Paradigms and Capstones at Oregon State University
The middle- and upper-division courses for physics majors have been extensively reordered compared to traditional curricula. The junior-year “paradigms” classes are each three weeks long and meet every day for a total of seven hours each week. Each course focuses on a single illustrative example from physics. The senior-year “capstone” classes cover the more advanced topics of a traditional second semester. Together, these courses cover roughly the same content as a single semester in each of the traditional physics subdisciplines.
(The links below take you to the course home pages, which include both a brief description and detailed content information. For the content only, go here.)
Paradigms Courses
More about the philosophy of Paradigms
Fall of Year 3
Winter of Year 3
(more about the order of the Quantum Paradigms)
Spring of Year 3
Capstone Courses (Typically taught at the end of year 3 and in year 4)
More about the philosophy of Capstones
