Physics/Engineering Dual Degree

The Physics Department at Radford University and the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech offer a Dual Degree program in Physics and Engineering. After completing this program students receive a B.S. in Physics from Radford University and a B.S. in Engineering from Virginia Tech. The typical time required for a student to complete this program is five years.

For physics majors, this allows Radford to help foster careers in Aerospace and Ocean Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering and others. For a complete list of Virginia Tech's Engineering disciplines, please consult their College of Engineering website.

Students who complete this dual degree program are typically at Radford University for 2 years and then transfer to Tech for 3 years to complete the engineering degree. While at Tech, students may need to take 2 or more physics classes to complete their Radford University physics degree, depending on the classes they finished at Radford University. This is determined on a case-by-case basis with each student.

There is no "threshold GPA" that guarantees admission to Virginia Tech while in this program. The Dual Degree agreement that the Department has signed with Virginia Tech states, "Transfer applicants must meet all normal transfer admission requirements of Virginia Tech. Participants in this program who have a grade point average of 3.2/4.0 or above will be deemed eligible and given special consideration on a space available basis for admission to the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech. Applicants who do not have a 3.2 GPA or who do not complete the prescribed course requirements will be considered on an individual basis."

For more information about this dual degree path with Radford University and Virginia Tech please contact Dr. Rhett Herman, rherman@radford.edu, Professor of Physics and the Radford University coordinator of this program.

Required Radford University Courses

Before transferring to Tech, students enrolled in this cooperative program are required to take the following as minimum requirements:

• 20 hours of Physics (PHYS 221 and PHYS 222, along with 12 additional hours in Physics to be determined with your Physics advisor)
• 8 hours of Chemistry (CHEM 111 and CHEM 112 )
• 12 hours of Calculus (MATH 171:172:271; Calculus I-III) and 3 hours of Linear Algebra (MATH 260).
• 12 hours of Core Curriculum courses (that also count for Virginia Tech's Curriculum for Liberal Education (CLE) requirements)

First-Year Curriculum

Below is a typical first-year curriculum at Radford University. Each student will work closely with their advisor to determine the best electives to take that fits their career goals. Note that CHEM 111 and CHEM 112 could also be taken during the summer after this first year or during the sophomore year at Radford University.

Additional Courses

Students in this program will also need to take the two "Foundations of Engineering" courses (e.g. ENGE 1215 and ENGE 1216) before transferring to Tech. These courses are housed within Tech's Department of Engineering Education (ENGE). The timing of these classes will be discussed with each student depending on their engineering field of interest. These classes are typically taken at a community college--not at Virginia Tech--the summer after freshman year at Radford University.

Students who complete this dual degree program are typically at Radford University for 2 years and then transfer to Tech for 3 years to complete the engineering degree. While at Tech, students may need to take 2 or more physics classes to complete their Radford University physics degree, depending on the classes they finished at Radford University. This is determined on a case-by-case basis with each student.

For more information about this dual degree path with Radford University and Virginia Tech please contact Dr. Rhett Herman, rherman@radford.edu, Professor of Physics and the Radford University coordinator of this program.

Transfer Guide

A very useful link is the Virginia Tech Registrar's Transfer Guide page. You can use this database to find out exactly which courses from Radford (or other college) transfer to which Tech classes, or vice versa. This will help you decide which Tech physics classes to take to finish up your Radford physics major, or which math classes to take here and which ones you might wait to take while at Tech. Please see the Virginia Tech College of Engineering site for more information about their engineering degrees.