Minors in Physics and Astronomy
The department offers programs of study, successful completion of which will result in the awarding of a minor in either Physics or Astronomy. For more information on either of these, please contact the department chair.
Physics Minor
To be awarded a minor in Physics at Tennessee Tech a student must successfully complete the following program of study.
- PHYS 2109 or PHYS 2110 (Calculus-based Physics I) (3 or 4 cr)
- PHYS 2119 or PHYS 2120 (Calculus-based Physics II) (3 or 4 cr)
- PHYS 2420 (Modern Physics) (3 cr)
- PHYS 2920 (Mathematical Physics) (3 cr)
plus any one of:
- PHYS 3120 (Statistical and Thermal Physics) (3 cr)
- PHYS 3610 (Classical Mechanics) (3 cr)
- PHYS 3810 (Quantum Mechanics I) (3 cr)
- PHYS 4610 (Classical Electricity and Magnetism) (3 Cr)
Astronomy Minor
The Astronomy minor gives students a broad overview of some of the important areas of study in the discipline. It can be completed by taking only four courses, and is open to any undergraduate student!
Two courses in Introductory Astronomy address the foundational knowledge that underlies our understanding of the universe. They include discussion of the historical development of astronomical knowledge, the models that can be used to understand what we see in the night sky, and current thinking about stellar evolution and the broad structure of the universe as a whole.
Observational Astronomy is mainly a practical course that introduces students to the tools and techniques that professional astronomers use to gather information, by engaging in various types of imaging and image processing.
The fourth course, in Planetary Geoscience, sees students examining and analyzing various types of terrain on extraterrestrial bodies in the solar system to better understand their formation and evolution.
To be awarded a minor in Astronomy at Tennessee Tech a student must successfully complete the following program of study.
- ASTR 1010 (Introduction to Modern Astronomy I) (4 cr)
- ASTR 1020 (Introduction to Modern Astronomy II) (4 cr)
- ASTR 3100 (Observational Astronomy) (4 cr)
- GEOL 3310 (Planetary Geoscience) (3 cr)
