Advisor: See Faculty of Science, academic advisors.
Students should consult an academic advisor and the Life Physics website for suggested sequencing of the required courses. Besides the core courses listed in the Life Physics plan, students in the Biophysics specialization are required to take the following courses:
PHYS 121 Mechanics/Lab (PHYS 111L or PHYS 131L)
PHYS 122 Waves, Electricity and Magnetism
PHYS 122L Waves, Electricity and Magnetism Laboratory or PHYS 132L Waves, Electricity, Magnetism and Measurement Laboratory
PHYS 234 Quantum Physics 1
PHYS 242 Electricity and Magnetism 1
PHYS 242L Electricity and Magnetism Laboratory
PHYS 263 Classical Mechanics and Special Relativity
PHYS 358 Thermal Physics
PHYS 359 Statistical Mechanics
One additional 300- or 400-level PHYS course
MATH 114 Linear Algebra for Science
MATH 227 Calculus 3 for Honours Physics
MATH 228 Differential Equations for Physics and Chemistry
BIOL 308 Principles of Molecular Biology
An additional 2.5 units of 300- 400-level BiOL courses
Note
Students specializing in Biophysics may take STAT 202 Introductory Statistics for Scientists in place of PHYS 225 Modeling Life Physics and PHYS 437A or PHYS 437A/PHYS 437B Research Project or BIOL 499A/BIOL 499B Senior Honours Project, in place of PHYS 491 Special Topics in Life, Medical and Biophysics. PHYS 437A/PHYS 437B and BIOL 499A/BIOL 499B are taken over two terms.
Suggested Electives
PHYS 334, PHYS 342, PHYS 364
These are prerequisites to a number of fourth year physics courses.
Choosing Elective Courses Based on Area of Interest
For students intending to continue to graduate school (including for instance biology, physics, biophysics), after completing the undergraduate degree program, electives should be chosen to provide the desired background for the choice of graduate program, school, and area of specialization. Students should consult with an academic advisor and graduate officer regarding other electives needed for their choice of graduate program.
Suggested Electives for Students Interested in Experimental Methods
2.0 units are recommended from the following:
PHYS 131L Mechanics Laboratory (in place of PHYS 111L)
PHYS 132L Mechanics, Waves and Measurement Laboratory (in place of PHYS 122L)
PHYS 236 Computational Physics 1
PHYS 260L Intermediate Physics Laboratory 1
PHYS 391/PHYS 391L Electronics/Laboratory
PHYS 392/PHYS 392L Scientific Measurement and Control/Laboratory
BIOL 335L Molecular Biology Techniques
BIOL 361 Biostatistics and Experimental Design
Suggested Electives for Students Interested in Theoretical Methods
2.0 lecture units are recommended from the following:
BIOL 364 Mathematical Modeling in Biology
AMATH 382/BIOL 382 Computational Modeling of Cellular Systems
PHYS 236 Computational Physics 1
PHYS 239 Computational Physics 2
PHYS 364 Mathematical Physics 1
PHYS 365 Mathematical Physics 2
PHYS 334 Quantum Physics 2
PSYCH 420 An Introduction to Computational Neuroscience Methods
SYDE 384 Biological and Human Systems (for those who have not taken BIOL 273)
SYDE 544 Biomedical Measurement and Signal Processing
Suggested Electives for Students Interested in Biophotonics
PHYS 364 Mathematical Physics 1 and PHYS 342 Electricity and Magnetism 2 with an additional 1.0 lecture unit from the following:
PHYS 393 Physical Optics
PHYS 394 Light-Matter Interaction
PHYS 391/PHYS 391L Electronics/Laboratory
PHYS 392/PHYS 392L Scientific Measurement and Control/Laboratory
Suggested Electives for Students Interested in Microbiology
BIOL 240/BIOL 240L Fundamentals of Microbiology/Laboratory and BIOL 241 Introduction to Applied Microbiology with an additional 2.0 units from the following:
BIOL 345, BIOL 346, BIOL 348L, BIOL 431, BIOL 442, BIOL 443, BIOL 444, BIOL 447, BIOL 448, BIOL 449
Suggested Electives for Students Interested in Environmental Sciences
BIOL 150 Organismal and Evolutionary Ecology, BIOL 350 Ecosystem Ecology and BIOL 359 Evolution 1: Mechanism with an additional 1.5 units from the following:
BIOL 351, BIOL 354, BIOL 361, BIOL 383, BIOL 450, BIOL 452, BIOL 455, BIOL 456, BIOL 457, BIOL 462, BIOL 470, BIOL 479, BIOL 480, BIOL 488, PHYS 364
Suggested Electives for Students Interested in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology
BIOL 309 Analytical Methods in Molecular Biology, BIOL 342 Molecular Biotechnology 1 and BIOL 432 Molecular Biotechnology 2 with an additional 1.5 units from the following:
BIOL 331, BIOL 335L, BIOL 434, BIOL 483, BIOL 484