How to Apply to Physics at Smith College: a Women’s Liberal Arts College Where You Apply to the College, Not the Major, with Standard, Education and Applied Physics Tracks in the Physics Major, for Domestic, International (Including Chinese) and Transfer Applicants

Smith College, in Northampton, Massachusetts, is a women’s liberal arts college. Its undergraduate physics programme is offered by the Department of Physics; students apply to the College through the admission office and declare a major after entry. This article follows the College’s website and covers US domestic applicants, international applicants and applicants from China, then transfer students. Mathematics, chemistry, engineering, computer science and other majors are not covered here; astronomy and astrophysics are mentioned only where they meet physics.

1. Degrees and tracks in physics

• Degree: the physics department page read says only that the department offers a major and a minor and does not name the degree (B.A. or B.S.); the honors text refers to a bachelor of arts degree with an honors notation. Please check the degree name with the department or the registrar.
• Three paths in the physics major (requirements as listed on the department page):
  • Standard major: one introductory option (PHY 111 and PHY 113 plus a math supplement chosen with your adviser; or PHY 117 and PHY 118; or PHY 119); three intermediate courses, PHY 210 (Mathematical Methods of Physical Sciences and Engineering), PHY 215 (Light, Relativity, and Quantum Physics) and PHY 240 (Electronics); two 300-level “main sequence” theory courses from PHY 317 Classical Mechanics, 318 Electricity and Magnetism, 319 Thermal Physics and 327 Quantum Mechanics; one advanced experimental course, PHY 350; and one advanced theory course (a topic of PHY 360 or an approved 300-level alternative). In years when no PHY 360 topic is offered, a third or fourth main-sequence course, or PHY 211 or PHY 242, can be substituted.
  • Education track: replaces some upper-level courses with physics pedagogy and education courses and classroom practice, for students interested in teaching and science journalism; it requires PHY 210, 215, 240, PHY 300 (at least twice) and 301, one main-sequence theory course, one astronomy course (AST 111) and two education courses (EDC 238 and one other, EDC 390 recommended). The College says this track does not lead to educator licensure; students who want licensure should consult the Department of Education and Child Study.
  • Applied physics track: emphasises laboratory skills, computation and interdisciplinary application, for students interested in the practical use of physical principles in industry, engineering and interdisciplinary sciences; it includes the introductory option, PHY 210 and 215, one computational course (PHY 211, CSC 110 or CSC 120), two laboratory courses (PHY 240 with EGR 220, or PHY 240 with PHY 350), one more 300-level physics course and two 300-level courses with an applied physics component in BCH, BIO, CHM, EGR, PHY or a related field.
• Major details (department page): S/U grading is not allowed for major requirements except in courses offered only S/U; students double majoring in engineering may substitute EGR 220 for PHY 240, though both are encouraged; the department advises majors to gain facility in scientific computing and numerical analysis (such as PHY 211) and to learn to design and fabricate a working tool, instrument or device in the Center for Design and Fabrication; students planning graduate study in physics are advised to take all 300-level physics offerings.
• Minor: one introductory option, PHY 215 and three 200- or 300-level electives (12 credits).
• Astronomy and astrophysics: the astronomy page says Smith astronomy is part of the Five College Astronomy Department (with Amherst, Hampshire, Mount Holyoke and UMass), that astronomy majors also take physics courses and often double major in physics and astronomy, and that there is an astrophysics minor requiring a completed physics major plus three astronomy classes. The astronomy major itself is described on the astronomy page and is not covered here.
• Double majors and research: the physics page says students often double major with astronomy, computer science, math, engineering, chemistry and architecture, and can start research in their first year, alone or with faculty. Faculty research areas include experimental atomic and nuclear physics, computational astrophysics and cosmology, magnetic and superconducting materials, the biophysics of protein-DNA interactions, microfabricated measurement devices, membrane biophysics and cancer metastasis, and quantum chaos. Students can join a lab as a research assistant (if the adviser’s grants allow) or through special studies for credit. A course-based research option is PHY 242, High Precision Spectroscopy, which the page describes as “real, publishable research”.
• Honors: students can apply to complete an independent thesis with a faculty member in the department, leading to a degree with an “Honors”, “High Honors” or “Highest Honors” notation. The department’s eligibility criterion is printed as “GPA: π outside the major and 1.1π in the major” (as written, with no numeric value), so check the class deans’ honors page or the honors director (Will Raven). College-wide rules: seniors only, the primary adviser must be a Smith faculty member in the major department, the student must be in residence, and at least 12 credits must be taken. The thesis course is 431 (one semester, 8 credits), 430D (full year, 4 credits a semester) or 432D (full year, 6 credits a semester); the physics page lists PHY 430D (4 credits) and PHY 432D (6 credits, full year). The application is due within the first week of the senior year, and registration usually follows in the third week of the semester after approval.

