Metadata
Title
Bachelor of Science (Research)
Category
courses
UUID
24c898a3310e47cc973e31898d1f66aa
Source URL
https://bs-ug.iisc.ac.in/course-structure/physics
Parent URL
https://bs-ug.iisc.ac.in/
Crawl Time
2026-03-18T07:46:50+00:00
Rendered Raw Markdown

Bachelor of Science (Research)

Source: https://bs-ug.iisc.ac.in/course-structure/physics Parent: https://bs-ug.iisc.ac.in/

Bachelor of Science (Research) • Major

Physics

Basic Structure

The Physics major provides a strong grounding in both theoretical and experimental physics. The program covers the entire spectrum from classical mechanics and electromagnetism to quantum mechanics and statistical physics. Students have the opportunity to engage in cutting-edge research in various frontier areas of physics. All students are required to complete a minimum of 131 credits to qualify for the Bachelor of Science (Research) degree.

Basic Course (Sem 1-3) Engineering (Sem 2-3) Humanities (Sem 1-6) Major and Project Minor (Optional) Electives (Assortment Courses) Total
40 6 9 51 15 10 - 25 131
25*

NOTE:

  1. *Students not opting for a minor should fulfil 25 credits of assortment courses.
  2. To be eligible for a minor, a student should fulfil 15 credits from the minor pool.
  3. Excess credit(s) from any pool will be counted towards assortment credits.

Semester-wise Course Requirements

To view the common shared curriculum (Semesters 1-3), please click here.

Semester 4Semester 5Semester 6Semester 7Semester 8

Course Code Course Name Instructor Credits
UP 202 Intermediate Mechanics, Oscillations and Waves Nirmal Raj, R. Ganesan, D. S. Nadig 2:1
UP 203 Intermediate Electromagnetism and the Quantum Physics of Radiation Ranjan Laha, Victor S Muthu, Abha Misra 2:1
UP 204 Intermediate Thermal Physics and the Physics of Materials Prabal Maiti, Upendra Behera, Minakshi Nayak 2:1
- Humanities **/Elective - 8:11
Reduced Load 15-17
Enhanced Load 15-21

Note:

**

Humanities:

A. Humanities courses cannot be dropped in both semesters IV and V.

B. Students must complete 9 credits in humanities pool by the end of six semester.

Semester Criteria Credits
I Student needs to register for a fixed number of credits 18
II No CGPA and TGPA requirements Min.: 17 and Max.: 21
III No CGPA and TGPA requirements Min.: 17 and Max.: 21
IV CGPA < 8.0 Min.: 15 and Max.: 17
CGPA ≥ 8.0 Min.: 15 and Max.: 21
V to VIII CGPA < 8.0 or Preceding term TGPA < 8.0 Min.: 16 and Max.: 18
CGPA ≥ 8.0 or Preceding term TGPA ≥ 8.0 Min.: 16 and Max.: 21

Suggested Core Electives:

Along with below Suggested Electives for Physics Major and Minor, Any courses offered by Centre for High Energy Physics (CHEP) / Instrumentation and Applied Physics (IAP) / Physics departments will be considered towards Major and Minor electives with the consent of the course instructor.

Note:

January - April Semester: Please choose courses specifically offered for the January semester. These courses are tailored for the start of the year.

August - December Semester: For those starting in the August semester, select courses that are available for the August intake.

