Coursework Recommendations

Recommendations for courses are given below, grouped by research area. MSc students are required to take 5 graduate courses during the two year Master's programme, at least one of which should be at the 600 level or higher. PhD students will take two additional courses at the 600 level or higher. The course requirements for MSc and PhD students are described in detail here. A list of all graduate courses is included at the bottom of this page.

The total number of credits required for a Physics Master's degree is 45. In addition to the 15 course credits, Master's students are required to register for 30 credits in research to get the required 45 credits. The research (thesis) courses are:

PHYS 690 M.Sc. Thesis (24)
(Equivalently, PHYS 690D1 (12) and 690D2 (12) completed in consecutive terms.)

PHYS 601 and PHYS 602 are taken in consecutive terms and the order doesn't matter.

Typically, 693 is taken in the first year together with the course work and  690D1 and 690D2 are taken in the second year.

Temporary only for graduate students entering physics grad studies in the fall of 2024: For MSc students entering in graduate studies for the first time at McGill in the fall of 2024, 601 and 602 are optional but highly recommended. Also, please be aware that all students starting in the fall of 2024 must register for 693 (3) and drop PHYS 692(6) if you already registered for it. Students starting in the fall 2024 that do not take 601 and 602, please email the GPC (Lauren Kay) to be exempted from the 3 research (thesis) credits assigned to 601 and 602; in total you must have 30 research credits (+ your 15 course credits, making a total of 45 degree credits). Note: 601 and 602 are also optional for PhD students entering in graduate studies for the first time at McGill in the fall of 2024.

For the University MSc and PhD requirements students can also refer to the following links:
MSc: https://www.mcgill.ca/study/2024-2025/faculties/science/graduate/programs/master-science-msc-physics-thesis.
PhD: https://www.mcgill.ca/study/2024-2025/faculties/science/graduate/programs/doctor-philosophy-phd-physics

New and returning students must register on Minerva for both the Fall and Winter terms by adding the registration confirmation course REGN RCGR for both the Fall and the Winter terms during the registration period, to avoid a late registration fee. For detailed information on registration, please go to http://www.mcgill.ca/gps/students/registration.

Below is the list of courses offered by the department. Approved graduate courses in other departments will also be accepted in fulfillment of departmental course requirements; the course program of each student should be worked out with his/her adviser, subject to final approval by the department.

Note that some courses are offered every other year.

Astrophysics

The recommended graduate curriculum in Astrophysics is:

Please note that PHYS 641 and PHYS 642 are offered on alternate years and PHYS 643, PHYS 644 and PHYS 645 are offered the following year.

Depending on undergraduate preparation, these courses could be supplemented by, for example, PHYS 514 General Relativity, PHYS 551 Quantum Theory, PHYS 559 Advanced Statistical Mechanics, or PHYS 562 Electromagnetic Theory.

Condensed Matter

A typical sequence of courses for entering M.Sc. students would include:

and at least one of:

plus additional courses chosen from:

In addition, depending on the student's area of specialization, courses offered by other departments may be of interest; students should consult with their advisor for further information. For example, students with a specialization in biophysics may be interested in BMDE 506 Molecular Biology Techniques or BIOL 518 Advanced Topics in Cell Biology.

Note that PHYS 657 Classical Condensed Matter, PHYS 660 Quantum Condensed Matter and PHYS 717 Many-body Physics are offered biennially; all other listed courses are expected to be offered every year.

Biophysics

A typical Biophysics MSc or PhD includes PHYS courses and interdisciplinary courses which are suggested below. Each student should consult his or her advisor or supervisor as well as the Director of Graduate Studies to receive approval of his or her course selection as early as possible, as the broad range of available interdisciplinary courses (in Chemistry, Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Physiology, Biology) are handled on a case-by-case basis.

Suggested physics courses:

Suggested Interdisciplinary courses:

High-Energy: Experiment

A typical five course sequence for high-energy experiment students would be:

plus three courses selected from:

Selections from the 500-level courses should only be made if corresponding classes were not already taken at the undergraduate level.

High-Energy: Theory

A typical five course sequence for high-energy theory students would be:

plus three courses selected from:

Students typically also take PHYS 514 General Relativity, unless they already took these or corresponding courses as undergraduates.

Nuclear Theory

A typical five course sequence for nuclear theory students would be:

All Graduate Courses

Courses in the 500-level are available with departmental permission to M.Sc. students as well as to honours undergraduates. Courses at the 600-level are normally taken by students at the M.Sc. level, while the 700-level are designed for Ph.D. students. Most of the 500-level courses are offered each year, and a selection of 600- and 700-level courses are offered in any one year.