Astronomy and Astrophysics

Astronomy and Astrophysics: Introduction

Faculty Affiliation

Arts and Science

Degree Programs

Astronomy and Astrophysics

MSc and PhD

Overview

The David A. Dunlap 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) and the Dunlap Institute for Astronomy and Astrophysics (Dunlap). These ties provide great flexibility to students with a broad array of interests, giving them the option to work with a supervisor from one of these sibling units, and further enhance the opportunities for students to interact with leading researchers.

Faculty and students 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.

The department has an active experimental program using telescopes on long-duration stratospheric balloons and a complementary program designing and building instrumentation for large optical telescopes, and for cosmological and Galactic research.

There are approximately 100 faculty, postdoctoral fellows, graduate students, and staff in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics, CITA, and Dunlap. 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
Email: grad.sec@astro.utoronto.ca
Telephone: (416) 946-5243
Fax: (416) 946-7287

David A. Dunlap Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics
University of Toronto
50 St. George Street
Toronto, Ontario M5S 3H4
Canada

Astronomy and Astrophysics: Graduate Faculty

Full Members

Abraham, Roberto - BSc, DPhil, FRSC (Chair and Graduate Chair)
Artymowicz, Pawel - MS, PhD
Bond, J. Richard - BSc, MS, PhD, FRSC, FRS
Bovy, Jo - MMath, PhD, CRC
Bryan, Marta - BA, MA, PhD
Drout, Maria - PhD, CRC
Fishbach, Maya - PhD
Gaensler, Bryan - PhD, CRC (Director)
Hincks, Adam - DPhil
Hlozek, Renee - PhD
Kollmeier, Juna - PhD
Li, Ting - PhD
Lowman, Julian - BSc, MS, DPhil
Martin, Peter - BSc, MSc, PhD, FRSC, OC
Matzner, Christopher - BA, MA, PhD
Mena Parra, Juan - PhD, PhD
Menou, Kristen - BSc, MS, ScD (Associate Chair, Graduate)
Moon, Dae-Sik - BS, MS, PhD
Murray, Norman - BSc, PhD, CRC
Netterfield, C. Barth - BSc, PhD
Pen, Ue-Li - BSc, PhD
Rein, Hanno - MS, DPhil
Sivanandam, Suresh - PhD (Interim Director)
Thompson, Christopher - BSc, PhD
Tremaine, Scott - PhD
Valencia, Diana - BS, MS, ScD
van Kerkwijk, Marten - MA, PhD
Vanderlinde, Keith - PhD
Wu, Yanqin - PhD

Members Emeriti

Carlberg, Raymond - BSc, MS, PhD
Lester, John - BA, MS, PhD
Percy, John - BSc, MA, PhD
Yee, Howard - BASc, PhD, FRSC

Associate Members

Friesen, Rachel Katherine - PhD
Reid, Michael - BSc, MSc, PhD
Webb, Jeremy - PhD

Astronomy and Astrophysics: Astronomy and Astrophysics MSc

Master of Science

Minimum Admission Requirements

  • Applicants are admitted under the General Regulations of the School of Graduate Studies. Applicants must also satisfy the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics' additional admission requirements stated below.

  • Applicants must hold an appropriate bachelor's degree with high academic standing from a recognized university.

  • Applicants whose primary language is not English and who graduated from a university where the language of instruction and examination was not English must demonstrate proficiency in English. See General Regulations section 4.3 for requirements.

  • Because many universities do not offer extensive undergraduate training in astronomy and astrophysics, preparation in physics and mathematics is an acceptable background.

Program Requirements

  • Coursework. Students must successfully complete 2.0 required full-course equivalents (FCEs): AST1501Y and AST1500Y, 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. AST1501Y is normally completed during the Fall/Winter of Year 1, and AST1500Y is completed in the following Summer session.

  • Students must complete a minimum of 1.5 FCEs (three half courses) from the AST preparatory, elective, or specialized courses. More courses may be taken for credit or audited as appropriate.

  • Students are expected to attend the weekly general colloquium conducted by the department.

  • Residence. Students are normally expected to be on campus full-time for the duration of the program.

Program Length

3 sessions full-time (typical registration sequence: F/W/S)

Time Limit

3 years full-time

Astronomy and Astrophysics: Astronomy and Astrophysics PhD

Doctor of Philosophy

Program Description

The Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics offers dynamic and competitive doctoral programs which emphasize research.

Students may be accepted into the PhD program via one of two routes: 1) following completion of an appropriate master's degree or 2) direct entry following completion of a bachelor's degree.

 

PhD Program

Minimum Admission Requirements

  • Applicants are admitted under the General Regulations of the School of Graduate Studies. Applicants must also satisfy the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics' additional admission requirements stated below.

  • Applicants whose primary language is not English and who graduated from a university where the language of instruction and examination was not English must demonstrate proficiency in English. See General Regulations section 4.3 for requirements.

  • Applicants may be accepted into the PhD program following completion of an MSc degree in Astronomy and Astrophysics from the University of Toronto, or an MSc degree in another appropriate discipline or from elsewhere deemed equivalent, with an average of at least B+ or demonstrated comparable research competence.

Program Requirements

  • There is no minimum course requirement in the four-year program except for courses deemed necessary by the student's PhD supervisory or qualifying examination committees.

