The department undergraduate adviser (physicsadvising@ucsc.edu) works closely with students interested in pursuing the major to ensure that they begin the program immediately and follow the appropriate steps toward its completion.

Students begin the major with PHYS 5A, after having completed MATH 19A or equivalent. (Students who take PHYS 6A instead of PHYS 5A, and do very well in it, may contact the department chair for permission to enter the major.) Students are strongly encouraged to begin their major coursework in their first quarter. Those who start later should consult the department undergraduate adviser and Alternatives. Students who do not begin the lower-division requirements during their first year will have difficulty completing the program within four years.

High school students coming directly to UC Santa Cruz should emphasize their mathematics preparation with the expectation that they will take calculus, MATH 19A, before their second quarter at UC Santa Cruz in order to take the Physics 5 series in time. Students who come to UC Santa Cruz with credit for MATH 19A will be able to start the Physics 5 series in the first quarter. The courses in the PHYS 5 and PHYS 6 series are offered multiple times per year.

Learning outcomes summarize the most important knowledge, skills, abilities, and attitudes that students are expected to develop over the course of their studies. The program learning outcomes communicate the faculty’s expectations to students, provide a framework for faculty evaluation of the curriculum based on empirical data, and help improve and measure the impact of implemented changes. Students graduating with a B.S. in Applied Physics will demonstrate:

PLO 1. Proficiency in mathematics and the mathematical concepts needed for a proper understanding of physics.

PLO 2. Ability to solve problems using concepts in classical and quantum mechanics, statistical mechanics and electromagnetism.

PLO 3. Ability to take measurements in a physics laboratory and analyze the measurements to draw valid conclusions.

PLO 4. Students will communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.

Major Qualification Expand and Collapse

Appeal Process Expand and Collapse

How to Declare a Major Expand and Collapse

Transfer Admission Screening Policy Expand and Collapse

Getting Started at UCSC as a Transfer Student Expand and Collapse

All courses used to satisfy any of the applied physics major requirements must be taken for a letter grade, except the programming requirement and chemistry.

Students who complete a major sponsored by the Physics Department cannot complete a second major sponsored by the Physics Department or a physics minor. 

The department awards "honors" (3.5 grade point average or better) and "highest honors"(3.8 grade point average or better) to top graduating students each year. The department also awards "honors" for outstanding work on the senior thesis, made upon the recommendation of the faculty thesis adviser.

• Students planning a senior thesis should find a faculty thesis adviser as early as possible, but no later than the beginning of the senior year for four-year students or the beginning of the second year for transfer students. For further information about the senior thesis, see Senior Thesis.
• Students who join a major program of the Physics Department with some of the required courses completed, or have room in their program for additional courses, should consult with the Physics Department undergraduate adviser.
• Students who fall behind the planners should consult the Physics Department undergraduate adviser and Alternatives.
• All the transfer major planners assume that Intersegmental General Education Transfer Curriculum (IGETC) has been completed in community college, or has been partially completed and can be finished while at UC Santa Cruz (including summers).