College of the Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences
2026-2027 Undergraduate Catalog Progression Plans are for planning purposesonly; see the catalog for official details.
Physics, Bachelor of Science
Progression Plan-ClassicCampus Availability
- Flagstaff
Year 1
| Course Description | Units | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | MAT 136 Calculus I | 4 |
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Grade Required: GRADE OF "C" OR BETTER Notes: This course may also meet a General Studies requirement: Scientific Literacy: Natural Science. |
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| 2. | PHY 103 First-Year Seminar | 1 |
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| Notes: This course is not required but highly recommended. | |||||
| 3. | General Studies and/or Inclusive Perspectives | 3 |
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| Notes: Courses in Inclusive Perspectives (US Ethnic, Global and Indigenous Peoples) are required. Double dipping General Studies and Inclusive Perspectives is encouraged. See academic catalog for details. | |||||
| 4. | General Studies and/or Inclusive Perspectives | 3 |
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| Notes: Courses in Inclusive Perspectives (US Ethnic, Global and Indigenous Peoples) are required. Double dipping General Studies and Inclusive Perspectives is encouraged. See academic catalog for details. | |||||
| 5. | General Elective Course | 2 |
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| Notes: CHM 151/L and CHM 152/L highly recommended for general electives. | |||||
| Course Description | Units | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | PHY 171 or PHY 161 | 4 |
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| Notes: PHY 171 is highly recommended. This course may also meet a General Studies requirement: Scientific Methods. | |||||
| 2. | PHY 171L or PHY 161L | 1 |
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| Notes: This course may also meet a General Studies requirement: Scientific Methods. | |||||
| 3. | Foundation English | 4 | |||
| 4. | General Studies and/or Inclusive Perspectives | 3 |
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| Notes: Courses in Inclusive Perspectives (US Ethnic, Global and Indigenous Peoples) are required. Double dipping General Studies and Inclusive Perspectives is encouraged. See academic catalog for details. | |||||
| 5. | General Elective Course | 3 |
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| Notes: CHM 151/L and CHM 152/L highly recommended for general electives. | |||||
Year 2
| Course Description | Units | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | PHY 172 or PHY 262 | 5 |
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| Notes: PHY 172 is highly recommended. Note: If choosing PHY 262, MAT 137 can be taken as a Prerequisite or Corequisite. | |||||
| 2. | PHY 262L University Physics II Lab | 1 | |||
| 3. | MAT 137 Calculus II | 4 |
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Grade Required: GRADE OF "C" OR BETTER Notes: This course may also meet a General Studies requirement: Math Foundation. |
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| 4. | General Studies and/or Inclusive Perspectives | 3 |
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| Notes: Courses in Inclusive Perspectives (US Ethnic, Global and Indigenous Peoples) are required. Double dipping General Studies and Inclusive Perspectives is encouraged. See academic catalog for details. | |||||
| 5. | General Studies: Scientific Literacy | 3 |
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| Notes: Complete two courses in General Studies: Scientific Literacy. One course in Natural Sciences and one course in Social Sciences. See academic catalog for details. | |||||
| Course Description | Units | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | PHY 263 University Physics III | 3 | |||
| 2. | PHY 264 Electronics For Science Students | 3 | |||
| 3. | PHY 265 Introduction To Computational Physics | 3 | |||
| 4. | MAT 238 Calculus III | 4 | |||
| Grade Required: GRADE OF "C" OR BETTER | |||||
| 5. | MAT 239 Differential Equations | 3 | |||
| 6. | General Studies and/or Inclusive Perspectives | 3 |
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| Notes: Courses in Inclusive Perspectives (US Ethnic, Global and Indigenous Peoples) are required. Double dipping General Studies and Inclusive Perspectives is encouraged. See academic catalog for details. | |||||
Year 3
| Course Description | Units | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | PHY 301 Methods Of Analytical Physics | 3 | |||
| 2. | PHY 321 Mechanics I | 3 | |||
| 3. | General Studies and/or Inclusive Perspectives | 3 |
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| Notes: Courses in Inclusive Perspectives (US Ethnic, Global and Indigenous Peoples) are required. Double dipping General Studies and Inclusive Perspectives is encouraged. See academic catalog for details. | |||||
| 4. | General Elective Course | 3 |
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| Notes: CHM 151/L and CHM 152/L highly recommended for general electives. | |||||
| 5. | General Elective Course | 3 |
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| Notes: CHM 151/L and CHM 152/L highly recommended for general electives. | |||||
| Course Description | Units | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | PHY 331 Electricity And Magnetism I | 3 | |||
| 2. | PHY 333W Advanced Lab | 3 | |||
| 3. | PHY 361 Modern Physics | 3 | |||
| 4. | General Elective Course | 3 |
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| Notes: CHM 151/L and CHM 152/L highly recommended for general electives. | |||||
| 5. | General Elective Course | 3 |
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| Notes: CHM 151/L and CHM 152/L highly recommended for general electives. | |||||
Year 4
| Course Description | Units | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | PHY 498C Senior Seminar | 3 | |||
| 2. | PHY 471 Quantum Mechanics | 3 | |||
| 3. | PHY 332 Electricity And Magnetism II | 3 | |||
| 4. | General Elective Course | 3 |
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| Notes: CHM 151/L and CHM 152/L highly recommended for general electives. | |||||
| Course Description | Units | Notes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | PHY 441 Thermal And Statistical Physics | 3 | |||
| 2. | Physics major elective | 3 | |||
| 3. | General Elective Course | 3 |
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| Notes: CHM 151/L and CHM 152/L highly recommended for general electives. | |||||
| 4. | General Elective Course | 3 |
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| Notes: CHM 151/L and CHM 152/L highly recommended for general electives. | |||||
| 5. | General Elective Course | 3 |
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| Notes: CHM 151/L and CHM 152/L highly recommended for general electives. | |||||
General Information
Progression Plans are intended to provide a general road map related to the sequencing of courses. The use of Progression Plans does not constitute a contract with the University. Progression Plans are a planning tool to help you define a pathway towards degree completion.
The NAU academic catalog is the official, authoritative source for all academic requirements and policies. Any discrepancies in curricular requirements from other sources will default to the academic catalog as the official, authoritative source. For a full description of degree requirements and course descriptions, refer to the Academic Catalog (link at the top of the page).
Some courses may have prerequisites and/or require an appropriate placement score (i.e. Mathematics and English). If you do not have the prerequisite course(s) or placement, you may have to take more courses than are presented on the Progression Plan.
If you are an NAU student, Jacks Planner (an interactive version of progression plans) may be available to you. To get to Jacks Planner, log into your Student Center in LOUIE and click on Jacks Planner.