Introduction
The Bachelor of Science in Photonic Science and Engineering requires the successful completion of 122 credit hours distributed across the General Education Program, Common Program Prerequisites made up primarily of Calculus and Physics courses, an Electrical Engineering Core, the Photonics Major coursework, and ending with a capstone 2-semester Senior Design. Note that prerequisites apply to all catalog years.
Below is information for students who start at UCF.
If you are transferring from Valencia, learn about the AS-STEM to BS-PSE Degree Pathway.
Use the following resources for your degree planning:
Bachelor of Science in Photonic Science and Engineering Snapshot
Below is a snapshot of the courses that need to be completed in the program, with more details further down the page.
Course Credits for each course are defined as the number of hours per week that students will spend in lecture. For example, a 3-credit hour class includes about 3 hours per week of lecture time and it is expected that students spend 9 hours additional study time per week. Labs are 1 credit hour, with 2-3 hours in lab and some additional work outside the lab.
Major GEP Changes are occurring in 2025-2026. More GEP classes will overlap with required courses, and the number of credits required are now only 122 credits, down from 128.
21 Credits (7 Courses)
Includes courses from Social Sciences, Humanities, English, Math, and Science. All students in all majors are required to complete the General Education Requirements to get a bachelor’s degree.
Common Courses Include:
- ENC 1101: English Composition
- AMH 2020: U.S. History 1877-Present
- THE 2000: Theater Survey
- Plus 4 More Courses
27 Credits (9 Courses)
Includes your initial Calculus, Physics, Physics Labs, and Chemistry courses. These courses are in common with all other engineering majors at UCF.
Courses Include:
- Chemistry: CHS 1440C or CHM 2045C
- Calculus Series: MAC 2311, MAC 2312, MAC 2313
- Differential Equations: MAP 2302
- Physics Series: PHY 2048, PHY 2049 and the accompanying labs PHY 2048L and PHY 2049L
26 Credits (8 Courses)
Includes electrical engineering, statistics, some coding coursework, and other necessary content used in the photonics major.
Courses Include:
- AC and DC Circuit Design Series: EEL 3004C, EEL 3123C, EEE3307C
- Semiconductor Devices: EEE 3350
- Coding and Statistics: EGN 3211 or PHZ 3150 and STA 3032
48 Credits (22 Courses)
Includes courses that make up the photonics core with some restricted electives included.
Courses Include:
- Foundations of Photonics and Geometric Optics and Labs: OSE 3052, OSE 3052L, OSE 3200, OSE 3200L
- Fiber Optics Communications and Lab: OSE 4470 and OSE 4470L
- Optoelectronics and Lab: OSE 4410 and OSE 4410L
- Imaging and Display and Lab: OSE 4830 and OSE 4830L
- Laser Engineering and Lab: OSE 4520 and OSE 4520L
- EM Waves: OSE 3053
- Senior Design Courses: OSE 4951 and OSE 4952
- Frontiers of Optics and Photonics: OSE 4930
- Plus 12 credits of restricted electives
Every state college and university in Florida requires the completion of coursework in five general areas for AA and B.S. degrees. Five courses in the PSE major are required for completion in the major, so those courses are automatically used to satisfy the GEP requirements mathematics and science. Where those courses satisfy major and GEP requirements, CPP is shown (Common Program Prerequisites).
All students must complete 36 credit hours of General Education Program courses to earn a bachelor’s degree.
MAC 2311C, MAC 2312, PHY 2048, PHY 2049, and STA 3032 are courses that count both for GEP and PSE Major requirements. These five courses satisfy 15 credits of GEPs, with 21 remaining needed to satisfy the GEP requirement.
The GEP must include a set of courses designated by the Florida Legislature to include the following:
- 5 State Course Courses (♦), 1 from each Foundation Section
- 2 Courses from Each Foundation Section
- 4 Gordon Rule Writing Courses (GRW). Must earn “C-” grade or higher.
- 2 Gordon Rule Math Courses (GRM). Must earn “C-” grade or higher.
