College of Arts and Sciences
Department of Physics
www.kent.edu/physics

About This Program

The Bachelor of Arts degree in Physics prepares students for such varied fields as secondary education, patent law, science journalism or interdisciplinary science careers. The core requirements permit a large number of elective courses, which allow students to complete a minor or second major in preparation for an interdisciplinary career. This program is well suited for those with a strong interest not only in science but also in a non-science field. Students completing the program may choose to continue their physics studies on a graduate level.

Contact Information

• Program Coordinator: Hamza Balci | hbalci@kent.edu | 330-672-2577
• Speak with an Advisor
• Chat with an Admissions Counselor

Program Delivery

• Delivery:
  • In person
• Location:
  • Kent Campus

Admission Requirements

The university affirmatively strives to provide educational opportunities and access to students with varied backgrounds, those with special talents and adult students who graduated from high school three or more years ago.

First-Year Students on the Kent Campus: First-year admission policy on the Kent Campus is selective. Admission decisions are based upon cumulative grade point average, strength of high school college preparatory curriculum and grade trends. Students not admissible to the Kent Campus may be administratively referred to one of the seven regional campuses to begin their college coursework. For more information, visit the admissions website for first-year students.

First-Year Students on the Regional Campuses: First-year admission to Kent State’s campuses at Ashtabula, East Liverpool, Geauga, Salem, Stark, Trumbull and Tuscarawas, as well as the Twinsburg Academic Center, is open to anyone with a high school diploma or its equivalent. For more information on admissions, contact the Regional Campuses admissions offices.

International Students: All international students must provide proof of English language proficiency (unless they meet specific exceptions) by earning a minimum 525 TOEFL score (71 on the Internet-based version), minimum 75 MELAB score, minimum 6.0 IELTS score or minimum 48 PTE Academic score, or by completing the ELS level 112 Intensive Program. For more information, visit the admissions website for international students.

Transfer Students: Students who have attended any other educational institution after graduating from high school must apply as undergraduate transfer students. For more information, visit the admissions website for transfer students.

Former Students: Former Kent State students or graduates who have not attended another college or university since Kent State may complete the reenrollment or reinstatement form on the University Registrar’s website.

Admission policies for undergraduate students may be found in the University Catalog's Academic Policies.

Some programs may require that students meet certain requirements before progressing through the program. For programs with progression requirements, the information is shown on the program's Coursework tab.

Program Requirements

Major Requirements

¹

Credit is not granted for both the PHY 13001/PHY 13002 and the PHY 23101/PHY 23102 series.

²

A minimum C grade must be earned to fulfill the writing-intensive requirement.

³

With advisor’s permission, students may replace 3 credit hours of physics electives with ENG 20002 or PHIL 41035.

⁴

Maximum 6 credit hours of PHY 40096 may be applied toward the major.

Graduation Requirements

• The following courses may not count towards the Physics major requirements:

  Course List

  Code	Title	Credit Hours
  PHY 11030	SEVEN IDEAS THAT SHOOK THE UNIVERSE (KBS)	3
  PHY 21040	PHYSICS IN ENTERTAINMENT AND THE ARTS (KBS)	3
  PHY 21041	PHYSICS IN ENTERTAINMENT AND THE ARTS LABORATORY (KBS) (KLAB)	1
  PHY 21430	FRONTIERS IN ASTRONOMY (KBS)	3
  PHY 21431	FRONTIERS IN ASTRONOMY LABORATORY (KBS) (KLAB)	1

Foreign Language College Requirement, B.A.

Students pursuing the Bachelor of Arts degree in the College of Arts and Sciences must complete 14-16 credit hours of foreign language.¹
To complete the requirement, students need the equivalent of Elementary I and II in any language, plus one of the following options²:

1. Intermediate I and II of the same language
2. Elementary I and II of a second language
3. Any combination of two courses from the following list:

• Intermediate I of the same language
• ARAB 21401
• ASL 19401
• CHIN 25421
• MCLS 10001
• MCLS 20001
• MCLS 20091
• MCLS 21417
• MCLS 21420
• MCLS 22217
• MCLS 28403
• MCLS 28404

¹

All students with prior foreign language experience should take the foreign language placement test to determine the appropriate level at which to start. Some students may start beyond the Elementary I level and will complete the requirement with fewer credit hours and fewer courses. This may be accomplished by (1) passing a course beyond Elementary I through Intermediate II level; (2) receiving credit through one of the alternative credit programs offered by Kent State University; or (3) demonstrating language proficiency comparable to Elementary II of a foreign language. When students complete the requirement with fewer than 14 credit hours and four courses, they will complete remaining credit hours with general electives.

²

Certain majors, concentrations and minors may require specific languages, limit the languages from which a student may choose or require coursework through Intermediate II. Students who plan to pursue graduate study may need particular language coursework.

Roadmap

This roadmap is a recommended semester-by-semester plan of study for this major. However, courses designated as critical (!) must be completed in the semester listed to ensure a timely graduation.

University Requirements

All students in a bachelor's degree program at Kent State University must complete the following university requirements for graduation.

NOTE: University requirements may be fulfilled in this program by specific course requirements. Please see Program Requirements for details.

Kent Core Requirements

Program Learning Outcomes

Graduates of this program will be able to:

1. Demonstrate the technical and cognitive skills important in a good physicist, including the following:
   1. Think critically and analytically.
   2. Define a problem and how to solve problems.
   3. Understand advanced mathematics (e.g., calculus and differential equations) and computer skills.
   4. Use, design and even build lab equipment.
2. Demonstrate the traits important in a good scientist, namely, hard working, creative, meticulous, persistence, tenacious and self confidence.
3. Communicate results of their work to peers, to their instructors or supervisors, to various target groups within the physics community and to people outside the discipline.