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Programs · Columbia College · 2026-2027

Physics at Columbia College: what LionPlan checks

LionPlan is an unofficial student project. It is a companion to Stellic and Vergil, not a replacement, and it does not replace CSA advising. This page is live for Columbia College.

Tell us your school, your major, and what you have taken. A course card then shows what a class satisfies (“Satisfies Probability / Statistics”) and what it unlocks (“Opens up 7 more courses”), plus the section time and instructor rating.

The groups below are the ones LionPlan actually checks for this program. They were transcribed from the 2026-2027 Bulletin. Confirm them with your school before you register.

  1. Introductory Sequences

    One sequence

    One sequence: Sequence A (PHYS UN1401, PHYS UN1402, PHYS UN2601), or Sequence B (PHYS UN1601, PHYS UN1602, PHYS UN2601), or Sequence C (PHYS UN2801, PHYS UN2802).

    One complete introductory sequence, every term of whichever you pick. Sequences A and B run three terms and share their third course, PHYS UN2601; Sequence C runs two. If you started with PHYS UN1401-PHYS UN1402, the Bulletin says your third term is PHYS UN2601, not PHYS UN1403 — that is the engineering sequence, not the physics major's. Enrollment in Sequence C is by placement only. No laboratory course accompanies the introductory sequence for this major; the laboratory requirement is at the intermediate level.

  2. Core Physics Courses

    All of these

    All of these: PHYS UN3003, PHYS UN3007, PHYS UN3008, PHYS GU4021, PHYS GU4022, PHYS GU4023.

    All six. The Bulletin flags two of these as two-semester pairs that should be taken in the fall and spring of one year: PHYS UN3007-PHYS UN3008, and PHYS GU4021-PHYS GU4022. The audit has no notion of term order, so that is yours to plan.

  3. Elective Courses

    N matching

    2 courses matching including PHYS UN3002, PHYS GU4003, PHYS GU4011, PHYS GU4018, PHYS GU4019, PHYS GU4040, PHYS GU4050.

    At least six points — in practice two courses, since every course on this list carries three points or more. With the Director of Undergraduate Studies' permission, 4000- or 6000-level courses in this or another science department also count; those are not checked here, so tick them with your adviser. PHYS UN3002 and PHYS GU4011 are offered by the Bulletin but have not run in any term our catalog covers, so they will not match automatically. Students heading for graduate study are advised to use one of these slots on PHYS GU4003 Advanced Mechanics.

  4. Laboratory Work at the Intermediate Level

    Attested

    You confirm this yourself. One of two options. Option 1: PHYS UN3081 Intermediate Laboratory Work for two semesters, plus PHYS UN3083 Electronics Laboratory. Option 2: PHYS UN3081 for three semesters. A footnote also allows approved experimental work with a faculty research group to stand in for one semester. Neither option can be checked here — your record holds each course once, and research with a faculty group leaves no course on it at all — so this one is yours to confirm.

  5. Senior Seminar

    All of these

    All of these: PHYS UN3072.

    One course, two points.

  6. Calculus

    One sequence

    One sequence: Calculus I, II and Accelerated Multivariable (MATH UN1101, MATH UN1102, MATH UN1205), or Honors Mathematics A and B (MATH UN1207, MATH UN1208).

    One complete calculus route: Calculus I, Calculus II and Accelerated Multivariable Calculus, or the two-term honors sequence MATH UN1207-MATH UN1208 in place of all three. The Bulletin also says students may place out of some of these calculus courses depending on prior preparation — which can leave a complete requirement with fewer courses on your record than this rule asks for, and no course-count rule can tell that apart from being one short.

  7. Differential Equations

    Choose N

    Choose 1 of: APMA E2101, MATH UN2030.

    One of the two. APMA E2101 is a Columbia Engineering course; the Bulletin offers it as a full equal to the Mathematics department's own.

  8. Linear Algebra

    Choose N

    Choose 1 of: APMA E3101, MATH UN2010.

    One of the two, three points either way.

  9. Complex Variables

    Choose N

    Choose 1 of: APMA E4204, MATH UN3007.

    One of the two, three points either way. APMA E3102 Applied Mathematics II: PDEs is suggested by the department but not required, so it is not listed here.

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