- 1 Civic Literacy Course (CL)
1 Indicates minimum “C” or better grade
| State Core? | Course (Credits) | Gordon Rule Writing | Gordon Rule Math | Civic Literacy | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| COMMUNICATION FOUNDATION (Select 2) | |||||
| (♦) | ENC 1101 English Composition I (3) ENC 1102 English Composition II (3) | GRW GRW | |||
| HUMANITIES FOUNDATION (Select 2) | |||||
| (♦) (♦) (♦) (♦) | EUH 2000 Western Civilization I (3) EUH 2001 Western Civilization II (3) HUM 2020 Encountering the Humanities HUM 2210 Studies in Culture: Anc.-17th cent.(3) HUM 2230 Studies in Culture: 17th cen.-pres. (3) WOH 2012 World Civilization I (3) WOH 2022 World Civilization II (3) MUL 2010 Enjoyment of Music (3) PHI 2010 Introduction to Philosophy (3) THE 2000 Theatre Survey (3) | GRW GRW GRW GRW GRW GRW GRW GRW | |||
| MATHEMATICAL FOUNDATION (Select 2) | |||||
| (♦) | MAC 2311C Calc. w/ Analytic Geo. I (4)1 | GRM | |||
| MAC 2312 Calc. w/ Analytic Geo. II (4)1 | GRM | ||||
| SOCIAL FOUNDATION (Select 2) | |||||
| (♦) (♦) (♦) (♦) (♦) | AMH 2010 U. S. History: 1492-1877 (3) ANT 2000 General Anthropology (3) PSY 2012 General Psychology (3) AMH 2020 U.S. History: 1877-Present (3) POS 2041 American National Government (3) | GRW GRW | CL CL CL | ||
| SCIENCE FOUNDATION (Select 2) | |||||
| (♦) | PHY 2048 General Physics using Calc I (3)1 | ||||
| PHY 2049 General Physics with Calc II (3)1 | |||||
| SHARED FOUNDATION | |||||
| CHS 1440 Principles of Chemistry (4) or CHM 2045C Chemistry Fundamentals I (4) | |||||
| One Additional Foundation Course from Any Section SPC 1603 or SPC 1608 Suggested | |||||
| TOTAL | |||||
| excluding those courses overlapping with major requirements | TOTAL: | 21 | |||
Common Program Prerequisites (CPPs) are taken as a PSE-pending major and form the foundation for all classes that follow. All the classes must be completed with a minimum C (2.0 GPA) or greater grade. Upon the successful completion of MAC 2311C, MAC 2312C, PHY 2048C and CHS 1440 or CHM 2045C, all with a C or higher, you can change your major from PSE-pending to the PSE major.
| COMMON PROGRAM PREREQUISITES 2 | |
| CHS 1440 Principles of Chemistry or CHM 2045C Chemistry Fundamentals I | 4 |
| MAC 2311C Calculus I | 4 |
| MAC 2312 Calculus II | 4 |
| MAC 2313 Calculus III | 4 |
| MAP 2302 Differential Equations | 3 |
| PHY 2048, PHY 2048L Physics I Lecture and Lab | 4 |
| PHY 2049, PHY 2049L Physics II Lecture and Lab | 4 |
| Total CPP Credit Hours | 27 |
1 Indicates “C-” minimum required by the Gordon Rule
2 Indicates minimum “C” or better grade
3 Must achieve a 2.25 or greater GPA for all engineering core, photonics major, capstone, and restricted electives combined.
4 First Year Students Only need to take these courses. If not taken as a freshman, these credits are added to restricted electives requirements.
The engineering core of the PSE program focuses on electrical circuits, important for developing an understanding of how to design photonics technologies. The courses below in the Basic Level can be taken while still in PSE-pending. Courses in the advanced level require that you complete all pending coursework. EEL 3004C can be taken in PSE-pending if you only need to complete 1 semester of coursework to satisfy the pending requirements. (For example, you may only need to complete Chemistry.) The courses below contribute toward the calculation of your major GPA.)
| ENGINEERING CORE: Basic Level (mGPA) | 9 |
| EGN 3211 Engineering Analysis & Comp. 2 or PHZ 3150 Intro. to Numerical Computing 2 | 3 |
| PHY 3101 General Physics using Calculus III 2 | 3 |
| STA 3032 Probability & Statistics for Engrs 1 (mGPA) | 3 |
| ENGINEERING CORE: Advanced Level (mGPA) | 17 |
| EEL 3004C Linear Circuits I 2 | 3 |
| EEE 3350 Semiconductor Devices I | 3 |
| EEL 3123C Linear Circuits II 2 | 3 |
| EEL 3552C Signal Analysis and Communication | 4 |
| EEE 3307C Electronics 1 | 4 |
| Total Electrical Core Credit Hours | 26 |
1 Indicates “C-” minimum required by the Gordon Rule
2 Indicates minimum “C” or better grade
3 Must achieve a 2.25 or greater GPA for all engineering core, photonics major, capstone, and restricted electives combined.
4 First Year Students Only need to take these courses. If not taken as a freshman, these credits are added to restricted electives requirements.
mGPA – Courses will be used in the major GPA calculation, the UCF GPA, and your Cumulative GPA.
