Q: What is the difference between 196 and 197?

A: Physics 196A-B-C and H196A-B-C are year-long sequences.  In the first two quarters, you focus on your research project; in the last quarter, you focus on communication skills.  Physics 197 is a single course (offered in Spring) devoted to communication skills.

Q: What communication skills are taught?

A: Both written documents and oral presentations of standard technical material (proposals, progress reports, and final papers).

Q: What is the difference between 196 and H196?

A: They are basically the same course but the Honors version has special selection criteria and higher expectations.

Q: How do I choose a project?

A: For either version of 196, you must first find a faculty advisor who is willing to supervise your research project.  This requires initiative on your part.

Q:  I have no experience.  How can I initiate a suitable project?

A:  Occasionally, a student generates a project but, more commonly, a faculty member already has an idea for a good project.  Talk to the faculty.  They are professional researchers!

Q:  What happens after I find a faculty advisor to supervise my 196 research?

A:  Another faculty member is assigned to oversee the 196 and 197 courses.  Describe your project to this faculty member, who will approve it as a suitable thesis topic.

Q:  If I don't take H196 or 196, what research do I discuss in 197?

A:  You may use any research project as the basis of your communication in 197.  For example, you could discuss a project you have been performing for pay.  If you only have one quarter available for an undergraduate research experience, you could find an advisor and enroll in Physics 195 in Fall or Winter.  If you have never conducted any research, you may perform an Advanced Lab experiment while taking 197 (but you must use a different experiment than the ones you performed in Physics 121).

Q:  Does my research have to be in physics?

A:  It must have a physics component but it can be supervised by a professor in another discipline.  For example, a number of students have used projects they performed in the Beckman Laser Institute.

Q:  How does grading work?

A:  Physics 195 is P/NP only, with the grade assigned by the research supervisor.  For Physics 196 and H196, the (letter) grade is assigned by the overseeing faculty member (in consultation with the research supervisor).

Q:  Which courses satisfy which requirement?

A:  The department has a "communication" requirement that is satisfied by either 196C, H196C, or 197.  These courses also satisfy the university's upper-division writing requirement.  Any additional course automatically counts as one of the six "coherently related electives" required for the Physics major.  For example, 196A-B-C satisfies the communication requirement and counts as two coherently related electives (for any track).