Advisors: See Faculty of Science, academic advisors.
The Materials and Nanosciences plan (acronym: MNS) is an interdisciplinary plan offered jointly by the Department of Chemistry and the Department of Physics and Astronomy. Both materials science and nanoscience have been very active research areas during the past few decades, and are now having a major impact in diverse fields, ranging from manufacturing to materials technology to nanomedicine to renewable energy to information technology. This academic plan is aimed at students interested in learning about and working in these high-tech fields. This plan complements the Nanotechnology Engineering plan offered through the Faculty of Engineering. It is, however, designed for students who are more motivated by and interested in the fundamental building blocks of materials and devices, both at the macroscopic and nanometer scales. This plan has two themes, one associated with inorganic and organic materials, the other with biomaterials. Both regular and co-operative versions of this plan are available.
The Honours Materials and Nanosciences academic plan meets admission requirements for graduate programs in Chemistry, and would be particularly suitable for admission into Nanoscience and Nanotechnology graduate programs. It is also intended for students who wish to find employment in industries associated with such fields as alternative energy sources, information technology, emerging materials, and biomedical therapies and diagnostics.
The Honours Materials and Nanosciences plan takes the form of a core of required courses plus appropriate electives. The numbering for the MNS core courses provides relevant information regarding their content. The middle digit indicates the main scientific content of the course: "0" indicates both chemistry and physics, "1" indicates chemistry, "2" indicates physics, and "3" indicates biochemistry. Thirteen electives allow students to strengthen complementary areas of interest.
Continuation in the Honours Materials and Nanosciences plan requires a cumulative overall average of 60% and a cumulative overall Science average of 60%.
Successful completion of this program requires:
- 22.0 units that include:
- 4.5 CHEM units: CHEM 120, CHEM 120L, CHEM 123, CHEM 123L, CHEM 209, CHEM 237, CHEM 237L, CHEM 266, CHEM 266L, CHEM 254, and CHEM 356
- 4.0 MNS units: MNS 10 (non-credit course), MNS 101, MNS 102, MNS 201L, MNS 211, MNS 221, MNS 321, MNS 322, and MNS 331
- 3.5 PHYS units: PHYS 121, PHYS 121L, PHYS 122, PHYS 132L, PHYS 232L, PHYS 242, PHYS 280, and PHYS 342
- 1.5 units of CHEM, MNS and PHYS courses as follows:
- 2.5 MATH units: MATH 114, MATH 127, MATH 128, MATH 227, and MATH 228
- 6.0 elective units, as follows:
- 4.0 units of Program electives (Courses not listed under Program electives may also qualify as program electives, subject to academic advisor approval)
- 2.0 units of any 0.5 unit courses
- Completion of the English Language Proficiency Requirement
Recommended Course Sequence
Year One
Fall
CHEM 120/CHEM 120L Physical and Chemical Properties of Matter/Laboratory
MATH 114 Linear Algebra for Science
MATH 127 Calculus 1 for the Sciences
MNS 10 Materials and Nanosciences Seminar
MNS 101 Materials and Nanosciences in the Modern World
PHYS 121/PHYS 121L Mechanics/Laboratory
Winter
CHEM 123/CHEM 123L Chemical Reactions, Equilibria and Kinetics/Laboratory
MATH 128 Calculus 2 for the Sciences
MNS 10 Materials and Nanosciences Seminar
MNS 102 Techniques for Materials and Nanosciences
PHYS 122/PHYS 132L Waves, Electricity and Magnetism/Laboratory
One elective (0.5 unit)
Year Two
Fall
CHEM 209 Introductory Spectroscopy and Structure
CHEM 266/CHEM 266L Basic Organic Chemistry 1/Laboratory
MATH 227 Calculus 3 for Honours Physics
MNS 10 Materials and Nanosciences Seminar
MNS 211 Chemistry and the Solid State
PHYS 232L Measurement Laboratory
One elective (0.5 unit)
Winter
CHEM 237/CHEM 237L Introductory Biochemistry/Laboratory
CHEM 254 Thermodynamics
MNS 10 Materials and Nanosciences Seminar
MNS 201L Materials and Nanosciences Laboratory
MNS 221 Physics and the Solid State
PHYS 242 Electricity and Magnetism 1
Year Three
Fall
CHEM 356 Introductory Quantum Mechanics
MATH 228 Differential Equations for Physics and Chemistry
MNS 10 Materials and Nanosciences Seminar
MNS 321 Electrical and Optical Properties of Materials
MNS 331 Biomaterials
One elective (0.5 unit)
Winter
MNS 10 Materials and Nanosciences Seminar
MNS 322 Polymer Materials
PHYS 280 Introduction to Biophysics
Three electives (1.5 units)
Year Four
Fall
MNS 10 Materials and Nanosciences Seminar
PHYS 342 Electricity and Magnetism 2
PHYS 380 Molecular and Cellular Biophysics
or PHYS 461 Nanophysics
Three electives (1.5 units)
Winter
MNS 10 Materials and Nanosciences Seminar
CHEM 350 Chemical Kinetics
or CHEM 357 Physical Biochemistry
MNS 410 Special Topics in Solid-State Materials
or MNS 431 Special Topics in Nano-Biomaterials
Three electives (1.5 units)
List of Program Electives
BIOL 130 Introductory Cell Biology
BIOL 239 Genetics
BIOL 240 Fundamentals of Microbiology
BIOL 309 Analytical Methods in Molecular Biology
CHEM 250L Physical Chemistry laboratory 1
CHEM 267 Basic Organic Chemistry 2
CHEM 310 Transition Metals/Inorganic Materials
CHEM 333 Metabolism 1
CHEM 340 Introduction to Computational Chemistry
CHEM 400 Special Topics in Chemistry
CHEM 430 Special Topics in Biochemistry
CHEM 494A Research Project and CHEM 494B Research Project
PHYS 256 Geometrical and Physical Optics
PHYS 334 Quantum 2
PHYS 335 Condensed Matter Physics
PHYS 359 Statistical Mechanics
PHYS 360A Modern Physics, Laboratory 1
PHYS 391 Electronics
PHYS 392 Scientific Measurement and Control
PHYS 396 Biophysics of Imaging
PHYS 437A Research Project and PHYS 437B Research Project
STAT 202 Introduction to Statistics for Scientists
Note
Not all of the courses offered in the CHEM 400 series (Special Topics in Chemistry) can be counted towards the Honours Materials and Nanosciences program. Students should consult their academic advisor for information about which courses can be counted.