2. How admission to the major works: apply to the College, declare after entry

• At application: you apply to the College as a whole, and the application checklist does not ask for a major; the pages read do not say whether physics has its own admission bar. The College says it reads the transcript, recommendations, essay and activities.
• Declaring the major: the class deans’ page says a major must be declared by the end of the registration period in the second semester of sophomore year, and may be declared as early as the second semester of first year; students planning to study abroad must declare before submitting the study abroad application in early February of sophomore year; junior transfer students must declare before registration for their second Smith semester. The first major needs the approval of your liberal arts adviser and the new major adviser, and a major and a minor cannot be in the same department. Whether physics has a grade requirement or a cap on places is not stated in the pages read; not published, please ask the department (physics-chair@smith.edu).
• Switching into physics: the pages read do not state separate conditions.

3. Prerequisites and course selection

• High school courses: the application overview “strongly” recommends the highest-level courses available and, where possible, four years of English, three years of a foreign language (or two years each of two), three years of mathematics, three years of lab science and two years of history. The pages read do not state any extra high school physics requirement for the department.
• Your first year: the department says entering students planning to major in physics should take PHY 117 or PHY 119 in the first year along with one or more courses in the Calculus I, II, III sequence as appropriate, and students with a particularly strong physics background should confer with a member of the department. PHY 117 and PHY 119 require MTH 111 or equivalent; PHY 210 requires MTH 212 and an introductory physics course; PHY 211 and PHY 215 require the second introductory physics course and MTH 112. PHY 111/113 (“Living Physics”) is an algebra-based sequence built around biological and chemical systems that meets the algebra-based physics prerequisites for health professions schools and is not open to students who have taken PHY 117; PHY 117/118 is the calculus-based sequence for health professions schools and engineering; PHY 119 is for incoming students with significant prior experience of the PHY 117 and 118 topics, needs instructor permission and is not open to students who have taken PHY 111, 117 or 118.
• Placement (department page, “Placement Examinations”): a 4 or 5 on AP Physics C: Mechanics lets you place out of PHY 117; a 4 or 5 on AP Physics C: Electricity and Magnetism lets you place out of PHY 118; students with a 5, 6 or 7 on an IB Higher Level physics exam or an A or B on the Cambridge A-level are “strongly encouraged” to take PHY 119, which replaces both PHY 117 and 118 for the physics major and also satisfies the PHY 117 requirement for engineering. Students who completed a year or more of AP-level high school physics without taking the AP, IB or Cambridge exam choose between PHY 117 and PHY 119 after consulting the instructors. The page also says students with a 4 or 5 on AP Physics B and C exams may apply that credit toward the major unless they complete the corresponding Smith introductory courses.
• Calculus: the physics page read does not give AP or IB calculus equivalencies; check the mathematical sciences page or the registrar.
• Honors sequence and competitions: the pages read do not describe an honors course sequence in physics, and do not say how physics competitions such as USAPhO are viewed; not published.

