Applying for a Physics Major

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

Applying for a Physics Minor

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

Finding a Major or minor advisor

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.

1. Contact faculty regarding their research and ask to participate in undergraduate research. Nearly all Physics majors are involved, often receiving a stipend, scholarship, or course credit. Don't be shy, the faculty are eager to get you involved in undergraduate research.
2. Come to the weekly Physics Seminar on Thursdays from 12:30 - 1:30.  Its a good way to get to know Physics folk, and the talks will broaden your perspective on current research in physics. It may also give you an idea of what kind of research project you would like to be involved in. As a bonus, snacks are provided!
3. Subscribe to the physics_majors mailing list to receive department announcements, and learn about scholarship and research opportunities.
4. Get involved in Physics Club (Society of Physics Students)
5. THE PHYSICS CLUBROOM (Hixson-Lied G55) is available for all physics club members by keypad access. If you would like to join the physics club see one of the club officers or faculty. The clubroom is a place to hang out between classes, eat (breakfast) lunch (dinner), do homework, use the computers or just be social!
6. Participate in yearly physics department events like service projects, Physnics, Field Day, Evening of Reflection, and Departmental Retreats.

• Students interested in the health sciences should get involved with the CU Premed society. From that page you can subscribe to their mailing list to receive announcements of activities of interest.
• Review the material on the CU Prehealth sciences pages to find information on choosing courses, applying to medical school, finding a pre-health science adviser at Creighton, extra-curricular activities, letters of recommendation,  and other resources.
• Students who are not majoring in biology should be sure to take upper-division biology courses (in addition to BIO 211 and BIO 212).  Particularly useful courses include BIO 317 - Genetics and BIO 449 - Animal Physiology. It would be best to take one or both of these courses prior to taking the MCAT in the spring of your Junior Year.
• Some medical schools now require Biochemistry for admission. The chemistry department offers CHM 371 - Biochemistry of Metabolism for premed students. They also offer CHM 381 - Fundamentals of Biochemistry (by instructor consent) that may be of interest to those seeking a more mechanistic approach to Biochemistry.  Both of these courses can be taken after CHM 323 - Organic Chemistry Lecture II. These courses are also helpful in preparing for the MCAT.

Pre-Medical Education (PMED)

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.

• A five-semester series of weekly seminars and other activities designed to strengthen the candidacy of Creighton students as they prepare for the medical school application process.
• The series begins in the second semester of the freshman year and ends in the second semester of the junior year.
  o Seminar activities will include workshops on interviewing, preparing an AMCAS application, writing personal statements and developing solid shadowing experiences among other important topics.
• PMED will allow students to develop and maintain quality relationships with advisors and those providing input to the committee letter (see below). The impact will be visible across the University.

Creighton will be joining many other top-ranked universities in offering students university-level committee letters to include in their applications to medical school.

• Medical schools are looking for these letters as an important part of an applicant’s dossier.
• The letter is not required, but does help to give the student an edge in the admissions process.
• Students who register for and successfully complete all 5 semesters of the seminar offered during their 4-year undergraduate program will be eligible to have a committee letter sent on their behalf.
• For the 2009-10 academic year, rising sophomores will need to complete 4 semesters of the seminar and rising juniors will need to complete 2 semesters of the seminar in order to apply for the campus letter.

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:

• If you plan to graduate in May 2011 (and thus will be a junior in fall 2009), then ...
• sign up for the junior section, which is Pre-Medicine Seminar - 73196 - PMED 301 - JR
• If you plan to graduate in May 2012 (so will be a sophomore), then ...
  sign up for the sophomore section, which is Pre-Medicine Seminar - 73195 - PMED 201 - SO
• If you will be taking a "real" (for credit) class that meets at the same time (from 3:30 - 5:30 p.m. on Fridays) which conflicts with PMED, you might check with Ms. Sharrar.

Pre-Optometry

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.

• Year 1 (Freshmen, or first year in the Physics major)
  • General Physics (PHY 211 and 212) are calculus-based physics classes, so you need to have Calc I (MTH 245) as a co- or pre-requisite for these classes.  
  • After PHY 212, some sophmore-level courses like Modern Physics (PHY 301), and Optics (PHY 331) require require Calc II (MTH 246) as pre-requisites. 
  • The best practice is to take Calc-II (MTH 246) along with PHY 212.
• Year 2 (Sophomores)
  • Upper division Physics classes rely heavily on a firm mathematics background. It is often the case that mathematics is best understood in the applied context of Physics. And since Physics requires practical application of  math, you'll also be learning through direct practice in upper division Physics courses.
  • The two classes that will help you the most are Calc III (MTH 347) and Mathematical Physics (PHY 551).  
  • Best practice will be to take Calc III (MTH 347) concurrently with Modern Physics (PHY 301) in the Fall of your sophomore year,  followed by Mathematical Physics (PHY 551) in the Spring. 
• Year 3 (Juniors)
  • Students going on to Graduate school in Physics or Engineering should plan to take Linear Algebra (MTH 529) and Differential Equations (MTH 545).
• Year 4 (Seniors)
  • Additional courses can help round-out your mathematics preparation for graduate programs in Physics and Engineering. There are many possibilities, but two of particular relevance include Partial Differential Equations (MTH 546), and possibly Complex Analysis (MTH 593), though other Math courses could also be recommended.
  • BONUS! Students completing all of these classes will complete the requirements for a Mathematics Minor!