Satisfying Physics Core Requirements

Some students seek to satisfy their Core Physics requirements either by challenging courses by examination or by making up a Harvey Mudd College course that has been dropped or failed by taking a suitable course at another institution. To assist in advising these students, our policies are spelled out here in detail.

  1. A well-prepared student who wishes to place out of a core physics course may pass the course by examination. The student then earns full credit for the course and a grade of EX appears on the transcript. 
  2. A student who drops or withdraws from a core physics course must enroll in the same course at the next available offering of the course.
  3. A student who fails a core physics course may, with the prior permission of the physics department chair, take a department-approved course at another institution. To satisfy the HMC course requirement, the student must earn a grade of “B-” or better in that course. The student’s transcript will then show the transfer credit from the other institution, but the grade does not count towards the student’s HMC grade point average. The non-HMC course must be completed successfully before the next offering of the core physics course at HMC; if not, the student must re-enroll in the core physics course.
  4. A student who withdraws from or fails Physics 24 may not enroll in Physics 51 the following semester unless he or she takes a pre-approved calculus-based mechanics course over the summer and passes with a grade of “B-” or better. Students should submit candidate courses to the department chair for approval prior to enrolling in the course.
  5. A student must earn a passing letter grade (not P) in at least one of Physics 24 and Physics 51.

Suitable Make-up Courses

  • A suitable mechanics course for summer study should be calculus-based and appropriate for the physical sciences and engineering.
  • Online courses are appropriate to satisfy the summer requirement to permit a student to enroll in Physics 51. However, to satisfy the Physics 24 requirement a student who takes an online course must pass our challenge exam in the fall with a score of 60% or better.
  • After identifying a suitable course, a student should send information about the course to the Chair of Physics for approval prior to enrolling in the course. Appropriate information includes the course textbook, the catalog description, and the course website, if available.

Examples