Science (Physical, Earth, Math and Computer Science)

McGill University

Royal-blue ink study of an optical prism, mineral sample, graph notebook and computer

4 / 3 years
Duration (years)
4 years from high school; normally 3 years after Quebec CEGEP
McGill Science, Arts and Arts/Science freshman and CEGEP routes
Optional Science Industrial Practicum or Internship Year in Science.
Work experience
Optional Science Industrial Practicum or Internship Year in Science.
McGill Science · complete internship structure and eligibility

Deadlines

January 2027

Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
				1	2	3
4	5	6	7	8	9	10
11	12	13	14		16	17
18	19	20	21	22	23	24
25	26	27	28	29	30	31

Next deadlineFriday, January 15, 2027

Application
Fall 2027 entry · Applicants studying or last studying at an overseas or U.S. school, college or university
Official deadline

Other deadline details

March 1Advanced Level supporting documentsFall 2027 entry

Applicants using the Advanced Level route
March 1

SourceChecked Nov 9, 2026

March 1International Baccalaureate supporting documentsFall 2027 entry

Applicants using the standalone IB Diploma route
March 1

SourceChecked Nov 9, 2026

April 1 to May 15Ontario mandatory grade self-reportingFall 2027 entry

Ontario high-school applicants in Canada
April 1 to May 15
Unless already admitted or refused in the first round, or exempt from self-reporting

SourceChecked Nov 9, 2026

May 4Ontario supporting documentsFall 2027 entry

Ontario high-school applicants in Canada
May 4
Upload items requested in the Applicant Portal
Grade self-reporting has a separate window

SourceChecked Nov 9, 2026

May 4Other Canadian high-school supporting documentsFall 2027 entry

Canadian high-school applicants in Canada outside Ontario and Quebec
May 4

SourceChecked Nov 9, 2026

March 1 to May 1Other Canadian mandatory grade self-reportingFall 2027 entry

Canadian high-school applicants in Canada outside Ontario and Quebec
March 1 to May 1

SourceChecked Nov 9, 2026

April 15Quebec supporting documentsFall 2027 entry

Quebec CEGEP, college and high-school applicants, where documents are requested
April 15

SourceChecked Nov 9, 2026

March 1U.S. supporting documentsFall 2027 entry

U.S. high-school applicants, where documents are requested
March 1

SourceChecked Nov 9, 2026

Requirements

Admission requirements

High-school prerequisites

ENG4U / FRA4UGrade 12 core English or French
MCV4UGrade 12 Calculus and Vectors
Two of Grade 12 Biology (SBI4U), Chemistry (SCH4U) or Physics (SPH4U)

Complete the Ontario Secondary School Diploma and six Grade 12 4U, DU or 4M courses. At least four and all prerequisites must be 4U or DU. McGill includes prerequisites in its Top 6 calculation.

Application steps

Entry terms · Fall

September 2027 first-year entry. This BSc group was not offered for January 2027.

Step 1Check the admission requirements
- Check the published entry route for your applicant category.
McGill Ontario high-school requirements and deadlinesMcGill Ontario high-school requirements and deadlines
Step 2Apply through McGill admissions
- Create your application and select this program.
McGill admissionsMcGill admissions
Step 3Ontario applicants: self-reported grades and transcript
- Ontario high school applicants in Canada normally self-report through the Applicant Portal and upload an unofficial transcript. Exceptions include Ontario schooling outside Canada, high school completed over five years ago and specified partial Canadian-school histories. The portal gives the applicable route.
McGill Ontario applicant documentationMcGill Ontario applicant documentation
Step 4English proficiency results when no exemption applies
- Applicants who have lived and attended school for at least four years in a country where English is the acknowledged primary language are exempt. Otherwise submit official accepted test results unless another published exemption applies.
McGill Ontario applicant English-proof conditionsMcGill Ontario applicant English-proof conditions
Step 5Check whether English proficiency evidence is required. Programme-specific extras, scholarship/financial-aid requests and extenuating circumstances have separate documentation.
- Complete this item using the university’s applicant instructions.
McGill Ontario high-school requirements and deadlinesMcGill Ontario high-school requirements and deadlines
Step 6The central page names Population & Global Health, Dietetics, Education, Global Engineering, Music, Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Religious Studies and Social Work as choices with extra requirements. This common review does not certify their separate checklists or imply a universal CASPer, French test, reference or personal statement.
- Complete this item using the university’s applicant instructions.
McGill Ontario high-school requirements and deadlinesMcGill Ontario high-school requirements and deadlines
Step 7Apply directly through McGill’s undergraduate application.
- Complete this item using the university’s applicant instructions.
McGill Ontario high-school requirements and deadlinesMcGill Ontario high-school requirements and deadlines
Step 8Choose Arts or the applicable Science group and pay the application fee.
- Complete this item using the university’s applicant instructions.
McGill Ontario high-school requirements and deadlinesMcGill Ontario high-school requirements and deadlines

Applicant pathways

Ontario school credential assessed within Canada

Ontario curriculum applicants attending a school in Canada; BA & Sc and Science degree groups

Obtain the OSSD before classes and present at least six 4U/DU/4M courses. At least four and every prerequisite must be 4U/DU; no more than two 4M courses count. A core 4U English/French course is required; second-language courses do not satisfy that core prerequisite.
The Top 6 calculation includes required subjects and excludes most applied courses. Science/mathematics prerequisites must be within five years. BA & Sc and Science degree groups require their exact language, Calculus and Vectors and two Biology/Chemistry/Physics subjects as specified separately; published competitive grades remain unchanged. An Ontario diploma from a school outside Canada follows a separate policy.

