A Minor in physics is an excellent way of satisfying your curiosity about science while you major in another field. It is a particular asset for students competing for admission to professional schools such as law or medicine, or for students contemplating careers that require some technical background, including teaching, technical writing, information science, management in technology-oriented companies, and journalism.

The physics department welcomes students from other colleges and other majors as physics minors. Students in the S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications are required to designate a minor. In addition to the College of Arts and Sciences, several other Colleges at Syracuse University recognize a minor in physics, including the School of Management and the School of Information Studies. Engineering students can easily complete a physics minor, as many of the courses required by the Engineering School count towards the minor.

The requirements for the minor are:

PHY 215 – Physics I for Scientists*
PHY 216 – Physics II for Scientists*
PHY 225 – Experiencing Physics I **
PHY 226 – Experiencing Physics II **

Calculus is a pre- or co-requisite for many of these courses.
*PHY215 and PHY216 can be substituted by PHY211 and PHY212, but this is not recommended

**PHY225 and PHY226 can be substituted by PHY221 and PHY222, but this is not recommended

Additionally, 12 credits of electives numbered 300 or above, for a total of 20 required credits.

Electives Offered recently:

AST101 Our Corner of the Universe (F)
AST104 Stars, Galaxies, and Universe (S)
PHY250 Journal Club (general interest – research focus) (F)
PHY306 Nuclear Physics in our Lives (nuclear and political interest) (S)
PHY307 Computational Physics (F)
PHY312 Relativity and Cosmology (Astro interest) (F)
PHY314 Quantum Computing Demystified (Quantum Information interest) (S)
PHY315 Biological and Medical Physics (Bio interest) (S)
PHY317 Stellar and Interstellar Astrophysics (Astro interest) (S)
PHY344 Experimental Lab (F/S)
PHY399 Practicum and Seminar in Physics Education (F/S)
PHY451 Problems of Contemporary Physics (teaching focus) (F)
PHY490 Independent Study (research focus) (F/S)
PHY557 Quantum Information Science (S)

Want to sign up for the physics minor? Come see us! Email the department chair: Jenny Ross: jlross@syr.edu

The Directors of Undergraduate Studies:
Joey Paulsen: jdpaulse@syr.edu
Matt Rudolph: msrudolp@syr.edu

Or, talk to a physics department faculty member who is an undergraduate advisor: Physics Advising.