In response to our recent strategic planning meetings, we have decided that a new undergraduate student manual for physics majors would be helpful. This wiki page is a placeholder for the future manual. Until it is written, current faculty, students and staff are encouraged to contribute material here. Just login and click the 'add child page link'. Be bold! share your thoughts! Any material that is added can always be edited (or deleted) as needed for the final manual.
Students usually apply for a physics major during the Sophomore or Junior Year. Your application will be approved if you have successfully completed PHY 213/PHY 221 and PHY 214/PHY 222.
On-line major application form
You can apply for a minor whenever you like. The requirements for the minor can be satisfied anytime prior to graduation. It is helpful to let the department and your advisor know know if you are planning to minor.
On-line minor application form
When your application for a physics major is approved, a faculty member of the physics department will be assigned as your advisor. You can also request a particular faculty member to be your advisor.
At Creighton, Undergraduates are actively involved with Physics Department faculty and staff. Don't hesitate to get involved as soon as you can. Here are some ways to do this.
Starting in the fall of 2009, Creighton will offer a non-credit, Pre-Med Educational Seminar (PMED) series to students planning to attend medical school after their undergraduate careers. The co-curricular program and its activities are designed to complement the student’s academic and scholarly achievements.
Creighton will be joining many other top-ranked universities in offering students university-level committee letters to include in their applications to medical school.
To obtain more information about pre-medical education and/or to be put on our email distribution list, please contact Tricia Brundo Sharrar, Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs, at pmed@creighton.edu or 402-280-1845.
Please remember to sign up for the correct section of PMED. In most cases, that's based on when you plan to graduate (even if by credit hours you already have the next year's class status). So in most cases, that means the following:
To learn about the profession, admission requirements, the OAT exam and application procedures, consult the Association of Schools and Colleges of Optometry (ASCO) Website
"GENERAL REQUIREMENTS for all schools include at least one year of Biology or Zoology, General Chemistry, General Physics, English and College Math."
In addition, most schools require students to have successfully completed Organic Chemistry (1 year), Biochemistry (1 course), Anatomy, Physiology, Microbiology, Psychology, and Statistics. So you should review the list of School- Specific Course Requirements.
GPA: In 2009, the average GPA of students entering 16 of the 20 reporting optometry schools varied from 3.10 to 3.61.
Graduate programs in most fields use the Graduate Record Exam (GRE) as one component of the admissions process. Expect to take the general GRE exam regardless of the type of graduate program that you will be applying to. This is a three hour exam that tests verbal, math, and writing skills (see http://www.ets.org/ for more details).
Many Physics graduate programs also require the subject (Physics) GRE, which specifically tests on knowledge of undergraduate-level physics.
The pages below offer study suggestions from students who have recently taken these exams.
This site has free GRE practice questions and study tips: www.greprepinfo.com
The following proposal is tentative, and should not be considered final until this sentance disappears! Be sure to discuss your plans with your major advisor, or a faculty member in physics if you have not yet declared a physics major.