University of California Berkeley's challenging physics program ranked seventh in the world in the 2012 Quacquarelli Symonds, or QS, World University Rankings and has been a top program for fifty years. Their program provides a solid example of the kind of coursework needed for a degree in physics. A four-year course list for those pursing a BS in Physics at Berkeley, including the prerequisites (and assuming no Advanced Placement credit from high school), appears below.
LOWER DIVISION
Freshman
Math 1A (prerequisite): Calculus
Math 1B (prerequisite): Calculus
Physics 7A (prerequisite): Physics for Scientists and Engineers
Sophomore
Math 53 (prerequisite): Multivariable Calculus
Math 54 (prerequisite): Linear Algebra and Differential Equations
Physics 7B: Physics for Scientists and Engineers
Physics 7C: Physics for Scientists and Engineers
UPPER DIVISION
Junior Physics
110A: Electromagnetism and Optics.
111: Modern Physics and Advanced Electrical Laboratory
137A: Quantum Mechanics
137B: Quantum Mechanics
Senior Physics
110A: Electromagnetism and Optics
105: Analytic Mechanics
111: Modern Physics and Advanced Electrical Laboratory
Physics Elective (such as): Elective Physics: Special Topics
To see the full list of courses available to majors, visit the Physics Department's Minor and Major requirements webpage. To view course descriptions, visit the Physics Department's section of the University's online general catalog.
Massachusetts Institute of Technology has had the top physics department in the country since 2002, according to "U.S. News and World Report," and has graduated more undergraduates in physics than any university in the U.S. The school is an innovator in physics education and offers two tracks leading to a Bachelor of Science in Physics -- a “focused” option for those bound for graduate school and a “flexible” option.
The flexible option does not typically lead to graduate school but is comparable to the requirements of physics majors at similar universities. These are the required courses:
Physics III (vibrations and waves)
Differential Equations
Quantum Mechanics I
Statistical Physics I
Quantum Mechanics II or Introduction to Special Relativity, or Relativity
Classical Mechanics II, or Physics of Energy
An Experimental Experience: Experimental Physics I or a similar Lab in another department, or an experimental research project or senior thesis, or an experiential summer externship
One additional upper division physics elective
Three related courses focusing on some area (not necessarily physics)
The focused option can lead to jobs in astrophysics, biophysics, geophysics and many other engineering disciplines. While it is unusually rigorous, it still allows students to choose six unrestricted electives. This track starts out the same as the flexible option, but differs in the following ways: it requires the courses Relativity, Quantum Mechanics III and Experimental Physics I and II; students must complete a senior thesis; rather than a physics elective and three related courses, students take an advanced math class and two additional upper division physics classes.
Some schools, such as Carnegie Mellon University, also offer a Bachelor of Arts in Physics. For this degree, students take the same classes as those pursuing a bachelor's degree, but the eight specialized physics courses required for the Bachelor of Science become free electives in the Bachelor of Arts program, allowing students to do intensive work in other areas, such as liberal arts, business or law.