physics department at DU to finalise the course for the four-year undergraduate programme

Updated on: Monday, March 11, 2013

The physics department at Delhi University (DU) held a meeting last Monday to finalise the course for the four-year undergraduate programme set to be introduced in the coming academic session from July.

"There has been a radical change in the structure of the programme with multiple options for exiting the programme. Students can exit the programme after two years and get an associate degree , or after three years and get a BSc programme degree or opt for research and exit the programme with a BSc (Hons) degree," says R C Tandon, head of physics department, DU.

There will be 18 major courses, six minor courses and at least four applied courses. The titles of the papers that are likely to be finalised include thermal physics, optics, mathematical physics, electromagnetic theory, quantum mechanics, modern physics and digital electronics, among others.

The course formulation for the four-year programme in physics was obstructed by opposition from a section of teachers.

"I feel the content has been diluted . When a student is in BSc first year, s/he studies basically two papers of science and the rest are the foundation courses. Where is the rigour in the course? It is good to study and have a knowledge of other disciplines, but it should not be done at the cost of the content of the main subject. There were concerns about the practicals as well because we were not clear if we would have practicals as part of a theory paper or as a separate subject paper," said a professor.

"We are trying to adjust the practicals and a decision will be taken soon. We are also working on the modalities to accommodate students who want to study physics as a major subject and physics as a minor subject. We have tried to make the course flexible so that students are not confined to studying just one subject. For example, if a student has taken chemistry as a minor subject, s/he will be eligible to apply for the Masters. Our aim is to develop holistic and broad-based individuals who have an understanding of their subject as well as have good communication skills," concludes Tandon.

physics department at DU to finalise the course for the four-year undergraduate programme

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