Undergraduate Engineering Physics

This bachelor of science degree program is designed for students who have a strong interest in physics combined with a desire to acquire the skills and perspective of engineering. The program combines study in electrical engineering, materials science and engineering, and physics.

The requirements for obtaining a bachelor of science degree in engineering engineering are described below. In addition to required courses within and outside of the department, students also are required to take two program electives and six humanity and social science electives. There are a total of 130 passed units required for graduation, all of which must be taken with the letter-grade option.

Honors College

Students are encouraged to pursue the joint degree between the School of Engineering and the University Honors College by completing the engineering physics program and satisfying the special degree requirements of the Honors College. This includes completing and defending a senior thesis administered by the Honors College. Students who decide not to seek Honors College degree candidacy or do not satisfy the special degree requirements will, upon successful completion of the curriculum, be awarded the bachelor of science from the School of Engineering. Graduates of this program will be well prepared for graduate study in any of its three areas: electrical engineering, materials science, or physics. Students entering the program should have a GPA of 3.0 or above. Exceptions are made on a case-by-case basis.

Required Engineering Physics Courses

Students must satisfactorily complete each of the following engineering physics courses. There are 2 required courses for a total of 6 units.

• ENGRPH 1801: Engineering Design 1 (3 units)
• ENGRPH 1802: Engineering Design 2 (3 units)

Required Electrical Engineering Courses

Students must satisfactorily complete each of the following electrical engineering courses. There are 8 required courses for a total of 24 units.

• ECE 0031: Linear Circuits and Systems 1 (3 units)
• ECE 0041: Linear Circuits and Systems 2 (3 units)
• ECE 0257: Analysis and Design of Electronic Circuits (3 units)
• ECE 1201: Electronic Measurements and Circuits Laboratory (3 units)
• ECE 1212: Electronic Circuit Design Laboratory (3 units)
• ECE 1247: Semiconductor Device Theory (3 units)
• ECE 1266: Applications of Fields and Waves (3 units)
• ECE 1552: Signals and Systems Analysis (3 units)

Required Materials Science and Engineering Courses

Students must satisfactorily complete each of the following materials science and engineering courses. There are 8 required courses for a total of 17 units.

• MSE 0031: Introduction to Materials Laboratory (1 unit)
• MEMS 0051: Introduction to Thermo-Fluids Engineering (3 units)
• MEMS 1054: Materials Science 1 (3 units)
• MSE 1055: Materials Science 1 Laboratory (1 unit)
• MEMS 1056: Energetics 2 (3 units)
• MEMS 1058: Electromagnetic Properties of Materials (3 units)
• MEMS 1064: Materials Science 2 (3 units)
• MEMS 1085: Departmental Seminar (0 units)

Required Physics Courses

Students must satisfactorily complete each of the following physics courses. There are 8 required courses for a total of 25 units.

• PHYS 0174: Physics for Science and Engineering 1 (4 units)
• PHYS 0175: Physics for Science and Engineering 2 (4 units)
• PHYS 0219: Basic Lab Physics Science & Engineering (2 units)
• PHYS 0480: Principles of Modern Physics 1 (3 units)
• PHYS 0481: Principles of Modern Physics 2 (3 units)
• PHYS 1331: Mechanics (3 units)
• PHYS 1351: Electricity and Magnetism (3 units)
• PHYS 1361: Wave Motion and Optics (3 units)

Required Courses from Outside the Department

Students must satisfactorily complete each of the following courses from outside the department. There are 10 required courses for a total of 34 units.

• CHEM 0960: General Chemistry for Engineers 1 (3 units)
• CHEM 0970: General Chemistry for Engineers 2 (3 units)
• ENGR 0011: Introduction to Engineering Analysis (3 units)
• ENGR 0012: Engineering Computing (3 units)
• ENGR 0022: Materials Structure and Properties (3 units)
• MATH 0220: Analytic Geometry and Calculus 1 (4 units)
• MATH 0230: Analytic Geometry and Calculus 2 (4 units)
• MATH 0240: Analytic Geometry and Calculus 3 (4 units)
• MATH 0250: Matrix Theory & Differential Equations (4 units)
• MATH 1560: Complex Variable and Applications (3 units)

program electives

There are two program electives in the senior year of the Engineering Physics undergraduate degree.  It is recommended that those students who wish to pursue graduate studies in physics, or related areas of engineering, take the honors quantum mechanics sequence in the Physics department:

• PHYS 1370: Introduction to Quantum Physics 1 (3 units)
• PHYS 1371: Introduction to Quantum Physics 2 (3 units)

Those students who do not wish to take these courses to satisfy the program elective requirement may choose a sequence of higher level undergraduate courses that create a concentration in an area.  This sequence of courses should be in the Department of Computer and Electrical Engineering, the Department of Mechancial Engineering and Materials Science or the Department of Physics.  Recommended sequences of courses include the following:

• PHYS 1363/ECE 1240: Photonics 1 (3 units)
• PHYS 1364/ ECE 1241: Photonics 2 (3 units)
• ECE 1232 Introduction to Lasers and Optical Electronics (3 units)
• ECE 1238 Digital Electronics (3 units)
• MEMS 1163: Ceramic Materials (3 units)
• MEMS 1172: Physical Metallurgy (3 units)
• MSE 2077: Thin Film Processes & Characterization (3 units)
• MSE 2078: Nanoparticles: Science & Technology (3 units)

Humanities and Social Science Electives

Students must satisfactorily complete a minimum of six humanities and social science electives for a total of 18 units to satisfy the degree requirements for mechanical engineering. All courses selected must be on the list of approved humanity/social science courses that has been prepared by the Office of the Associate Dean. External studies courses are not acceptable, nor are ENGCMP 0150 and ENGCMP 0200.

In order to satisfy School of Engineering and ABET accreditation requirements for breadth and depth, all engineering physics undergraduates must fulfill the following requirements when choosing their six elective courses:

Depth requirement

• Students must satisfactorily complete two or more courses (only one of which can be an introductory course designated by an asterisk [*]) from one of the departments or programs within the School of Arts and Sciences.
• A student may also satisfy the depth requirement by completing two or more courses with a related theme, e.g., courses that focus on a geographic region, historic period, or ideological perspective.

Breadth requirement

• Students must select courses from at least three different School of Arts and Sciences humanities and social science departments.
• Students must select courses from both humanities and social science departments.

Writing requirement

• All School of Engineering students must also complete at least one "W" -designated course in which the "W" indicates that a course has a substantial writing component, as approved by the School of Arts and Science. Students should refer to the Registrar's website each term to determine whether a course is being offered as a "W" -designated course. Note that every School of Arts and Science departments offers "W" -designated courses, which may or may not satisfy School of Engineering humanities or social science requirements.

Humanities and social science courses on the school's list of approved courses satisfy the School of Engineering requirements. However, students may petition the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs to have a course added to the list of approved courses by submitting an Approval Request for Humanities/Social Science Elective form. The form must be submitted to the Associate Dean's office (323 Benedum Hall) for approval. Students can contact the undergraduate program office approximately one week later to see if the course was approved. It is helpful to include a copy of the course description with the form. Courses that are deemed sufficiently relevant and academically appropriate generally are approved. Broad survey courses (typicaly below the 100 level that are generally taught in large lecture sections) are usually not approved. Skills courses (courses that focus on acquiring a skill than on conveying intellectual knowledge) are also usually not approved.

Admissions

Undergraduate students are admitted to the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science through the School of Engineering Admissions Office.

Course Descriptions