Astronomy and Astrophysics
Contact | Courses | Faculty | Overview | Programs: Collaborative, DegreeFaculty Affiliation
Arts and Science
Degree Programs Offered
Astronomy and Astrophysics - MSc, PhD
Collaborative Programs
The following collaborative programs are available to students in participating degree programs as listed below:
1. Astrophysics
- Astronomy and Astrophysics , MSc
The Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics is actively engaged in a wide range of observational and theoretical research on solar system dynamics, stars, stellar systems, the interstellar medium, the Galaxy, galaxies, quasars, clusters of galaxies, cosmology, and problems in general relativity. The Department has close ties with the Canadian Institute for Theoretical Astrophysics (CITA), located in the same building. This association enables our students to consult with leading theorists associated with CITA.
The David Dunlap Observatory (DDO) houses a 1.88-m telescope, the largest in Canada, which is equipped with efficient CCD spectroscopic instruments. Faculty and students enjoy access to the Dupont 2.5-m telescope at Las Campanas under an instrumentation development collaboration with the Carnegie Observatories. We have an active experimental program using telescopes on long-duration stratospheric balloons, telescopes for cosmological and Galactic research.
We also use the major optical, radio, and satellite observing facilities of the world. Of particular importance are the national facilities: the Canada-France-Hawaii optical telescope, the James Clerk Maxwell radio telescope, and the Gemini telescopes located at the world’s finest observing sites.
There are approximately 100 faculty, post-doctoral fellows, graduate students, and staff in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics and in CITA. Students benefit from direct interactions with the broad range of external speakers invited to weekly seminar programs and colloquia.
Contact and Address
Web: www.astro.utoronto.ca
E-mail: grad.sec@astro.utoronto.ca
Telephone: (416) 978-2016
Fax: (416) 971-2026
Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics
50 St. George Street
University of Toronto
Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H4
Canada
Degree Programs
Astronomy and Astrophysics
Master of Science
Minimum Admission Requirements
- Students are accepted under the general regulations of the School of Graduate Studies. Applicants educated outside Canada should pay particular attention to the English language competency requirements.
- Because many universities do not offer extensive undergraduate training in astronomy and astrophysics, preparation in physics and mathematics is an acceptable background.
- Students are strongly advised to take the verbal, quantitative, and advanced physics tests of the Graduate Record Examination administered by the Educational Testing Service, Princeton
Program Requirements
- 2.0 required full-course equivalents (FCE): AST 1501Y and AST 1500Y, with different supervisors. Students are immediately engaged in original research throughout these two required research courses. An oral exam by committee is held for each. AST 1501Y is normally completed during the fall/winter of the first year, and AST 1500Y is completed in the following summer.
- Minimum of 1.0 FCE (two half-courses) from the AST preparatory, Elective, or Specialized Courses, subject to the approval of the instructor, the student’s MSc program committee, and the Department.
- More courses may be taken for credit or audited as appropriate.
Doctor of Philosophy
Minimum Admission Requirements
- Students are accepted under the general regulations of the School of Graduate Studies. Applicants educated outside Canada should pay particular attention to the English language competency requirements.
- Because many universities do not offer extensive undergraduate training in astronomy and astrophysics, preparation in physics and mathematics is an acceptable background.
- Students are strongly advised to take the verbal, quantitative, and advanced physics tests of the Graduate Record Examination administered by the Educational Testing Service, Princeton
Program Requirements
- Normally, the degree program is completed in five years (15 sessions). Students are normally expected to be on campus full time for the duration of the program.
- Students with a MSc degree in astronomy and astrophysics from the University of Toronto, or a MSc degree in another appropriate discipline or from elsewhere deemed equivalent by the Department, may apply for admission to the four-year PhD program. Requirements for the four-year PhD program are identical to those for the five-year program, except for the courses. There is no minimum course requirement in the four-year program except for courses deemed necessary by the student’s PhD committee.
- 2.0 full-course equivalents (FCE): AST 1501Y and AST 1500Y, with different supervisors. Students are immediately engaged in original research throughout these two required research courses. AST 1501Y is normally completed during the fall/winter of the first year, and AST 1500Y is completed in the following summer. An oral exam by committee is held for each.