  • Students register in the AST4000Y Research course series (in sequence of the last digit: 2, 3, etc.) beginning in the Summer session of Year 1 and continue through the sequence through Year 4. The first registration, AST4002Y, corresponds to the qualifying examinations. The series continues with registration each Fall/Winter, starting with AST4003Y and is incremented by one digit each subsequent academic year. This registration is tied to thesis research progress, which is assessed based on the two required annual PhD supervisory committee meetings in October and April.

  • Students must successfully complete the two parts of the PhD qualifying examinations: literature-based and thesis proposal. Both are oral examinations conducted by a panel of faculty members.

    • The literature-based section evaluates the student's mastery of general astronomy and astrophysics and ability to apply that knowledge to understand relevant research literature.

    • The thesis proposal section evaluates the feasibility and value of the proposed thesis and verifies that the student has sufficient preparation in the relevant research area. It is based in part on a written summary of the proposed thesis provided by the student to the examiners.

The literature qualifying examinations are taken in parallel with the corresponding graduate course offering, with completion of the four sections by the end of Year 1. The thesis proposal examination is taken in the Summer session of Year 1. Students who fail at the first attempt have the opportunity to retake the examinations once, by the deadline of January 31 of Year 2.

  • 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.

  • Students are expected to attend the weekly general colloquium conducted by the department.

  • Residence. Students are normally expected to be on campus full-time for the duration of the program.

Program Length

4 years

Time Limit

6 years

 

PhD Program (Direct-Entry)

Minimum Admission Requirements

  • Applicants are admitted under the General Regulations of the School of Graduate Studies. Applicants must also satisfy the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics' additional admission requirements stated below.

  • Applicants whose primary language is not English and who graduated from a university where the language of instruction and examination was not English must demonstrate proficiency in English. See General Regulations section 4.3 for requirements.

  • Students are accepted into the PhD program following completion of a bachelor's degree, with an average in the final two years equivalent to a University of Toronto A– or better from a recognized university.

  • Because many universities do not offer extensive undergraduate training in astronomy and astrophysics, preparation in physics and mathematics is an acceptable background.

Program Requirements

  • Coursework. Students must successfully complete 2.0 full-course equivalents (FCEs): AST1500Y and AST1501Y, with different supervisors. Students are immediately engaged in original research throughout these two required research courses. AST1501Y is normally completed during the Fall/Winter of Year 1, and AST1500Y is completed in the following Summer session. An oral exam by committee is held for each.

  • Students must complete a minimum of 2.5 FCEs (five half courses) from the AST preparatory, elective, or specialized courses. Students may petition the associate chair, graduate to include courses offered by a cognate department at the equivalent level. (A maximum of 1.0 FCE may be substituted.) More courses may be taken for credit or audited as appropriate.

  • Students register in the AST4000Y Research course series (in sequence of the last digit: 2, 3, etc,) beginning in the Summer session of Year 2 and continue the sequence through Year 5. The first registration, AST4002Y, corresponds to the qualifying examinations. The series continues with registration each Fall/Winter, starting with AST4003Y and is incremented by one digit each subsequent academic year. This registration is tied to thesis research progress, which is assessed based on the two required annual PhD supervisory committee meetings in October and April.

  • Students must successfully complete the two parts of the PhD qualifying examinations: literature-based and thesis proposal. Both are oral examinations conducted by a panel of faculty members.

    • The literature-based section evaluates the student's mastery of general astronomy and astrophysics and ability to apply that knowledge to understand relevant research literature.

    • The thesis proposal section evaluates the feasibility and value of the proposed thesis and verifies that the student has sufficient preparation in the relevant research area. It is based in part on a written summary of the proposed thesis provided by the student to the examiners.

The literature qualifying examinations are taken in parallel with the corresponding graduate course offering, with completion of the four sections by the end of Year 2. The thesis proposal examination is taken in the Summer session of Year 2. Students who fail at the first attempt have the opportunity to retake the examinations once, by the deadline of January 31 of Year 3.

  • 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.

  • Students are expected to attend the weekly general colloquium conducted by the department.

  • Residence. Students are normally expected to be on campus full-time for the duration of the program.

Program Length

5 years

Time Limit

7 years

Astronomy and Astrophysics: Astronomy and Astrophysics MSc, PhD Courses

Preparatory Courses

Course Code Course Title
AST1410H
Stars
AST1420H
Galactic Structure and Dynamics
AST1430H
Cosmology
AST1440H
Radiation Processes and Gas Dynamics

Research Courses

Course Code Course Title
AST1500Y+
Directed Research
AST1501Y
Introduction to Research
AST4000Y+
Research (students register in this 4000Y series each year, beginning in Year 2, in sequence of the last digit: 2, 3, etc.)
AST4002Y+
Research
AST4003Y+
Research
AST4004Y+
Research
AST4005Y+
Research

+ Extended course. For academic reasons, coursework is extended into session following academic session in which course is offered.

Elective Courses

Course Code Course Title
AST2010H
Physics of Stellar Atmospheres
AST2020H
Physics of Stellar Interiors
AST2040H
Extragalactic Astronomy
AST2050H
Observational Techniques

Specialized Courses

Course Code Course Title
AST3011H
Advanced Topics in Stellar and Galactic Astronomy II
AST3020H
Advanced Topics in Interstellar Matter and Star Formation I
AST3030H
Advanced Topics in Extragalactic Astronomy and Cosmology I
AST3031H
Advanced Topics in Extragalactic Astronomy and Cosmology II
AST3040H Advanced Topics in Planetary Science
AST3050Y
Theoretical Cosmology
AST3100H
Lecture Series in Specialized Topics
AST3101H (0.25 FCE) Specialized Topics in Astronomy and Astrophysics