2025-2026 Tentative Offerings
Physics majors should click here to see exceptions to the major requirements.
Core offerings repeat annually as listed (i.e. courses in the PHYS 4, 100, 105, 110, 120, 130, and 140 series).
Not every course is offered annually or even bi-annually.
Summer offerings of PHYS 4A-B are not guaranteed beyond 2025.
Unless otherwise noted, all courses are offered in-person.
In summer, we typically offer PHYS 1ABC with Labs, PHYS 2ABC, 2BL, and 2CL. Summer offerings of other courses are not guaranteed (check the Online Schedule when it goes live). We do not offer any UD or GRAD physics courses over summer.
Instructors can be selected or changed ight up until the first day of instruction. If "STAFF" is listed that means the instructor has not yet been selected. Regularly check the Online Schedule for updates.
Course |
Title |
Fall |
Winter |
Spring |
---|---|---|---|---|
1AL-BL-CL | Mechanics Lab; E&M Lab; Waves, Optics, and Modern Physics | Bal, Frano | Shotwell, Yang | Meyertholen, Ni |
1A | Mechanics | Groisman (A00, B00) | STAFF | Arlett |
1B |
Electricity and Magnetism | STAFF | Smith (A00, B00,C00) | STAFF |
1C | Waves, Optics, and Modern Physics | Tsai | Tsai | Popmintchev (A00, B00, C00) |
2A |
Physics—Mechanics | Shotwell | Dudko (A00); Shotwell (B00) | Bal |
2B | Physics—Electricity and Magnetism | Barreiro | Ni | Tan |
2BL | Physics Laboratory—Mechanics | 🚫 | 🚫 | Bal |
2C | Physics—Fluids, Waves, Thermodynamics, and Optics |
Tan (A00, B00) |
Keres | Duarte |
2CL | Physics Laboratory—Electricity and Magnetism | Ni | Arlett | Frano |
2D | Physics—Relativity and Quantum Physics | Sharma | STAFF | Branson |
2DL | Physics Laboratory—Modern Physics | Butov | 🚫 | 🚫 |
4A | Physics for Physics Majors–Mechanics | 🚫 |
Averitt |
🚫 |
4B | Physics for Physics Majors—Fluids, Waves, Statistical and Thermal Physics | 🚫 | 🚫 | Hirsch |
4C | Physics for Physics Majors—Electricity and Magnetism | Chivukula | 🚫 | 🚫 |
4D | Physics for Physics Majors—Electromagnetic Waves, Special Relativity and Optics | 🚫 | Intriligator | 🚫 |
4E | Physics for Physics Majors—Quantum Physics | 🚫 | 🚫 | Intriligator |
8 | Physics of Everyday Life | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 |
10 | Concepts in Physics | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 |
11 | Survey of Physics | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 |
12 | Energy and the Environment | Branson | Sharma | 🚫 |
30 | Poetry for Physicists | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 |
39 | Physics Introductory Special Topics (see details) | 🚫 | Arlett | Frano |
39L | Physics Introductory Special Topics Lab (see details) | 🚫 | Kleinfeld | 🚫 |
41 | Scientific Computing with Python | 🚫 | Li | 🚫 |
87 | First-year Seminar | Grinstein | 🚫 | 🚫 |
100A | Electromagnetism I | Green | 🚫 | 🚫 |
100B | Electromagnetism II | 🚫 | Barreiro | 🚫 |
100C | Electromagnetism III | 🚫 | 🚫 | Barreiro |
105A | Mathematical and Computational Physics I | 🚫 | Duarte | 🚫 |
105B | Mathematical and Computational Physics II | 🚫 | 🚫 | Green |
110A | Mechanics I | Dudko | 🚫 | 🚫 |
110B | Mechanics II | 🚫 | Serra | 🚫 |
113/213 | Quantum Information is Physical | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 |
116/216 | Fluid Dynamics for Physicists | Diamond, Vergassola | 🚫 | 🚫 |
120 | Circuits and Electronics |
🚫 |
🚫 |
Yang |
122 | Experimental Techniques |
🚫 |
🚫 |
🚫 |
124 | Laboratory Projects |
🚫 |
Arnold |
🚫 |
130A | Quantum Physics I |
🚫 |
Parker |
Lin |
130B | Quantum Physics II | Keating | 🚫 | You |
130C | Quantum Physics III | 🚫 | Branson | 🚫 |
133/219 | Condensed Matter/Materials Science Laboratory | Allen | 🚫 | 🚫 |
136 | Nuclear Physics | Grinstein | 🚫 | 🚫 |
137 | String Theory | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 |
139 | Physics Special Topics (see details) | Hirsch (A00); Duarte (B00) | Di Ventra, Schuller (A00) | 🚫 |
140A | Statistical and Thermal Physics I | Parker | 🚫 | Serra |
140B | Statistical and Thermal Physics II | 🚫 | Arovas | 🚫 |
141/241 | Computational Physics I: Probabilistic Models and Simulations | 🚫 | 🚫 | Zhao |
142/242 | Computational Physics II: PDE and Matrix Models | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 |
151 | Elementary Plasma Physics | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 |
152A | Condensed Matter Physics | 🚫 | Butov | 🚫 |
152B/232 | Electronic Materials | 🚫 | 🚫 | Di Ventra |
154 | Elementary Particle Physics | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 |
160 | Stars and Compact Objects | 🚫 | Fuller | 🚫 |
161 | Black Holes | Fuller | 🚫 | 🚫 |
162 | Modern Cosmology | 🚫 | 🚫 | Keating |
170 | Medical Instruments: Principles and Practice | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 |
173 | Modern Physics Laboratory: Biological and Quantum Physics | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 |
