You have to think ahead about when to take various physics courses since some courses are prerequisite for others, most physics courses are offered only once per academic year, and you don't want to take too many challenging courses in a given semester. You may review our Sample Course Schedules to give you some insight on when to take which course.
Please contact the Director of Undergraduate Studies in Physics if you have questions about which courses to take or whether your background is suitable for taking a given course, especially Physics 161+161L and 162+162L.
Students who might major in physics should try to complete a year-long college-level calculus-based introductory physics course by the end of their freshman year so that they can take Physics 264 ("Modern Physics") at the beginning of their sophomore year. While it is possible to start the physics major with introductory physics in the sophomore year, this leads to a compressed and challenging academic schedule, with little extra time to take physics electives or to do an independent study involving research.
Note that students without advanced placement credit in calculus or physics will need to take five courses per semester twice in order to fulfill the 34-course graduation requirement.