A Process for sustainably integrating Computation throughout the Undergraduate Physics major curriculum at a large university.

 

Computation is pervasive in the practice of physics. Physics faculty, graduates, and national committees agree that computational proficiency is an important outcome of an undergraduate physics curriculum. However, computational competency is not an integral part of undergraduate physics education in the US. We describe a curricular and institutional change process taking place at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, a 60-faculty member institution, to sustainably integrate computation into its required courses. We discuss the steps taken to scaffold and reinforce computation learning goals together with maintaining competency with analytical problem solving.