The Department of Physics offers the Physics Specialist, Physics Major, and Physics Minor programs. It also offers two joint Specialist programs: the Biological Physics Specialist and the Physics and Philosophy Specialist. In addition, joint Specialist programs with Physics are hosted by the Departments of Astronomy and Astrophysics, Chemistry, Earth Sciences, and Mathematics. You can find more information on our website at: https://www.physics.utoronto.ca/undergraduate/undergraduate-programs-overview/.

You should use the calendar for the academic year that you enter the program. For example, suppose you were a first-year student in 2023-2024 and want to enrol in a Physics program for 2024-2025. You should then use the 2024-2025 calendar for your academic planning.

The language in the calendar can be confusing, so here it is in a nutshell:

You can fulfill the Ethics requirement by a) taking JPH441H1, or b) taking one of the courses in the following list: HPS200H1/ ENV222H1/ ENV333H1/ ESS205H1/ PHL273H1/ VIC172Y1/ AST310H1. If you believe another course may meet this requirement, it must be pre-approved by the Undergraduate Office (by filling out the Program Exception Request Form). Note that a potential alternate course MUST be on ethics and social responsibility in the physical sciences. For options a) and b), you are permitted to take the course as CR/NCR. If you are approved to take a different course, please ask the Undergraduate Office if you are also approved to take the course CR/NCR.

For any requests for waivers to the program requirements as stated in the Academic Calendar, please fill out the Program Exception Request Form. Prerequisites have been carefully considered in the design of our curriculum, so a strong case for consideration has to be made. Your request will be reviewed by our Associate Chair and you will get a response as soon as possible.

If you plan to take PHY131H1 – Introduction to Physics, we recommend that students have the following Grade 12 courses: MCV4U (Calculus & Vectors) OR MCB4U (Functions & Calculus) AND SPH4U (Physics) or equivalent. However, you are still eligible to take PHY131H1 if you do not have these courses.

If you plan to take PHY151H1 Foundations of Physics I, the required prerequisites are MCV4U (Calculus & Vectors) OR MCB4U (Functions & Calculus) AND SPH4U (Physics) or equivalent courses from another province/territory/country*. If you do not have these courses from high school, then you should take PHY131H1 and PHY132H1.

*Students who did not attend high school in Ontario will be contacted in the summer to determine what courses you have taken that are equivalent to the Ontario high school curricula.

PHY151H1 and PHY152H1 are designed for students who plan to pursue a physics program and are calculus-based courses. Students who are studying life sciences generally enrol in PHY131H1 and PHY132H1 which are algebra-based courses. We accept both combinations as prerequisites for higher level PHY courses and in most of our programs, however we recommend students take PHY151H1, PHY152H1 owing to the way they approach the concepts with a mathematical focus.

We recommend that students still take PHY151H1 and PHY152H1, though it is not mandatory. We have found that taking the 1st year physics courses, even if they serve more as a review, not only helps students with the transition to university but also provides an opportunity to make connections with your fellow 1st year physics students.

Another consideration is that our 2nd year physics core courses (PHY250H1, PHY252H1, PHY254H1, PHY256H1) all have a 2nd year calculus corequisite. That requirement means that you need to complete 1st year calculus (MAT135H1, MAT136H1)/ MAT137Y1/ MAT157Y1) or receive a transfer credit for this course in order to take any of the 2nd-year core physics courses.

Many of our courses are grouped by common numbering, including

• The "x24" courses: PHY224H1, PHY324H1, PHY424H1 are courses in practical and experimental physics.
• The "x50" courses: PHY250H1, PHY350H1, PHY450H1 are courses in electricity, magnetism, and electrodynamics.
• The "x52" courses: PHY252H1, PHY452H1 are courses in thermal and statistical physics.
• The "x54" courses: PHY254H1, PHY354H1, PHY454H are courses in classical physics of particles and continuous matter.
• The "x56" courses: PHY256H1, PHY356H1, PHY456H1 are courses in Quantum Mechanics.

No. The second-year multivariable (vector) calculus math courses (e.g., MAT235Y1/MAT237Y1/MAT257Y1) must be taken either as corequisites or have been already completed.

Non-physics students are encouraged to look at PHY100H1, PHY205H1, or PHY207H1 as these courses meet the “Physical and Mathematical Universes” (5) Breadth Requirement. Note that these courses do have an exclusion for any PHY course taken previously or concurrently. This means that you cannot take any of PHY100H1/ PHY205H1/ PHY207H1 if you have taken PHY131H1, PHY132H1, PHY151H1, PHY152H1 or higher level PHY course (which would satisfy the breadth requirement).

If you do not have the prerequisite or corequisite as stated in the Academic Calendar, please fill out the Course Prerequisite/Corequisite Waiver Request Form. Your request will be reviewed by our Associate Chair.

We have supervised study and research courses for 3rd-year and 4th-year students that can be taken during the fall, winter or summer semesters. These require you to reach out to identify a supervisor and arrange a project with them. This is the most common form of research experience for our students. There are several other research opportunities including SURF, Research Opportunities Program, University of Toronto Excellence Award (UTEA), NSERC Undergraduate Summer Research Award, Physics Summer Student Program, and Work Study.

We maintain a summer employment and summer school opportunities list. This is worth looking at every so often because it is updated as new opportunities are available.

You can contact faculty -- theorists, experimentalists, lecturers -- to ask about possible placements. We encourage you to contact people at other nearby Universities as well, such as York, TMU, and McMaster, to broaden the pool of potential supervisors. If you have concrete skills such as programming you should make sure to promote those. In your contact email, make sure to include an unofficial transcript indicating courses taken and grades, resume, availability, references if available. It is helpful if you can indicate that you are informed and interested in faculty member’s research. We suggest you do some research on them (web searches, public lectures and published works).

We maintain a summer employment and summer school opportunities list. This is worth looking at every so often because it is updated as new opportunities are available.

Yes, there is. We have an active PhySU, which is the undergraduate Physics course union. They have a calendar of activities and work with the Department to support students and make studying physics fun!

Yes, the Physics Library is an ideal place to go to study or relax between classes. There is also the undergraduate lounge (MP 217), which is also the headquarters of PhySU.

We sure do. We have an active mentorship program available to any student in a Physics program. This starts in the fall semester and goes through the year. You are paired up with an alumni of the department and meet regularly to chat and discuss your path toward becoming a physicist and what careers may look like beyond undergraduate studies. Read more about PhysCAP at: https://www.physics.utoronto.ca/undergraduate/physics-career/.