High School Physics Certificates and Transcripts
For homeschool families and high school students. Full program credentials signed by Dr. Sergey Samsonau, Academic Director of the Lyceum.
Earn a physics credential, end to end. Six classical core courses plus your choice of two modern electives, over three to four years, with two research semesters in parallel. A named Mastery in Classical and Modern Physics, with Research. Or earn a single Course Certificate. Either way, the work is on the transcript.
Issued by the SoTS Physics Lyceum, based in Princeton, NJ. Available in-person in Princeton and online.
Full Program Credentials
Students who complete multiple Course Certificates in the high school program earn named credentials that reflect the full scope of their physics work. These are the credentials the Lyceum is built around.
- Lyceum Certificate of Mastery in Classical Physics: issued on completion of six Course Certificates across the classical core: Mechanics of Motion, Mechanics of Bodies and Fluids, Waves and Oscillations, Thermodynamics, Electricity & Magnetism, and Geometric Optics.
- Lyceum Certificate of Mastery in Classical and Modern Physics: issued on completion of the six classical core Course Certificates plus any two of the four Modern Physics electives: Special Relativity, Quantum Mechanics, Nuclear and Particle Physics, and Astronomy and Cosmology.
- Lyceum Certificate of Mastery in Classical and Modern Physics, with Research: issued on completion of the six classical core Course Certificates plus any two of the four Modern Physics electives, with two Certificates of Research Training earned in parallel through the Physics Tournament Lab.
The Building Blocks
The named Mastery credentials are earned by stacking the certificates below. Each one is itself a complete, verifiable recognition of work done. Evaluations are in-person for students in the Princeton program and online for students in the online program.
Lyceum Course Certificate
A Lyceum Course Certificate is issued for each Lyceum course in which a student passes the optional Pass/Fail evaluation. Tuition covers the teaching and one evaluation per course; students who choose to take the evaluation and pass earn the certificate. Applies to both middle school and high school Lyceum courses.
Certificate of Research Training
A Certificate of Research Training is issued for each semester of the Physics Tournament Lab completed in good standing, with the lab's attendance and progress requirements met. The Physics Tournament Lab is the Lyceum's physics research arm, run as part of the Society of Teen Scientists Princeton Labs. See Princeton Labs: Certificate for the full criteria.
Cumulative Transcript
Every Lyceum student has a cumulative transcript listing their Lyceum coursework and research alongside any certificates earned. The transcript is a running record available on request at any time, useful for homeschool families and for students demonstrating substantial physics study.
For Homeschool Families
The Lyceum credential structure is built with homeschool record-keeping in mind. Every enrolled student has a running cumulative transcript available on request from the first semester, listing coursework taken, research undertaken, and any certificates earned. A family that completes one Lyceum course can request a transcript that documents that course; a family that completes the full sequence can request a transcript that documents every course taken plus any Mastery credentials and research training earned.
Each Lyceum semester is a focused topic-specific physics course (Mechanics of Motion, Electricity & Magnetism, Thermodynamics, Special Relativity, Quantum Mechanics, and the rest), covering one topic in depth over sixteen weeks of twice-weekly theory and seminar. Homeschool families building a high school transcript may list each completed Lyceum course as a stand-alone topic course, or group several together as a multi-semester physics sequence. The instructor-signed Pass/Fail certificate documents the depth covered and the standard met for each course.
Full program credentials and the cumulative transcript are signed by Dr. Sergey Samsonau, Academic Director of the Lyceum: PhD in physics, twenty-five years in physics at depth, fifteen of them teaching in the U.S. at NYU, CUNY, and PRISMS. Individual Course Certificates are signed by the course instructor. Either signature carries the weight of an instructor who knows the subject and is willing to put their name on the assessment.
The full Lyceum curriculum is available online for students in homeschools, public schools, and private schools. Online students earn the same Course Certificates and Mastery credentials as students in the in-person Princeton program.
For families building a college application, the transcript and Mastery credentials provide instructor-verified documentation of substantive physics study. Admissions officers reading homeschool applications can see a clear external record alongside the family's own documentation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will the Lyceum transcript work for college applications?
The Lyceum cumulative transcript provides instructor-verified documentation of physics study, signed by Dr. Sergey Samsonau, Academic Director of the Lyceum (PhD in physics; fifteen years teaching in the U.S. at NYU, CUNY, and PRISMS). Homeschool families include it alongside their own transcripts as evidence of substantive, externally evaluated physics coursework. The named Mastery credentials add further weight by documenting completion of a multi-year curriculum.
Who issues the Lyceum credentials?
Credentials are issued by the SoTS Physics Lyceum, based in Princeton, NJ. The Lyceum is a program of the Society of Teen Scientists, a multi-year physics curriculum for grades 7 through 12. The Physics Tournament Lab Certificate of Research Training is issued through SoTS Princeton Labs.
How long does it take to earn the full Mastery credential?
Most students will complete the six classical core courses plus two modern electives over three to four years, taking one course per semester across fall, spring, and summer. The Mastery in Classical and Modern Physics, with Research, adds two research semesters in the Physics Tournament Lab, taken in parallel with later courses once the physics prerequisites are met. Earlier credentials (Mastery in Classical Physics, individual Course Certificates) are earned along the way.
How does a Lyceum semester fit on a high school transcript?
Each Lyceum semester is a focused, topic-specific physics course covering one topic in depth. The classical core sequence is Mechanics of Motion, Mechanics of Bodies and Fluids, Waves and Oscillations, Thermodynamics, Electricity & Magnetism, and Geometric Optics. The Modern Physics electives are Special Relativity, Quantum Mechanics, Nuclear and Particle Physics, and Astronomy and Cosmology. Each course runs sixteen weeks of twice-weekly theory and seminar. Homeschool families may list each completed Lyceum course as a stand-alone topic course on the high school transcript, or group several together as a multi-semester physics sequence.
Can students earn the Mastery credentials online?
Yes. The full Lyceum high school sequence, six classical core courses plus all four modern electives, is available online. Online students earn the same Course Certificates and Mastery credentials as students in the in-person Princeton program.
Can a homeschool student get a transcript before earning any certificates?
Yes. The transcript is a running record from the first semester of enrollment, regardless of whether the student has taken any Pass/Fail evaluations or earned any certificates. It documents coursework taken and is available on request at any time.
Can I see a sample Lyceum certificate?
Yes. A sample Certificate of Research Training (the credential earned through the Physics Tournament Lab) is available as a PDF: view sample certificate. Course Certificates and Mastery credentials follow similar standards: physical, signed, and suitable for homeschool portfolios and college application transcripts.
Grading Philosophy
During each course, homework and classwork are graded honestly: no inflation, no curving, every score reflects what the student understood. A certificate adds the instructor's expert judgment: a Pass/Fail decision drawing on the student's coursework and on what they show in the evaluation. A student who has learned thermodynamics deserves to be told so, and one who hasn't shouldn't be told otherwise.
See the Lyceum overview for the program structure across middle school, high school, and the online option.