This section specifies the Physics Honours requirements only. Please refer to the Bachelor of Science section for information on additional requirements, as well as the requirements for a Physics major.
Lower-level requirements
The lower-level requirements for the Physics Honours are the same as the lower-level requirements for the Physics major, with the addition of the following courses.
Course Title Credits
MATH 152 Linear Algebra for Engineering (see Note) 4
or MATH 221 Linear Algebra (see Note) 3
MATH 255 Ordinary Differential Equations 3
COMP 152 Introduction to Structured Programming 4 or 8
or the combination of:
COMP 150 Introduction to Programming
and COMP 155 Object-oriented Programming
Note: MATH 221 should be taken if the student wishes to add a Mathematics major or minor.
Upper-level requirements
Course Title Credits
PHYS 302 Optics 3
PHYS 311 Statistical Physics 3
PHYS 322 Advanced Electromagnetism 3
PHYS 351 Quantum Mechanics 3
PHYS 381 Mathematical Physics 3
PHYS 451 Advanced Quantum Mechanics 3
Any two upper-level Physics labs (PHYS 342, PHYS 372, PHYS 382, PHYS 383, or PHYS 485) 6
At least one additional Physics course must have at least one third year pre-requisite 3
MATH 322 Complex Variables 3
At least one other math course labeled 300 or above (MATH 312 suggested) 3
Three other credits in computer science related courses: e.g., any COMP course, PHYS 393, PHYS 484, PHYS 485, PHYS 493, or MATH 316 3
Additional requirements
Students must take at least two courses from any of the following:
• ASTR 103 ASTR 104, CHEM 113, CHEM 114, MATH 125, MATH 270, BIO 111, BIO 112, any two Business courses, any two Economics courses, any two Arts courses.
Note: More courses may be added as new courses are added to the calendar, but may not yet be included on this list. Check with the Physics department if there have been any additions.
Students should note the pre-requisite requirements for these courses.
Students should note that by choosing the appropriate options within the Physics Honours, they will also meet all the requirements for a Mathematics minor.
Graduation requirements
• At least 132 credits total
• At least 54 upper-level credits
• At least 45 of the upper-level credits must be from physics or math
• At least 39 of the upper-level credits must be from physics
Academic performance
• The GPA in all courses that the student uses towards the degree must be at least 3.33.
• In addition, the GPA in all Physics courses used towards the degree must be at least 3.33.
Students in the Physics major do not need to apply to the honours program, but they may graduate from the honours program once all requirements have been met.
