Electrodynamics Topic Coverage

We surveyed several institutions regarding their coverage of topics from electrodynamics in their upper-division physics courses. The topics below are organized according to the chapters in Griffiths, Introduction to Electrodynamics, 3rd Ed.

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Key to institution labels:
A = Small, selective engineering college
B = Large, public research university
CU = Large, public research university (T = Transformed E&M II – FA11, SP12)
D = Small, liberal arts college (as part of a one-semester course)
E = Large, public research university (as part of a one-semester course)



Chapter

TOPIC

Sub-Topics

A

B

CU-1

CU-2

CU-3

CU-T

D

E

1-6

Review

???

X

X

X

X

X

X

NA

NA
7

Electrodynamics

 7.1: EMF

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

 7.2: Induction

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

 7.3: Maxwell’s equations

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

8

Conservation Laws

 8.1: Charge and energy

X

 

X

X

X

X

X

X

 8.2: Momentum

X

 

X

X

X

X

X

X

9

EM Waves

 9.1: Waves in 1-dimension

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

 9.2: EM waves in vacuum

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

 9.3: EM waves in matter

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

 9.4: Absorption & dispersion

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

 9.5: Guided waves

X

X

X

 

X

 

X

X

10

Potentials and Fields

 10.1: Potential formulation

 

X

X

X

X

X

 

X

 10.2: Retarded potentials

 

X

X

X

X

X

 

X

 10.3: Point charges

 

 

X

X

X

X

 

X

11

Radiation

 11.1: Dipole radiation

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

X

 11.2: Point charge

X

X

X

X

X

 

X

X

12

Electrodynamics and Relativity

 12.1: Special relativity

X

 

X

X

X

X

 

 

 12.2: Relativistic mechanics

X

 

X

X

X

X

 

 

 12.3: Relativistic E&M

X

 

X

X

X

X

 

 

Additional Topics

 Linear antennas/arrays

 

 

X

 

 

 

 

 

 Phasors/RLC circuits

 

 

 

X

X

X