Undergraduate Physics at The Ohio State University

Procedures for Engineering Students

This section is intended to help you complete the necessary paperwork as you go through your studies. The information here certainly won't cover all circumstances, but it should be adequate for most situations involving your major. The Undergraduate Studies Office is ready to assist you at all times. In the event of any confusion, please contact us as soon as possible for assistance.

• Declaring a Major:
  To declare engineering physics as your major, please see the Undergraduate Program Coordinator in Room 1040 K of the Physics Research Building. This information will be electronically entered into your records. Note: In Engineering Physics, you must have completed Physics 133 and 261 to be accepted as a major. Prior to that, the Application to Major form enrolls you as a pre-major.
• Advising and Registration:
  Once you declare Engineering Physics as your major, you will have two advisors: a college advisor and a department advisor.
  • The college advisor provides assistance with and handles issues regarding the General Education Curriculum requirements (GEC) and graduation procedures.
  • The department advisor provides assistance with details pertaining to your major program. Since the B.S. in Engineering Physics is offered through the Colleges of Engineering, college advising is offered through the College offices in Hitchcock Hall. The Vice Chair and the Director for Undergraduate Studies act as department advisor for ALL engineering physics majors (including pre-majors). You should see the department advisor to discuss your program and for signatures on any forms or petitions. E-mail to set up an appointment. Some problems can be resolved entirely by e-mail.
• Adds/Drops/Withdrawals:
  If you registered online, you can add or drop classes through the first week of classes. If you did not register online, you will need to see the Undergraduate Program Coordinator in 1040K PRB to enroll. The Undergraduate Program Coordinator can add or drop classes for you electronically within the given time periods allowed. After the seventh week, withdrawal is by petition only. Such petitions are granted only for extenuating circumstances and only if the instructor can certify that you are doing passing work in the course.
• Special Permission:
  A Course Enrollment Permission form, signed by the course instructor (not your advisor), is needed to take a class in any of the following cases: you don't meet the prerequisites, the course requires "instructor's permission," the course is full, you want to take a course as an audit or pass/non-pass, for a course that you want to enter after first week, or any physics class for which you cannot register normally. Bring your Course Enrollment Permission form to the Undergraduate Program Coordinator in 1040 K PRB to enroll you in the course.
• Grades:
  The College of engineering requires that you maintain a cumulative GPA in all courses as well as a 2.00 in the major. Grades of D or D+ will be accepted if your total GPA in the major remains at least 2.00. Grades of E will not be accepted and the course must be repeated. The major is defined as the core physics courses starting with 261, and the core math courses 513 (or 551) and 568, or equivalent. Lower level physics and math courses are required of all engineers and are not considered part of the major.
• Repetition of Courses:
  Undergraduates may repeat any course for credit (regardless of the grade received) upon the recommendation of the authorized representative of the dean or director of their enrollment unit.
• Freshman Forgiveness Rule:
  If a course in which an undergraduate receives a grade of D+, D or E, taken during the freshman year (the period during which the first forty-four credit hours are accumulated on the student's official permanent record) is repeated before the end of that student's sophomore year (when the student will have accumulated a total of eighty-nine credit hours), the original course credit and grade will be automatically excluded from the calculation of the student's cumulative point-hour ratio and deficiency points, but will remain on the student's official permanent record. If the grade in the original course was a D+ or D, a student may repeat the course for credit only upon the recommendation of the authorized representative of the dean, or director of the student's enrollment unit. The same course may be repeated only once under this rule. This rule may be applied for a maximum of fifteen credit hours.
• Incompletes and Withdrawals:
  Grades of incomplete are intended for situations where the student cannot complete the course due to circumstances beyond his or her control. (Simply doing poorly is not an adequate reason; in that case, the student should withdraw from the course.) A student may withdraw from a course through the seventh week of the quarter. After the seventh week, withdrawal is only by petition. The deadline for making up incompletes is six weeks into the next quarter; this means, for example, making up the work at the beginning of Summer quarter for Spring incompletes. If final grades are not filed by then, and if an extension form has not been filed, then the grade reverts to an alternate grade, usually E, that the instructor listed on the original grade report. It is the student's responsibility to make necessary arrangements with the instructor for making up an incomplete.
• Graduation Forms:
  It is essential to keep in mind the necessary forms that you will need to file and to know when to file them. Failure on your part can delay your graduation. The forms needed are:
  1. Engineering Physics Major Program Form (Bingo sheet) (also known as the Engineering Physics Bingo Sheet). This form must be signed by your advisor three (3) quarters prior to the quarter in which you intend to graduate. For example, for Spring graduation, you need to complete thsis form te previous Autumn quarter. This form lists the physics and mathe core courses, plus your thematic electives for the engineering physics program. An exit interview is required at the time the major program form is completed.
  2. Application to Graduate (All College of Engineering graduation information can be accessed from this site). This form must be accompanied by your Major Program Form. It is to be filed with the College of Engineering Offices no later than the beginning of the term you wish to graduate.
  
  If you wish to substitute courses on the standard curriculum it is important that you file a general petition with College of Engineering. Your advisor can assist you with this. It is strongly advised that you fill out any general petition as soon as possible. It is possible that petitions filed the term of graduation will NOT be approved.
• Transfer Credit:
  Physics majors transferring from other colleges or universities may be able to receive transfer credit for courses taken there. Transfer credit may be general, such as 15 hours of physics, or it may be course-specific, such as 4 hours for Physics 261. General credit can be counted as free electives, but it does not satisfy any requirements of the major and cannot be used to satisfy prerequisites. Course-specific credit does satisfy major requirements and prerequisites. A transfer student must have on the major program at least 20 credit hours earned at Ohio State. Any request for a variation in this policy must be approved by the student's faculty advisor, the chairperson of the department concerned, and the Undergraduate Dean for the College of Arts and Sciences.

  For course specific, physics transfer credit, call the Academic Program Specialist at 292-2067. There you may be referred to another individual to address your specific transfer credit concerns. When meeting with the transfer credit evaluation, bring the following items:

  1. OSU Credit Evaluation Sheet given to you by the Admissions Office
  2. Transcripts from other colleges or universities, and
  3. A description of the course or courses that you would like to have evaluated. (A syllabus from the course will be necessary. If possible, please include the name of the textbook used and chapters covered.)
  
  For transfer credit specific to other departments, contact the relevant department directly.