Our Physics program is one of the largest and most comprehensive in Canada, offering courses in applied physics, astrophysics, biophysics, chemical physics, mathematical physics, or quantum computing, at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. Our research-intensive department focuses on five areas of research: astrophysics, biological physics, condensed matter physics, optics, and quantum computing, with faculty members specializing in theoretical, experimental and computational tools. If you are interested in pursuing further study in Physics and Astronomy, you have come to the right place The Graduate Studies in Physics (GSiP) program is one of the largest physics & astronomy graduate programs in Canada and among the largest in the world. Our tradition of collaboration and innovation allows us to offer students a rich and varied graduate experience unlike no other. The Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Waterloo is amongst the top 100 Physics and Astronomy departments in the world (QS rankings 2020), and is home to a wide range of ground-breaking and award winning research, including the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics. We are a key part of Waterloo's burgeoning physics ecosystem that also includes partnering institutes and centers such as the Institute for Quantum Computing, the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, the Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology and the Waterloo Center for Astrophysics. In the PhD Physics program students work closely with a graduate supervisor (determined prior to admission) to perform original research in an area of physics, culminating in a PhD thesis.
Understanding the nature of light and matter, and interactions between them, is at the forefront of modern science and technology. Controlling properties of light with matter and vice versa are major themes of research in photonics and Atomic, Molecular, and Optical (AMO) physics. Advancements in AMO physics are responsible for fundamental discoveries, such as new quantum phases of matter, as well as technical inventions improving our lives, such as high intensity lasers revolutionizing eye surgeries and the atomic clocks used on GPS satellites.
