Work Load And Grades

Students whose interests include physics usually have strong study habits. Our majors report studying between 1 to 3 hours for each hour of time in a physics classroom. This leads to typical study times ranging from 10 to 40 hours per week.

The distribution of grades in our courses is wide. This genuinely reflects the levels of motivation, effort, and ability which the students bring to their coursework. The average grade, averaged over all students in all physics courses, is a C+.

Very few failing grades are given to students who fully complete our courses. Students who realize that they are not doing well have the option of dropping the course during the first several weeks.

Grades in the Junior and Senior major courses average in the B range. This reflects the performance of our majors on national standardized tests. In the past two years our seniors have averaged significantly above the national average on the Major Field Test for physics.