Science Academic Plans

Advisors: Professor R. Jayasundera, S. Idziak, J. Sanderson

The Honours Co-operative Physics Academic Plan is in the form of a core of required courses, plus appropriate electives. The electives available in all years allow students to strengthen complementary areas of interest whether in some specific field in physics or in some other subject area. Some examples are described above under the heading "Elective Choices."

Continuation in Honours Co-operative Physics requires a cumulative overall average of 60% and a 60% Physics average. In addition, students must have an average of at least 65% in the lecture courses PHYS 121, 122, 124, MATH 114, and MATH 127, 128 (or equivalents) in order to continue into Year Two.

In order to graduate with an Honours Co-operative Physics degree, the following requirements must be met:

1. Successful completion of 19.0 lecture units plus 2.25 physics lab units.
2. Mandatory (core) courses as listed below plus an additional 2.5 units of physics electives of which 1.5 units must be 400- level courses (Phys 437A and 437B may not be counted towards these 1.5 units).
3. A minimum of four work terms, and submission of a minimum of four satisfactory work reports.
4. No more than 3.0 "SCI-labelled" units can be used.
5. Completion of the English Language Proficiency Examination (ELPE).
6. For detailed information on co-op program requirements, please see the Co-operative Program Evaluation information and the Co-operative Education and Career Action section of the undergraduate calendar.

Legend

⁺  Year One chemistry may be replaced by Year One biology or earth sciences courses. Note that all students in Year One Science are required to have units from at least two different disciplines from the Faculty of Science (see "Science Academic Plans").

Year 1A (Fall)

CHEM 120/120L⁺ Physical and Chemical Properties of Matter/Laboratory
MATH 114 Linear Algebra For Science
MATH 127 Calculus 1 for the Sciences
PHYS 10 Physics Seminar
PHYS 121/131L Mechanics/Laboratory
One elective (0.5 unit)

Year 1B (Winter)

CHEM 123/123L⁺ Chemical Reactions, Equilibria and Kinetics/Laboratory
MATH 128 Calculus 2 for the Sciences
PHYS 10 Physics Seminar
PHYS 122 Waves, Electricity and Magnetism
PHYS 132L Mechanics, Waves and Measurement Laboratory
PHYS 124 Modern Physics
One elective (0.5 unit)

Year 2A (Fall)

MATH 227 Calculus 3 for Honours Physics
MATH 228 Differential Equations For Physics and Chemistry
PHYS 10 Physics Seminar
PHYS 232L Measurement Laboratory
PHYS 236 Computational Physics 1
PHYS 256/256L Geometrical and Physical Optics/Laboratory
One elective (0.5 unit)

Year 2B (Spring)

PHYS 10 Physics Seminar
PHYS 234 Quantum Physics 1
PHYS 242/242L Electricity and Magnetism 1/Laboratory
PHYS 260L Intermediate Physics Laboratory
PHYS 263 Classical Mechanics and Special Relativity
Two electives (1.0 unit)

Year 3A (Spring)

PHYS 10 Physics Seminar
PHYS 334 Quantum Physics 2
PHYS 358 Thermal Physics
PHYS 360A Modern Physics Laboratory 1
PHYS 363 Intermediate Classical Mechanics
PHYS 364 Mathematical Physics 1
One elective (0.5 unit)

Year 3B (Winter)

PHYS 10 Physics Seminar
PHYS 342 Electricity and Magnetism 2
PHYS 359 Statistical Mechanics
PHYS 365 Mathematical Physics 2
Two electives (1.0 unit)
One elective 300- or 400-level physics lab (0.25 unit)*

4A and B (Fall and Winter)

Students in Year Four must take a total of 5.0 units, which must include PHYS 10, and 1.5 units of 400-level physics electives and an additional 1.0 unit of physics electives.

Notes to all Honours Co-operative Physics Students

Students intending to continue to Graduate School: If you are planning to undertake graduate work after completing your undergraduate degree program you may wish to choose electives that will give you the desired background for your choice of graduate program and school. Examples of recommended electives include the following:

1. for graduate work in Physics: PHYS 437A 434, 442 and PHYS 454
2. for graduate work in Experimental Physics: PHYS 391, PHYS 392
3. for graduate work in Theoretical Physics: electives listed under (1), PHYS 444 and PHYS 475
4. for graduate work in Biophysics: PHYS 437A, PHYS 280, PHYS 380, one or both of PHYS 395 and PHYS 396

Students intending to do graduate work in Biophysics, Astrophysics, Condensed Matter, Quantum Computing, Optics or other areas should note this list is not exhaustive and elective course selection depends on the graduate program you plan to pursue. You may wish to consult with an undergraduate advisor and our graduate officer regarding other electives needed for your choice of graduate program.