- 400*Y (in sequence of the last digit: 2, 3, etc.) Students register each year, beginning in the second year, in the research course AST 400*Y.
- Written PhD thesis proposal, defended in an oral examination conducted by a panel of faculty members. The intention of this “qualifying examination” is to assess the student’s ability and readiness to carry forward and successfully complete independent PhD-level research. This assessment is based on the student’s graduate record to date, including graduate lecture courses and research performed, together with the presentation and defense of the proposed PhD thesis. The qualifying examination is taken after four and within five sessions of beginning the program.
- A minimum of 2.0 FCE from the AST Preparatory, Elective, or Specialized courses, and courses of equivalent levels from a cognate department, subject to the approval of the student’s Program/PhD Committees, the instructor, and the Department. More courses may be taken for credit or audited as appropriate.
- A thesis embodying the results of original research which must be submitted for appraisal in accordance with the regulations of the School of Graduate Studies.
Course List
Preparatory Courses
AST 1410H Stars
AST 1420H Galactic Structure and Dynamics
AST 1430H Cosmology
AST 1440H Radiation Processes and Gas Dynamics
Research Courses
AST 1500Y+ Directed Research
AST 1501Y Introduction to Research
AST 400*Y+ Research (*Students register each year, beginning in the second year, in sequence of the last digit: 2, 3, etc.)
Elective Courses
AST 2010H Physics of Stellar Atmospheres
AST 2020H Physics of Stellar Interiors
AST 2030H Interstellar Medium and Star Formation
AST 2040H Extragalactic Astronomy
AST 2050H Observational Techniques
AST 2060H General Relativity I: Theory
AST 2070H General Relativity II: Applications and Cosmology
Specialized Courses
AST 3010H Advanced Topics in Stellar and Galactic Astronomy I
AST 3011H Advanced Topics in Stellar and Galactic Astronomy II
AST 3020H Advanced Topics in Interstellar Matter and Star Formation I
AST 3021H Advanced Topics in Interstellar Matter and Star Formation II
AST 3030H Advanced Topics in Extragalactic Astronomy and Cosmology I
AST 3031H Advanced Topics in Extragalactic Astronomy and Cosmology II
AST 3050H Theoretical Cosmology
AST 3100H Lecture Series in Specialized Topics (mini courses)
Supplementary Research for PhD Students
AST 3500H Non-Thesis Research Project in Astronomy/Astrophysics
+Extended course. For academic reasons, course work is extended into session following academic session in which course is offered.
Graduate Faculty
Full Members
Abraham, Roberto - BSc, PhD (Associate Chair, Graduate)
Artymowicz, Pawel - MS, PhD
Bond, J Richard - BSc, MS, PhD
Carlberg, Raymond - BSc, MS, PhD
Dyer, Charles - BS, MSc, PhD
Jayawardhana, Ray - BS, PhD
Kofman, Lev - PhD
Lester, John - BA, MS, PhD
Lowman, Julian - BSc, MS, DPhil
Martin, Peter - BSc, MSc, PhD (Chair & Graduate Chair)
Matzner, Christopher - BA, MA, PhD
Mochnacki, Stefan - BSc, MSc, PhD
Moon, Dae-Sik - PhD
Murray, Norman - BSc, PhD
Netterfield, C. Barth - BSc, PhD
Pen, Ue-Li - BSc, PhD
Percy, John - BSc, MA, PhD
Srinivasan, Gopalan - BSc, MSc, PhD
Stanley, Sabine - BSc, PhD
Thompson, Christopher - BSc, PhD
van Kerkwijk, Marten - MA, PhD
Yee, Howard - BASc, PhD
Members Emeriti
Clement, Christine - BSc, MA, PhD
Clement, Maurice - BSc, MSc, PhD
Fernie, John - BSc, MSc, PhD
Garrison, Robert - BA, PhD
Seaquist, Ernest - BASc, MA, PhD
Associate Members
Dubinski, John - BSc, MSc, PhD
Rucinski, Slavek - MS, PhD, DSc
Wu, Yanqin - PhD