4. Deadlines and application materials

• Rounds and deadlines: Early Decision I (binding) 15 November, decisions mailed in mid-December; Early Decision II 5 January, in late January; Regular Decision 15 January, in late March. The Regular Decision mid-year report is due 15 February (send it as soon as possible if it cannot be ready). The pages show no year, so check that they apply to fall 2027 entry.
• How to apply and fee: the Common Application or the Coalition Application via Scoir, with no preference between them; there is no application fee.
• Materials: secondary school report with official transcript, a counselor recommendation, two teacher evaluations (the pages read do not require a science teacher), a mid-year report and the Early Decision Agreement if applicable; test scores and an arts supplement (music, visual art or dance, via SlideRoom) are optional.
• Interviews: optional, conducted by volunteer Smith alumnae; request one through your applicant status portal after applying.
• Testing: SAT/ACT are optional and have been since 2009; the College says you will in no way be disadvantaged for not submitting them, for both US and international applicants.
• Who may apply: the College considers any applicant who self-identifies as a woman; cis, trans and nonbinary women are eligible. Women who are 24 or older, veterans or have a dependent other than a spouse apply as Ada Comstock Scholars.

5. US domestic applicants

• Costs (2026–27): tuition $70,460, food and housing $24,520, student activities fee $308 and health insurance $4,030 (which domestic students may waive); indirect costs not billed: books, course materials and supplies $800, transportation (domestic average) $640 and personal expenses $1,910. There is no in-state or out-of-state difference. Extra lab or materials fees for physics are not stated in the pages read. The standard for fall 2027 entry is not published; see the College’s website when released.
• The Next 150 pledge: the aid page says that beginning in fall 2026, tuition is free for undergraduates whose families make up to $150,000 a year (with typical assets), with no loans. The College also says it meets the full documented need of all admitted students who apply for aid by the published deadlines, with loan-free packages (institutional grants replace loans).
• Applying for need-based aid: apply together with admission, using the CSS Profile (Smith code 3762), FAFSA (code 002209), parent tax returns and related documents, with deadlines matching the round: ED I 15 November, ED II 6 January, Regular Decision 25 January (the pages refer to the 2027–28 year). U.S. students who miss the deadlines must complete 64 credits at Smith before applying for institutional aid, so for the first two years only federal, state and outside aid would be available. Low-income entering students (expected family contribution under $7,000) get a one-time startup grant.
• Scholarships: the College offers a limited number of awards based on merit rather than need; all applicants are automatically considered, there is no separate form and the awards are made only at admission. The first-year aid page gives the Smith Presidential Scholarship ($12,000 a year for four years) as an example, and merit awards count as a resource when need-based aid is calculated. A physics-specific scholarship is not mentioned in the pages read.
• In-state priority or guaranteed admission: not stated in the pages read.

6. International applicants

• English requirements: international citizens whose primary language is not English, or who have not attended a school where English is the primary language of instruction, must submit TOEFL, IELTS, PTE or Duolingo English Test results. Exemptions: English is your first language; English was the main language of instruction at your school for the whole of secondary school; you attended a U.S. school and were taught in English for at least two years; or you are enrolled in or have completed the IB Diploma Programme or A-level curriculum taught in English. Minimum scores are not stated in the pages read; ask the admission office (admission@smith.edu). The requirement is based on citizenship, not where you attend school. The transfer page adds that the TOEFL “MyBest” is accepted while single-sitting scores are also reviewed; the first-year pages do not say this.
• Materials: the same as for domestic applicants; non-U.S. citizens applying for aid submit the CSS Profile (code 3762) and translated, signed parent tax returns (or an International Parent Non-Filer form with a translated employer income statement).
• Aid: Smith awards need-based aid to non-U.S. citizens, both first-year and transfer applicants; the international pool is highly competitive and the level of support varies widely with family circumstances. You must apply for aid before admission, by the deadlines ED I 15 November, ED II 6 January and Regular Decision 25 January; international students who do not apply before admission are not eligible for institutional aid at any time. A non-U.S. citizen’s expected family contribution stays the same each year and the Smith Grant is adjusted to keep the total family contribution stable; cost increases not covered by aid are the family’s responsibility. Packages contain no loans.
• Scholarships: as in section 5, a limited number of non-need-based awards, with all applicants automatically considered.

