Information on the Minor Program
The Department also offers a minor program in physics. Students may petition for the minor in physics only after they have completed all lower division required courses for the minor program. Please read the section on the Minor for more information.
Petitioning for the Minor
Students may petition for the minor in physics only after they have completed all lower-division required courses for the physics minor. Students must declare the minor no later than the last day of classes (i.e. Friday of RRR week) in the semester before their expected graduation term. To petition, you must complete this minor declaration form and send it to their major advisor. Students with last names A-L can send their form to Nitin Srivastava (nitin.srivastava@berkeley.edu), and students with last names M-Z can email Kathleen Cooney (kathleen.cooney@berkeley.edu).
The Minor Requirements
Lower Division Minor Requirements (Prerequisites)
- The Physics lower division requirements are as follows:
- The Physics 5 or 7 Series
> Physics 5A, 5B/5BL, 5C/5CL
> OR 7A, 7B, and 7C - Math 51*, 52*, 53** and Physics 89*** or their equivalent
Intended minors must complete each course for a letter grade, with a C- or higher. Physics prerequisites must be completed with a 2.0 grade point average in the prerequisites and a 2.0 grade point average in all University courses.
*Specific scores on AP Calculus, IB, and A-level exam(s) can be used to replace Math 51 and/or Math 52 according to the Math Department's "High School Exam Credits" guidelines found here
**Please note that Math N53 will not be accepted.
***Math 54 can count toward the Physics 89 for Math Double Majors only.
Note: Transfer students may satisfy the Physics 89 requirement with a Math 54 equivalent at their transferring institution, though Physics 89 is still strongly recommended (even if taken P/NP) to provide sufficient math preparation for upper-division physics courses. Transfer students admitted prior to completion of a Math 54 equivalent will be required to complete Physics 89 at UCB.
Upper Division Minor Requirements
- Physics 137A (Quantum Mechanics I)
- Physics 110A (Electromagnetism and Optics) or Physics 105 (Analytic Mechanics)
- Three additional upper-division physics courses (to total at least 9 units, for an upper-division physics unit total of at least 17 units).
All upper-division physics courses must be taken for a letter grade (thus Physics 100, H190, 198 and 199 will not count toward the minor program). A minimum of three upper-division courses must be completed at Berkeley. All grades for courses used for the minor must be passing grades (C- or better). An overall minimum GPA of 2.0 is required in upper-division courses applied to the minor program.