Course Code Title Credits Instructors
AE 202 Fluid Dynamics 3:0 -
AE 210 Gas Dynamics 3:0 -
HE 215 Nuclear and Particle Physics 3:0 -
HE 315 Advanced Mathematical Physics 3:0 -
HE 316 Advanced Mathematical Methods in Physics 3:0 -
HE 322 QCD and Collider Physics 3:0 -
HE 379 Physics Beyond Standard Model 3:0 -
HE 381 Quantum Field Theory on a Quantum Computer 3:0 -
HE 384 Quantum Computation 3:0 -
HE 386 Experimental High Energy Physics 3:0 -
HE 389 AdS/CFT -or- Quantum Gravity in Anti-de Sitter Space 3:0 -
HE 390 Black Holes, Holography and Quantum Information 3:0 -
HE 391 Quantum Mechanics III 3:0 -
HE 392 Standard Model of Particle Physics 3:0 -
HE 392 String Theory 3:0 -
HE 393 String Theory II 3:0 -
HE 395 Quantum Field Theory - I 3:0 -
HE 396 Quantum Field Theories - II 3:0 -
HE 397 The Standard Model of Particle Physics 3:0 -
HE 398 General Relativity 3:0 -
IN 201 Analytical Instrumentation 3:0 -
IN 205 Optical Instrumentation lab 1 0:3 -
IN 206 Signals and Systems for Digital Health 2:1 -
IN 214 Semiconductor Devices and Circuits 3:0 -
IN 221 Sensors and Transducers 3:0 -
IN 222 Microcontrollers and Applications 3:0 -
IN 222 Sensors and Transducers Laboratory 2:1 -
IN 223 Plasma Processes 3:0 -
IN 224 Nanoscience and Device fabrication 3:0 -
IN 227 Control Systems Design 3:0 -
IN 228 Automatic System Control Engineering 3:0 -
IN 229 Advanced Instrumentation Electronics 3:0 -
IN 232 Concepts in solid state physics 3:0 -
IN 234 Biomedical Optics and Spectroscopy 3:0 -
IN 244 Optical Metrology 2:1 -
IN 247 Principles of Tomographic Imaging 3:0 -
IN 266 Introduction to Quantum Measurement and Control 3:0 -
IN 267 Fluorescence Microscopy and Imaging 3:0 -
IN 268 Microfluidic Devices and Applications 2:1 -
IN 270 Digital Signal Processing 3:0 -
IN 271 Cryogenic Instrumentation and Applications 3:0 -
IN 280 Optical Instrumentation 2:1 -
IN 299 Dissertation Project 0:19 -
IN 302 Classical and Quantum Optics 3:0 -
IN 332 2D MATERIALS 3:0 -
PH 205 Math Methods of Physics 3:0 -
PH 206 Electromagnetic Theory 3:0 -
PH 207 Electronics I 1:2 -
PH 208 Condensed Matter Physics-I 3:0 -
PH 209 Electronics II 2:1 -
PH 211 General Physics Laboratory 0:3 -
PH 212 Experiments in Condensed Matter Physics 0:3 -
PH 213 Advanced Experiments in Condensed Matter Physics 0:4 -
PH 215 Nuclear and Particle Physics 3:0 -
PH 217 Fundamentals of Astrophysics 3:0 -
PH 231 Workshop practice 0:1 -
PH 250A Project I 0:6 -
PH 250B Project - II 0:6 -
PH 300 Seminar Course 1:0 -
PH 300 Seminar Course 0:1 -
PH 301 Seminar Course 2:0 -
PH 303 Spatial dynamics in Biology 2:1 -
PH 316 Advanced Mathematical Methods 3:0 -
PH 320 Condensed Matter Physics - II 3:0 -
PH 322 Molecular Simulation 3:0 -
PH 325 Advanced Statistical Physics 3:0 -
PH 326 Principles and Techniques of Magnetic Resonance - I 3:0 -
PH 327 Principles and Techniques of Magnetic Resonance II 3:0 -
PH 330 Advanced Independent Project 0:3 -
PH 333 Physics of Disordered Systems 3:0 -
PH 335 Modern Topics in Condensed Matter 3:0 -
PH 340 Quantum Statistical Field Theory 3:0 -
PH 345 High Pressure Physics 2:0 -
PH 350 Physics of Soft Condensed Matter 3:0 -
PH 351 Crystal Growth, Thin films and Characterization 3:0 -
PH 352 Semiconductor Physics 3:0 -
PH 353 Principles of Magnetism 3:0 -
PH 354 Computational physics 3:0 -
PH 355 Statistical Mechanics of time Dependent Phenomena 3:0 -
PH 359 Physics at the Nanoscale 3:0 -
PH 360 Biological Physics 3:0 -
PH 362 Radiative Processess in Astrophysics 2:0 -
PH 363 Introduction to Fluid Mechanics and Plasma Physics 2:0 -
PH 364 Topological Phases of Matter (Theory and experiment) 3:0 -
PH 365 Galaxies and Interstellar Medium 3:0 -
PH 366 Physics of Advanced Optical Materials 3:0 -
PH 367 Plasma Physics and Applications 3:0 -
PH 371 General Relativity & Cosmology 3:0 -
PH 372 Radiative Processess in Astrophysics 3:0 -
PH 373 Introduction to Fluid Mechanics and Plasma Physics 3:0 -
PH 375 Symmetry, Topology, and Entanglement in Condensed Matter 3:0 -
PH 377 Astronomical Techniques (Seminar Course) 0:2 -
PH 380 Non-equilibrium Quantum Many-Body Dynamics 3:0 -
PH 391 Quantum Mechanics III 3:0 -
PH 392 Standard Model of Particle Physics 3:0 -
PH 395 Quantum Field Theory I 3:0 -
PH 396 Gauge Field Theories 3:0 -
PH 398 General Relativity 3:0 -
QT 202 Introduction to Quantum Measurement 3:0 -
QT 204 Introduction to Materials for Quantum Technologies 3:0 -

Continuing Master's Degree

Students have the option to continue for the Master of Science (MS) degree after completing four years of the Bachelor of Science (BS).

View 5th Year RequirementsHide 5th Year Requirements

Students fulfilling the following academic requirements during the 5th year will be eligible for the MS degree:

Credit Requirements

Mandatory Courses

The following courses are prescribed for the 5th year MS programme:

Course Code Course Name
PH 206 (3:0) Electromagnetic Theory
PH 208 (3:0) Condensed Matter Physics I OR IN 232 (3:0): Concepts in Solid State Physics
PH 217 (3:0) Fundamentals of Astrophysics
PH/HE 215 (3:0) Nuclear and Particle Physics

Course Completion Rules

If none of the above mandatory courses were completed during the first four years (BS):

Students must complete all mandatory courses in the 5th year.

If all mandatory courses were already completed during the first four years (BS):

To meet the 12-credit requirement, students may choose any other 200- or 300-level course(s) from any department, subject to approval.

If some (but not all) mandatory courses were completed during the first four years (BS):

Students must complete the remaining mandatory courses and may take additional 200- or 300-level course(s) from any department to fulfill requirements.

Important: All course selections in the 5th year are subject to approval by the student’s Advisor, Instructor, and Undergraduate Coordinator.