CAS: Physics (Interdisciplinary Option)

Please contact Rebekah Stearns (stearnsr@bu.edu), Assistant Director of Academic Advising at CAS, with any questions.

Upon completion of the CGS program, students must have earned credit towards the following 10 courses:

• Humanities: 3 courses
  • Choose two from CGS HU 103, CGS HU 201, or CGS HU 202
  • CGS HU 104*
• Natural Sciences: 2 courses
  • CAS PY 251 and CAS PY 252 (or CAS PY 211 and CAS PY 212)
• Rhetoric: 2 courses
  • CGS RH 103 and CGS RH 104*
• Social Sciences: 3 courses
  • Choose two from CGS SS 103, CGS SS 201, or CGS SS 202
  • CGS SS 104*

*Required course taken during the Summer term.
**Physics majors in good standing are exempt from CGS NS 201 and NS 202 and will complete the CGS Natural Science requirement through the Introductory Physics 1 and 2 sequence. Please note that students who are exempt from CGS NS 202 must enroll in at least one CGS course in Term 2 of sophomore year.

This option provides students with a strong physics preparation, but also provides them the flexibility to pursue an interdisciplinary academic program combining physics with training in a related science or engineering program. It is well suited for students planning to pursue graduate studies in a discipline other than physics or to enter a career in a related field upon graduation.

Prerequisites (6)

• CAS MA 123 and 124, or MA 127
• CAS PY 251, 252, 351, 355 (or PY 211, 212, 313, 355)

Principal Courses (8)

• CAS PY 405, 408, and 451.
• Two additional physics courses at the 300 level or above (but not including CAS PY 313, 351, 355, 401, 402, 482, 491, or 492) are also required.
• In addition, three coordinated courses from a participating science (CS, MA, BI, etc.) or engineering department are required.
  • If the participating department is in CAS, at least one of these courses must be at the 300 level or higher, and the other two must be at the 200 level or higher.
  • If these are mathematics (MA) courses, they must be different from the required courses mentioned below.
  • If the participating department is in the College of Engineering (ENG), all three courses must be at the junior level or above.
  • CAS PY 581 may be used to satisfy the requirement of a 300-level course from a participating department in CAS or a course from a participating department in ENG.
  • Please consider the prerequisites for the 300-level or higher courses from participating departments when mapping out a schedule.
• A grade of C or higher must be attained in all principal courses.

Required Related Courses (2)

• CAS MA 225 and one other mathematics course at the 200 level or higher chosen in consultation with the student’s physics advisor
• A grade of C or higher must be attained in both of these required related courses.

For more information about the major, please see the Physics Department webpage and the CAS Bulletin.

• Completion of the CGS required courses and appropriate electives
• Cumulative GPA greater than or equal to 2.00

Boston University students completing a degree in CAS must also complete the following requirements.

• BU Hub requirements
  • Students who take the specific CGS courses noted on the pathway above will fulfill all BU Hub requirements except the units listed below. These remaining Hub units will be fulfilled through the following courses:
  • Quantitative Reasoning I (1 requirement) fulfilled by CAS PY 251 or PY 211
  • Quantitative Reasoning II (1 requirement) fulfilled by CAS MA 225
  • Scientific Inquiry I (1 requirement) fulfilled by CAS PY 251 or PY 211
  • Teamwork/Collaboration (2 requirements) fulfilled by CAS PY 251, 252 (or PY 211, 212)
  • You will fulfill the remaining Hub units – Creativity/Innovation (1 requirement) and Writing-Intensive Course (1 requirement) – through the courses you take for your CAS major and/or other electives
• CAS requirements:
  • Second Language requirement
• Physics major requirements
• CAS requires a minimum of 128 credits, excluding PDP, ROTC, and CAS FY and SY courses.