Two concurrent BS degrees — Physics (Astrophysics specialization) and Pure Mathematics — plus a CS minor. These are the courses that shaped how I think.
Graduate Level — Taken as Undergrad
PHYS 227 Grad
Graduate Cosmology
The standard model of cosmology, inflation, CMB physics, large-scale structure formation, dark matter and dark energy constraints.
PHYS 239 Grad
String Theory
Special Topics for Graduate. Bosonic strings, superstrings, D-branes, dualities. One of the most beautiful and contested theories in all of physics.
Physics — Core Sequence (Major Track)
PHYS 4A
Mechanics
Newtonian mechanics, energy, momentum, rotational dynamics — physics major track.
PHYS 4B
Electricity & Magnetism
Electrostatics, circuits, magnetic fields, electromagnetic induction.
PHYS 4C
Waves, Optics & Modern Physics
Wave phenomena, geometric and physical optics, special relativity, early quantum theory.
PHYS 4D
Physics of Fields & Potentials
PHYS 4E
Quantum Physics
Wave-particle duality, Schrödinger formalism, atomic structure, spin.
PHYS 100A–100B
Electrodynamics
Maxwell's equations, electromagnetic waves, potentials, radiation.
PHYS 110A–110B
Classical Mechanics
Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics, rigid body dynamics, canonical transformations.
PHYS 130A–130B
Quantum Mechanics
Schrödinger equation, Hilbert space formalism, perturbation theory, angular momentum, identical particles.
PHYS 140A
Statistical & Thermal Physics
PHYS 105A
Mathematical & Computational Physics
Fourier series and transforms, PDEs, Green's functions, spherical harmonics, complex analysis methods in physics.
PHYS 120
Electronics Lab for Physicists
Upper-division electronics: op-amps, logic gates, flip-flops, registers. Also TA'd and developed lab manuals for this course.
PHYS 160
Intro to Astrophysics
PHYS 161
Stars & Stellar Evolution
Stellar properties, nuclear burning, star formation, compact remnants.
PHYS 162
Stellar Structure & Evolution
Pure Mathematics
MATH 140A–140B
Real Analysis
Rigorous foundations: sequences, series, continuity, differentiation, integration.
MATH 142A–142B
Introduction to Analysis I & II
Metric spaces, compactness, uniform convergence, multivariable analysis, measure theory foundations.
MATH 103A–103B
Modern Algebra
Groups, rings, fields, Galois theory. Deriving properties of Galois groups is one of the few things that makes time disappear.
MATH 120A
Complex Analysis
MATH 114
Introduction to Computational Statistics
Statistical inference, regression, classification, resampling methods.
MATH 180A
Introduction to Probability
Probability spaces, random variables, expectation, central limit theorem, Markov chains.
MATH 142A
Introduction to Topology
MATH 109
Mathematical Reasoning
Proof techniques, logic, set theory. The course that rewires your brain.
MATH 20D / 110
Differential Equations
Computer Science & Computational Methods
CSE 11
Intro to Programming (Java)
CSE 12
Data Structures & OOP
CSE 15L
Software Tools & Techniques
Unix, shell scripting, version control, debugging.
CSE 20
Discrete Mathematics
MATH 154
Numerical Methods: Applications
Root-finding, interpolation, numerical integration, ODEs — implemented in Python.
MATH 189
Exploratory Data Analysis & Inference
EDA, hypothesis testing, regression, classification, and communicating statistical results.