175/275 | Biological Physics | Koslover | 🚫 | 🚫 |
176/276 | Quantitative Microbiology | 🚫 | 🚫 | Hwa |
177/277 | Physics of the Cell | 🚫 | 🚫 | Dudko |
178/278 | Biophysics of Neurons and Networks | 🚫 | Sharpee | 🚫 |
191 | Undergraduate Seminar on Physics | Yang | 🚫 | 🚫 |
192 | Senior Seminar in Physics | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 |
200A | Theoretical Mechanics I | Di Ventra | 🚫 | 🚫 |
200B | Dynamics: Deterministic, Stochastic, Statistical | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 |
201 | Mathematical Methods for Physics | Vergassola | 🚫 | 🚫 |
202 | Estimation and Scaling in Physics | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 |
203A | Advanced Classical Electrodynamics I | 🚫 | Fogler | 🚫 |
203B | Advanced Classical Electrodynamics II | 🚫 | 🚫 | Fogler |
210A | Equilibrium Statistical Mechanics | 🚫 | 🚫 | Arovas |
210B | Nonequilibrium Statistical Mechanics | McGreevy | 🚫 | 🚫 |
211A | Solid-State Physics I | Butov | 🚫 | 🚫 |
211B | Solid-State Physics II | 🚫 | Grover | 🚫 |
212A | Quantum Mechanics I | Fogler | 🚫 | 🚫 |
212B | Quantum Mechanics II | 🚫 | Chivukula | 🚫 |
212C | Quantum Mechanics III | 🚫 | 🚫 | Grover |
214 | Physics of Elementary Particles | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 |
215A | Quantum Fields I | Shotwell | 🚫 | 🚫 |
215B | Quantum Fields II | 🚫 | McGreevy | 🚫 |
215C | Quantum Fields III | 🚫 | 🚫 | McGreevy |
215D | Selected Topics in Quantum Fields | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 |
217 | Field Theory and the Renormalization Group | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 |
218A | Plasma Physics I | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 |
218B | Plasma Physics II | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 |
218C | Plasma Physics III | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 |
220 | Group Theoretical Methods in Physics | Arovas | 🚫 | 🚫 |
221A | Nonlinear and Nonequilibrium Dynamics of Physical Systems | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 |
222A | Experimental Methods for Particle Physics | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 |
225A | General Relativity | Flauger | 🚫 | 🚫 |
225B | General Relativity | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 |
225C | General Relativity | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 |
227 | Cosmology | 🚫 | 🚫 | Fuller |
228 | High-Energy Astrophysics and Compact Objects | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 |
230 | Advanced Solid-State Physics | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 |
233 | Collider Physics | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 |
235 | Nonlinear Plasma Theory | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 |
237 | Introduction to the Standard Model and Beyond | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 |
239 | Special Topics | Hirsch (A00); Duarte (B00); Intriligator (C00) | Goldenfeld | Goldenfeld |
243 | Stochastic Methods | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 |
244 | Parallel Computing in Science and Engineering | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 |
250 | Condensed Matter Physics Seminar | Hirsch | Hirsch | Hirsch |
251 | High-Energy Physics Seminar | Grinstein | Grinstein | Grinstein |
252 | Plasma Physics Seminar | Diamond | Diamond | Diamond |
253 | Astrophysics and Space Physics Seminar | Fuller | Fuller | Fuller |
254 | Biophysics Seminar | Serra | Serra | Serra |
255 | Biophysics Research Talks | Hwa | 🚫 | Hwa |
257 | High-Energy Physics Special Topics Seminar | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 |
258 | Astrophysics and Space Physics Special Topics Seminar | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 |
259A | Methods in Quantitative Biology | 🚫 | 🚫 | Hwa |
259B | Concepts and Methods in Quantitative Physiology | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 |
260 | Physics Colloquium | Shpyrko | 🚫 | 🚫 |
261 | Seminar on Physics Research at UC San Diego | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 |
264 | Scientific Method Seminar | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 |
270A | Experimental Techniques for Quantitative Biology | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 |
270B | Quantitative Biology Laboratory | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 |
273 | Information Theory and Pattern Formation in Biological Systems | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 |
274 | Stochastic Processes in Population Genetics | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 |
279 | Neurodynamics | Silva | 🚫 | 🚫 |
281 | Extensions in Physics | 🚫 | 🚫 | 🚫 |
282 | Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Biological Systems | Hwa | 🚫 | 🚫 |
500 | Instruction in Physics Teaching | Bal, Shotwell | 🚫 | 🚫 |