York houses one of Canada's leading Physics departments.
There are three streams within the Physics and Astronomy program:
- Physics
- Applied Physics
- Astronomy and Astrophysics
Physics is the most fundamental science discipline. It attempts to understand nature at its deepest level. It develops an understanding and description of all forms of energy and matter and can be said to occupy the middle ground between mathematics and engineering.
Astronomy is the science that deals with the origin, evolution, composition, distance and motion of all bodies and scattered matter in the universe. It includes astrophysics, which discusses the physical properties and structure of all cosmic matter.
Participate in world-class research projects led by our professors in fields as diverse as atomic and molecular physics, laser physics, biophysics, particle physics, precision measurement, cosmology, and astronomy. Students from this program routinely win prestigious grants to support them in all areas of graduate research.
You will gain a strong grounding in physics, astronomy and computer-based physics with a strong experimental physics component. You will not only learn the subject matter, but also learn how to write scientific reports, and deliver oral presentations on a topic of your choice. The physical world is open to you!
- Work with professors in our research groups such as high-energy (particle) physics, tabletop precision physics, astrophysics, and biophysics.
- It's natural to combine Physics with other disciplines. Besides our Biophysics program, you have the chance to double major in fields such as Computer Science, Chemistry, or Mathematics & Statistics. Given that physics teachers for high schools are difficult to find, why not combine Physics & Astronomy studies with a teaching degree?
- The Allan I. Carswell Observatory (AICO) at York is actively engaged in a long-term variable star monitoring program. The results from this ongoing research have yielded relatively "clean" and valid scientific results that are presented each year at the annual Canadian Astronomical Society meeting. If you would like to learn more about our observatory, you can take a virtual tour or visit in person on select Wednesday nights!
- The Astronomy Club brings together all those who look to beauty, those who seek knowledge and those who are simply curious to meet, discuss and learn about the cosmos in which we live.
