Joint Major in Computer Science and Physics

The Computer Science and Physics departments cooperatively administer the Joint Major in Computer Science and Physics, and students will have faculty advisors from both departments. The Joint CS-Physics major will serve students whose interests lie at the intersection of physics and computer science. Students will learn about advances in quantum computing and information science and how computational tools such as high-performance computing or machine learning enable discoveries in complex physical systems.

The Joint Computer Science and Physics degree program has various components: the kernel courses in computer science and physics; more advanced courses in computer science and physics; a Clinic or Physics thesis; and electives. Each of these components is described as follows.

Computer Science Courses

CSCI060 HM - Principles of Computer Science or CSCI042 HM - Principles and Practice of Computer Science
CSCI070 HM - Data Structures and Program Development
CSCI081 HM - Computability and Logic or CSCI105 HM - Computer Systems
CSCI140 HM - Algorithms
One 3.0 credit Computer Science Elective (note: if a student takes CSCI081 HM then CSCI105 HM can be an elective, or vice versa; CS electives other than CS81 must be numbered 100 or above)
CSCI195 HM - Computer Science Colloquium (taken twice)

Mathematics Courses

Physics Courses

Physics or Computer Science Elective

PHYS170X HM - Computational Physics or a 3.0 credit Computer Science elective (chosen in consultation with the major advisor)

Capstone

CSCI183 HM - Computer Science Clinic I and CSCI184 HM - Computer Science Clinic II
or
PHYS193 HM - Physics Clinic and PHYS194 HM - Physics Clinic
or
PHYS199 HM - Senior Thesis in Physics (taken twice, 6.0 credits total)