7. Applicants from China

• Gaokao: the admissions pages read do not mention the Gaokao; how it is used is not published, so please ask the admission office.
• Transcripts and school-leaving materials: no China-specific requirements are published; the checklist (secondary school report with official transcript, counselor recommendation and teacher evaluations) is in section 4.
• English scores: see section 6; TOEFL, IELTS, PTE and Duolingo are all accepted, and minimum scores are not published.
• International curricula: students taking AP, IB or A-level can use the physics placement and English-exemption rules in sections 3 and 6.

8. Costs, scholarships and outcomes

• Costs and scholarships: see section 5. The research options read on the physics page are lab research assistantships (depending on the adviser’s grants) and special studies for credit; no physics-specific scholarship is mentioned.
• Outcomes (the College’s own wording): the physics page says physics majors graduate prepared “for graduate work in physics or other STEM fields, medical school, teaching, science policy and a variety of other career options” (a learning goal, not data) and gives no physics-specific employment or graduate-school figures. The College-wide career outcomes page says 87% of graduates complete at least one internship while at Smith; it lists employer partners that hired the Class of 2024, including Abbott Labs, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Charles River Associates, TD Cowen, Epic Systems, Louis Dreyfus Company, Mayo Clinic and Planned Parenthood; and gives the top ten graduate schools for the Class of 2025: Columbia University, UMass Amherst, Johns Hopkins, Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Oxford, Smith College, Simmons University and New York University.

9. Transfer students

• Eligibility: at least one semester completed at an accredited institution, including four-year colleges and universities, community colleges and junior colleges. The College says more than 50 transfer students enter each year and that it reserves places for them. It does not consider applicants seeking a second bachelor’s degree or with more than 64 transferable credits. International transfer applicants must be enrolled at a college in North America (exceptions case by case), and applicants in their first year at an international institution can apply as first-years. Women who are 24 or older, veterans or have a dependent other than a spouse apply as Ada Comstock Scholars.
• Deadline and materials: Transfer Common Application, 1 April (no year shown); college transcripts, high school transcript or GED, a transfer mid-term report, a transfer college report, two academic recommendations from college instructors who have taught you and course descriptions; no application fee; the final transcript follows when grades are available. International applicants must also show English proficiency. The international aid page gives 11 March for transfer aid documents for September 2027 entrance.
• Credit transfer: admitted students receive a transfer credit evaluation; the registrar’s complete criteria were not read. Any calculus or physics sequence expected of transfer physics majors is not stated in the pages read; please ask the physics department and the registrar.

Checklist

US domestic applicants:

• ED I 15 November; ED II 5 January; Regular 15 January; no application fee; counselor recommendation and two teacher evaluations; testing optional; no major chosen at application
• CSS Profile (3762) and FAFSA (002209); aid deadlines 15 November (ED I), 6 January (ED II) and 25 January (Regular)

International applicants (including China):

• English proficiency (TOEFL, IELTS, PTE or Duolingo) or an exemption; CSS Profile and parent tax documents, and aid must be requested before admission
• Use of the Gaokao and China-specific guidance: not published; ask the admission office

After entry:

• Take PHY 117 or PHY 119 in the first year with the calculus sequence; discuss placing out using AP Physics C, IB HL or A-level results; declare the major by the end of registration in the second semester of sophomore year; for honors, talk to the department in junior year and apply in the first week of senior year

Transfer students:

• 1 April; at least one semester completed; two recommendations from college instructors; check transfer credit with the department and the registrar

Sources: Smith College, Physics; Astronomy; Class Deans: departmental honors; Class Deans: majors, minors and concentrations; Apply to Smith; First-year applicants; Standardized testing policy; Transfer applicants; Tuition and financial aid; Financial aid for first-years; Financial aid for international students; Career outcomes. The application pages show no year on their dates (the aid pages refer to 2027–28), so check that they apply to fall 2027 entry and see the College’s website for the latest.