Hello, and welcome to USF! My name is Marcelo Camperi, and I am a professor at the Department of Physics and Astronomy. We are a relatively small department, with a tight-knit community of students, faculty and staff that support each other. Welcome to our community!

We offer a cutting-edge physics and astronomy curriculum, with faculty who are active in many different areas of research. In addition to the physics major, we offer minors in physics, astronomy, astrophysics, and engineering physics. 

Physics aims at understanding Nature at its most basic levels, being essential to all STEM fields. It provides a foundation for life-altering discoveries, from sustainable energy to medical equipment. The physics curriculum opens multiple paths for real-world careers in fields like engineering, biotechnology, nanotechnology, computers, data analysis, operations research, and many others. It also prepares you, if that is your chosen path, for graduate studies in all STEM field, as well as Medicine and Law. 

The major in physics consists of a basic core of physics and mathematics courses, which provide a rigorous background, combined with flexibility if you have additional interests. We also offer an honors track, which we recommend to students choosing physics as their main professional field, or for those who plan to pursue graduate studies in physics or related fields.


I am here to help you select the courses you should register for this Fall. I want to emphasize that registering for the correct courses in your freshmen year is essential to finishing up your program within 4 years. Your advisor and your success coach will work with you to make sure that you achieve that. 


Any full-time student at USF typically registers for 16 to 18 credits per semester, which typically means four 4-credit courses, and perhaps 2 credits of extracurricular activities.



Before you select your classes, you should take the online Calculus Readiness Test. Please study and do practice test first, so you know what to expect and are prepared, as you can take the Calculus Readiness test only once.

You do not need to take the Calculus Readiness Test if you passed Calculus I in your previous school, or if you have received an AP score of 4 or 5. In this case, you will be registering for Math 110 ? Calculus II, or Math 211 ? Calculus III, depending on your case.

If your math SAT score is less than 600 or your Calculus Readiness test score is less than 15, you will not be able to register for Math 109. Instead, you will need to consult with your advisor to discuss your individual selection of courses.  
 

If you have Physics or Math transfer credits from another school that you attended prior to coming to USF, you will need to get those assessed by our transfer office. After that, it is important that you review your degree evaluation, which will tell you which courses you need to complete. Please bear in mind that, even if you believe that the degree evaluation is clear and you know what to do, it is always a very good idea have a conversation with your advisor. 


In the following, I will assume that you successfully passed the Calculus Readiness test and that you do not have any Physics or Math transfer credits. 

For your Fall semester, your will register for MATH 109 - Calculus I, and PHYS 110 - General Physics I.

If you are starting in Spring, please discuss with your advisor what Physics and Math courses are available for you to take. 

There are several options for your remaining 2 classes.
You can register for a writing course through the rhetoric department. Developing good writing and speaking skills is essential to your success in all the classes you will take at USF. Please review the core curriculum regarding details regarding your core A2 requirement.

You might want to consider registering for CS 110 Introduction to Computer Science I, as this course is a prerequisite for all scientific programming courses offered in our department. It also provides a very useful set of programming skills that will come in handy. 

A language course is also a good option. As a science major, you will satisfy your language requirement with a second-semester competency in any non-English language. If you know a non-English language already, either because you studied it or because it is your mother tongue, you should take a language placement test to determine your level of competency. If you are placed in the third semester of a language, you have completed your language requirement. 

It is a good idea to complete the language requirement early, so that you can focus on your courses in the major.

You could also take a class to fulfill one of the various Core areas at USF (Public Speaking, Literature, History, Philosophy, Theology & Religious Studies, Ethics, or Visual and Performing Arts). 

One way to do this is to register for a First-Year or a Transfer Year seminar. These are limited to a small class size and are specifically designed for new incoming students. 

In addition, you may also choose to take USF 101 for one credit, a course to familiarize you with USF and the city of San Francisco. Please know that you can take this course even if you have already reached your limit of 18 credits.

Last, if your 18-credit maximum allows it, you might want to consider one of the many 1-2 credit courses that we offer, such as:
* A College success course
* A Workshop in Play Production
* A Choir, Vocal or Dance Group

Once you have selected your classes, your Fall schedule should resemble something like this:

Freshmen Schedule
1. PHYS 110  General Physics I
2. MATH 109  Calculus and Analytic Geometry I
3. Rhetoric and Composition Class (depending on your placement)
4. CS 110  Introduction to Computer Science I, Core, First Year Seminar or Language course (depending on your placement)

or like this, if you are a transfer student:

1. PHYS XXX (depending on your transfer credit)
2. MATH XXX (depending on your transfer credit)
3. Rhetoric and Composition Class (depending on your placement)
4. CS 110 Introduction to Computer Science I, Core, First Year Seminar or Language course


Spend some time navigating the Schedule of Classes to familiarize yourself with the layout of the website. Look for courses that you would like to register for (for example Freshmen Seminar courses have 195 numbers). Spend some time doing this to find a schedule that works for you. You should also keep a backup list in case some classes are closed.

If you have any questions, please contact our office.

415.422.6155
physicsandastronomy@usfca.edu

We look forward to meeting you during our Orientation to your Major event, where we you will meet our department faculty, staff, and students in your cohort. At this event we will answer any questions you may have. 

Again, welcome to USF.