<p>So I've asked vac.ucsd before and they said MATH20D can be taken concurrently or prior to PHYS2C
however, I've heard numerous things about this</p>
<p>my friend took PHYS2C even before she took MATH20D and the webreg system allowed her to do so
someone took PHYS2A, 2B, 2D, 2CL in this order and I'm not so sure why he could do this because usually one is a required course for the next one (like PHYS2C is required before 2D)</p>
<p>I asked this question because I don't need MATH20D for my major but I'm stuck with PHYS2 series since I chose to take PHYS2A already instead of 1A and apparently, PHYS1C doesn't need MATH20D while PHYS2C kind of needs it.
So, it would be nice if I can avoid taking MATH20D if possible since my friend seemed to be able to get away with it.</p>
<p>but really, I know in MATH20D you learn about differential equations but I don't know if you need to know differential equations for PHYS2C though, anyone knows? </p>
<p>This is super confusing because while course catalog says MATH20D is needed as a coreq, the prereq. popup window from Schedule of Classes webpage doesn't even say that I need to take MATH20D</p>
<p>I had this exact same dilemma when I went to UCSD and ended up not taking 2C because of it.</p>
<p>My understanding (although this could be entirely wrong) is that MATH 20D is supposed to be a co-requisite for PHYS 2C (or at least at some point in time was a co-requisite) but for whatever reason, it’s not a prerequisite in the schedule of classes (perhaps, because you’re allowed to take it concurrently, rather than required to take it beforehand?). So webreg won’t block you from taking it because webreg is only aware of the classes that are listed as prerequisites in the schedule of classes (in that prereq popup window in the schedule of classes), as far as I know. So that’s how a lot of students end up taking it without taking 20D, and I guess there’s no mechanism for catching that error. As far as I know, students have been doing this for years (at least since I was there), and I haven’t heard of anyone having trouble with taking 2C before they take 20D.</p>
<p>So the way I see it, you’re options are:</p>
<p>1) Risk it, and take PHYS 2C without MATH 20D. See what happens. As you’ve seen, lots of other students have done this.
2) Take PHYS 2C concurrently with MATH 20D, even though you don’t need MATH 20D for your major. For what it’s worth, I kind of wish I had taken 20D in college, since that’s the only incentive I would have ever had to learn differential equations.
3) See if you can drop down to PHYS 1C/CL, even though you already took PHYS 2A. I had gotten AP credit for PHYS 2A and 2B, but my major (biochem/bio) allowed me to take 1C/CL, instead of 2C.</p>
<p>When you asked them through the VAC, who responded? Was it an adviser from your college or major, or was it someone from the physics department? If it wasn’t someone from the physics department, you might want to try contacting them. </p>
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<p>The pre-reqs for 2D are 2A and 2B, so that order wouldn’t have been unusual or impossible. PHYS 2C is a co-req for PHYS 2CL according to the general catalog, but as you’ve seen, that’s not always worth a whole lot =D</p>