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Astrophysics (Collaborative Program)

Contact | Courses | Faculty | Overview | Programs: Collaborative, Degree

Faculty Affiliation

Arts and Science

Degree Programs Offered

Astronomy and Astrophysics - MSc, PhD

Collaborative Programs Offered

Degree programs that participate in:

  1. Astrophysics
    ● Astronomy and Astrophysics , MSc

Overview

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

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Degree Programs

Degree of 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. An oral exam by committee is held for each.
  • 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. An oral exam by committee is held for each.
  • 400*Y (in sequence of the last digit: 2, 3, etc.)
  • 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.
  • A minimum of 2.0 FCE, of which at least 1.0 FCE is selected from the AST Elective or Specialized Courses, subject to the approval of the instructor, the student’s PhD program committee, 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.

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Courses

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.

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Graduate Faculty

Full Members

Roberto Abraham - BSc, DPhil
Pawel Artymowicz - MSc, PhD
Charles Bolton - BS, MS, PhD
J Richard Bond - BSc, MS, PhD, FRS, FRSC, OC, Fellow CIAR, Fellow APS, University Professor
Raymond Carlberg - BSc, MS, PhD, Fellow CIFAR
William Clarke - BA, MA, PhD
Charles Dyer - BSc, MSc, PhD
Ray Jayawardhana - BSc, PhD, Canada Research Chair
Lev Kofman - MSc, PhD, Fellow CIAR
John Lester - BA, MS, PhD
Julian Lowman - BSc, MSc, PhD
Peter Martin - BSc, MSc, PhD, FRSC (Chair)
Christopher Matzner - AB, MA, PhD
Stefan Mochnacki - BSc, MSc, PhD
Dae-Sik Moon - BSc, MSc, PhD
Norman Murray - BSc, PhD, Canada Research Chair
C. Barth Netterfield - BSc, PhD, Fellow CIFAR
Ue-Li Pen - BSc, MSc, PhD
John Percy - BSc, MA, PhD
Slavek Rucinski - BSc, PhD
Gopalan Srinivasan - BSc, MSc, PhD
Sabine Stanley - BSc Hon, PhD
Christopher Thompson - BS, PhD
Marten van Kerkwijk - MA, PhD
Yanqin Wu - PhD
Howard Yee - BASc, PhD, Canada Research Chair (Associate Chair, Graduate)

Members Emeriti

Christine Clement - BSc, MA, PhD
Maurice Clement - BSc, MSc, PhD
John Fernie - BSc, MSc, PhD, FRSC
Robert Garrison - BA, PhD
Ernest Seaquist - BASc, MA, PhD

Associate Members

John Dubinski - BSc, MSc, PhD

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