The Department of Physics wants to become involved with students as soon as they know that they intend to become physics majors, which can be as early as their first arrival at Ohio State. Smith Lab, and talk to the Vice Chair for Undergraduate Studies, William Palmer. The department supports an active honors program, starting with the honors sequence Physics H131, H132, H133, which must be started in the Autumn Quarter and is recommended for well qualified entering freshmen. The honors program culminates in research experience in a faculty member's area of specialization. The GEC is a body of courses designed to ensure that each student becomes acquainted with the basic areas of academic study.
Some majors also require completion of a foreign language requirement.
The courses of study are very similar and prepare students for a variety of outcomes, including graduate school in physics, advanced work in other fields, and employment as engineers, programmers, teachers, and technicians. Students in the engineering physics major take 30 hours of technical electives in an engineering field that augments their strong background in physics. Students in the physics major have the time to take more physics courses or to exercise an option that allows them to explore other areas. There are four different options for the physics major at Ohio State. In each of these there is a set of standard college requirements, plus math and physics requirements that are the same for both options.