The Department of Physics and the Graduate School of Oceanography offer a Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degree in physics and physical oceanography.

Coordinators: Professors Heskett and Muller (Physics). The faculty consists of the members of the Department of Physics and the GSO's physical oceanography faculty.

This program includes a comprehensive background in physics and a solid introduction to physical oceanography. The curriculum includes a full set of physics and mathematics courses required for a B.S. in physics, with extra emphasis on classical physics, plus additional upper-division or graduate-level courses in fluid dynamics and physical oceanography.

The senior physics research project (PHY 483 and 484) will be undertaken in the Graduate School of Oceanography under the supervision of a GSO or physics faculty member. In addition, students may find summer employment or participate in oceanographic research cruises after their junior year.

Students graduating in this course of study are well prepared to pursue careers in physics or physical oceanography. Technical positions in private or government oceanographic research laboratories are available for physical oceanographers at the B.S. level. Students who continue on to graduate studies should expect to find high demand for physical oceanographers with advanced degrees. Students entering the URI Graduate School of Oceanography from this program will have a significant head start compared to those entering from most other undergraduate institutions.

A list of required courses and their placment in the 4-year program are found in the detailed course sequence.

A total of 129 credits is required for graduation.