Photonics major coursework consists of required course and restricted electives. The restricted elective differ from free electives in that students can only pick from a short list of approved electives, but still allows for flexibility in the types of courses a student will take.
While engineering lab courses are tied together and you receive a single grade for both the course and the lab, the photonics labs are separated from the lecture course. You will receive a grade for both rather than a single combined grade. We strongly encourage PSE majors to enroll in the lecture and the lab course in the same semester to maximize your learning of the concepts. The following courses should be taken concurrently, in the same semester.
| OSE 3200/OSE 3200L | Geometric Optics + Lab |
| OSE 3052/OSE 3052L | Foundations of Photonics + Lab |
| OSE 4410/OSE 4410L | Optoelectronics + Lab |
| OSE 4470/OSE 4470L | Fiber Optic Communications + Lab |
| OSE 4520/OSE 4520L | Laser Engineering +Lab |
| OSE 4830/OSE 4830L | Imaging and Display + Lab |
Senior Design I and II are the capstone courses for the program. Students are required to work with a group of 2-3 other students, from a field other than photonics, and design and build a working device that integrates significant photonics concepts.
| PHOTONICS MAJOR and CAPSTONE (mGPA) | 36 |
| OSE 3200 Geometric Optics | 3 |
| OSE 3200L Geometric Optics Lab | 1 |
| OSE 3052 Foundations of Photonics2 | 3 |
| OSE 3052L Foundations of Photonics Lab2 | 1 |
| OSE 4830 Imaging & Display | 3 |
| OSE 4830L Imaging & Display Lab | 1 |
| OSE 4470 Fiber Optic Communications | 3 |
| OSE 4470L Fiber Optic Communications Lab | 1 |
| OSE 4930 Frontiers of Optics & Photonics | 3 |
| OSE 3053 EM Waves for Photonics | 3 |
| OSE 4520 Laser Engineering | 3 |
| OSE 4520L Laser Engineering Lab | 1 |
| OSE 4410 Optoelectronics | 3 |
| OSE 4410L Optoelectronics Lab | 1 |
| OSE 4951 Senior Design I | 3 |
| OSE 4952 Senior Design II | 3 |
| RESTRICTED ELECTIVES (RE) (mGPA) | 12 |
| EGS 1006C Intro to Eng. Prof 4 | 1 |
| EGN 1007C Eng. Concepts and Methods 4 | 1 |
| OSE 2050 Intro. to Photonic Engineering Design (RE) 6 | 1 |
| OSE 3043 Analytical Methods for Optics (RE) | 3 |
| OSE 4721 Biophotonics (RE) | 3 |
| OSE 4240 Introduction to Optical Design (RE) | 3 |
| OSE 4912 Directed Independent Research | 1-3 |
| OSE 4953 Senior Design Double Major ECE 5 | 1+1 |
| OSE/EEL/PHY 4XXX Approved Course | 3 |
| Or Math/Eng/Sci (max 6) Approved Course | 6 |
| Total Photonics Major Credit Hours | 48 |
1 Indicates “C-” minimum required by the Gordon Rule
2 Indicates minimum “C” or better grade
3 Must achieve a 2.25 or greater GPA for all engineering core, photonics major, capstone, and restricted electives combined.
4 First Year Students only need to take these courses.
5 Electrical Engineering/Photonic Science and Engineering Double Majors are required to enroll in the following Senior Design sequence to satisfy PSE degree requirements: EEL 4914 and EEL 4915L along with OSE 4953 in each of those two semesters (completing 2 credit hours).
6 OSE 2050 is open to students who have not yet completed MAP 2302 Differential Equations.
mGPA – Courses will be used in the major GPA calculation, the UCF GPA, and your Cumulative GPA.
Courses with a common course number taken at any Florida State University System (SUS) institution or Florida community college are automatically transferable. Students with a Bachelor of Science from an accredited institution or an Associate of Arts degree from a Florida SUS institution or Florida community college automatically satisfy the GEP. Substitutions for GEP must be approved through Academic Services, Millican Hall (MH) 210.
Substitutions for Photonic Science and Engineering requirements are on a course-by-course basis and must be approved by the PSE program. Instructions for this process are in the PSE program office, CREOL A213. The decision is typically based on the degree of similarity of the two courses both in content and level of presentation. Regardless of transfer credit, the University and School residency requirements must be satisfied.
Questions?
Contact Mike McKee, the Associate Director for the program, who can help you out.
Email: undergrad@creol.ucf.edu
Phone: 407-823-6376
Office: CREOL A213
Schedule Appointment