fulfilled.
Junior year is when you get into more heavily theory-based classes. This includes:
- PHY 301 - Electromagnetic Theory I
- PHY 303 - Mechanics
- PHY 306 - Thermodynamics, Kinetic Theory, and Statistical Mechanics
- PHY 308 - Quantum Physics
In addition to these courses, you will get hands-on experience with PHY 335, an electronics and instrumentation lab class. PHY 335 can be taken as early as spring semester of your sophomore year, however, most juniors take 301 and 303 in the fall, and 306, 308 and 335 in the spring.
By this point, you'll have fulfilled prerequisites for other physics courses beyond the required subjects. For example, if you're interested in learning more about electromagnetic theory, you could take PHY 302 - Electromagnetic Theory II. You might also want to take PHY 390, a course that covers a different physics topic each semester. For a full list of physics courses and their descriptions, you can refer to the Stony Brook undergraduate bulletin here.
Seniors take Senior Lab, PHY 445, which is a more independent lab course. Physics majors are also required to submit a writing project within your major for PHY 459, a zero credit course. This can be a report from a lab class or a paper on your research outside of your courses, and it is generally completed in senior year. More information about PHY 459 can be found here.
The required math courses for the physics major include Calculus I-IV and linear algebra. These can be taken from either the MAT or AMS department, and you could switch between the departments while completing the sequences. Since physics students take so many math courses and there is flexibility within the major in terms of credits, many choose to take on a minor or double major in either MAT or AMS. For more information about MAT and AMS, see our page about the two different departments here.
The sequences to choose from to complete the math requirements include:
- For Calculus I and II:
-- Mat 131, 132 - Standard sequence
-- Mat 141, 142 - Honors sequence
-- MAT 171 - Accelerated Single Variable Calculus (covers Calc I & II in one semester)
-- AMS 151, 161 - Applied Calculus sequence
-- MAT 125, 126, 127 - Calc A-C
- For Calculus III and IV:
-- MAT 205, 305 - Standard sequence
-- MAT 203, 303 - Calculus with applications sequence
-- AMS 261, 361 - Applied Calculus, Differential Equations
-- MAT 307, 308 - Multivariable Calculus, Differential Equations with Linear Algebra (no additional linear algebra course is required with these two)
- For Linear Algebra:
-- MAT 211 - MAT Introduction to linear
-- AMS 210 - AMS Introduction to Linear
In addition to the requirements, a highly recommended math class for physics majors is MAT 341, applied real analysis, in which you'll learn how to solve partial differential equations used in physics.
Other math courses that are relevant for physics majors include:
- MAT 342 - Applied Complex Analysis
- MAT 310 - Linear Algebra
- MAT 319 - Foundations of Analysis
- AMS 310 - Survey of Probability and Statistics
- AMS 326 - Numerical Analysis
MAT 310 and 319 are particularly recommended for students who are more interested in theory. AMS 310 and 326 are helpful for computation and data analysis.
Another requirement for the physics major is to take twelve credits of courses in fields related to physics. This can be covered by a double major or a minor. Any course from another science or engineering department would fulfill this requirement, including the math courses recommended above that go beyond the math requirements for the physics major.