Re: undergrad physics course sequence

[Stephen Murray <murray8@LLNL.GOV>]

I think that most schools have an "Independent Study" course option, which
might be used for the sort of thing that you are thinking of (one or two
really good students who could go much farther than the pack).  That's
certainly how I got my introductory gas dynamics as an undergrad at
Washington State U.  I regret not having gotten some basic GR that way, too
(both nuclear physics and modern optics were taught as formal courses, and
if my memory isn't too fuzzy, nuclear was required).  Of course, that was
the "good ol' days."  Today, perhaps "Independent Study" has become equated
with "Research," rather than research being just one possibility.

> I have a question for those of you who teach physics in small undergraduate
> schools where faculty resources preclude teaching the entire menu of
> possible physics courses: How do you decide which courses (beyond the intro
> level) to offer? And what do you do when you have one or two really good
> students who really could benefit from advanced topic X but obviously the
> administration won't let you offer a course for two students even if you
> wanted to?
>
> A related question for anyone who has taken any university physics courses:
> Did you get to take all of the courses you would have liked to if your
> school(s) had offered you anything your heart desired? For instance, how
> many physicists on this list have never had a course in say general
> relativity or modern optics or
> nuclear physics? Most undergraduate curricula do not include such courses.
...


===============================================
  Stephen D. Murray
  Physicist, A Division
  Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
  phone: (925) 423-9382   FAX:    (925) 423-0925
  email: sdmurray@llnl.gov
  web page: http://members.home.com/murraysj/
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