Ontario applicants also completing IB or AP

Ontario-curriculum applicants in Canada with additional IB Diploma, individual IB or AP examinations

Declare IB/AP study on the application. Assessment normally uses the Ontario Top 6 credential; any later advanced standing uses final IB/AP results. This is distinct from the full-IB applicant route and does not promise transfer credit.
Normally self-report all Grade 11/12 academic courses through the Applicant Portal and upload the grade report used. Exceptions include school completion more than five years ago, only one Canadian high-school year, certain Quebec/Ontario transitions, Ontario Grade 12 completed in Quebec, and fewer than ten academic Grade 11/12 courses. The official record controls discrepancies. Complete the personalized checklist; exact dates are not changed.

Physical, Earth, Math and Computer Sciences Ontario subjects and historical grades

Ontario high-school applicants in Canada

Complete Grade 12 core English or French. Second-language English or French does not satisfy this requirement.
Complete Grade 12 Calculus and Vectors and two of Grade 12 Biology, Chemistry or Physics. Math and science prerequisites must be completed within five years.
McGill’s Ontario admissions page reports Low 90s in the Top 6 and high 80s to low 90s in math and science as past admission guidance. McGill does not publish a guaranteed Fall 2027 cutoff.

Canadian high school outside Ontario and Quebec

Canadian high-school applicants completing school in Canada outside Ontario and Quebec

Complete a high-school diploma and present the top five academic Grade 12 courses. Include English or French according to the school’s language of instruction.
Include Grade 12 precalculus or calculus, and two of Grade 12 Biology, Chemistry or Physics.
McGill’s Canadian admissions page reports Low 90s in the Top 5 and high 80s to low 90s in math and science as past admission guidance. McGill does not publish a guaranteed Fall 2027 cutoff.

Full International Baccalaureate Diploma

Applicants assessed on the full IB Diploma

McGill reviews the full Diploma with the school transcript and predicted or final IB results.
Present mathematics and two of Biology, Chemistry or Physics at HL or SL, with at least one math or science at HL. SL Mathematics Applications and Interpretation does not satisfy the math prerequisite.
McGill’s IB admissions page reports 35–38 of 42 subject points and 5–6 in each required math or science with at least one 6, and 6 in SL Math AA if used as past admission guidance. McGill does not publish a guaranteed Fall 2027 cutoff.

U.S. high school

U.S. high-school applicants assessed on their U.S. diploma

Complete precalculus and two of Biology, Chemistry or Physics.
For Fall 2027, applicants to this degree may choose to exclude SAT and ACT results. Eligible U.S. high-school applicants studying in the U.S. self-report grades in the Applicant Portal.

Advanced Levels

Applicants assessed on Advanced Levels or equivalent

Present three different A-Levels including Mathematics and at least one of Biology, Chemistry or Physics. Present Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics at GCSE level.

University transfer

Applicants assessed on prior university study

Present one semester each of differential and integral calculus and two semesters of Biology, Chemistry and/or Physics with labs. McGill reviews both CGPA and math and science results.

Quebec CEGEP

Applicants completing a Quebec pre-university DEC

Current Science DEC prerequisites list Biology 0B01, Chemistry 0C01 and 0C02, Mathematics 0M02, 0M03 and 0M04, and Physics 0P01, 0P02 and 0P03.
Current Arts and Science DEC equivalents are Biology 7BL1, Chemistry 7CH1 and 7CH2, Mathematics 7MA1, 7MA2 and 7MA4, and Physics 7PH1, 7PH2 and 7PH3. Previous DECs have separate equivalent lists.
McGill can assign missing prerequisite courses after admission where its published exceptions apply.
McGill’s Quebec admissions page reports 28.0 overall and 28.0 core math and science as past admission guidance. McGill does not publish a guaranteed Fall 2027 cutoff.

Choosing a Science group

Applicants to the Faculty of Science

Select your Science program group in the McGill application. A second choice can use the same application fee for the same term and level. The two choices are assessed independently.
Changing groups requires an intra-faculty transfer after completing one full year at McGill.

Degree requirements

Credits and degree requirements

BSc degree: minimum 120 credits, including applicable advanced standing. The admission letter establishes the individual credit requirement.
Students entering with fewer than 24 credits of advanced standing begin at U0; qualifying Quebec CEGEP students normally receive 30 advanced-standing credits.

References

Foundation requirements

Earn at least 60 credits at McGill outside the Foundation math and science requirements, and complete at least two-thirds of each departmental program at McGill.

References

Grades and academic standing

Graduate with a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.00, or 3.00 for Honours unless the program sets a higher minimum.
Earn a grade of C or higher in required and complementary courses, including applicable Foundation courses.

References

Program facts

Entering averageNot researched

The admission average has not been researched for this program.

InternshipOptional Science Industrial Practicum or Internship Year in Science.

Check work experience options

Majors & specializations

Select the Physical, Earth, Math and Computer Science application group. Environment domains have their own course combinations; some also have routes in other degrees.

Applied Mathematics (Honours)

BSc

Study advanced mathematics and its applications.

Published requirements

Courses

Separate study choices within this entry program. Each course block belongs to its named choice; it is not required of every student in the degree.

Chemistry17 listed

Published required and complementary course choices for the 59-credit Chemistry Major (B.Sc.). This is a program within the degree, not the complete degree or a term-by-term timetable. Some requirements specify course levels or subjects rather than naming courses. 59 credits for this program; faculty-wide degree and foundation requirements apply separately.

CHEM 213Introductory Physical Chemistry 1: Thermodynamics3 credits
Thermodynamics. Topics include gas laws, kinetic theory of collisions, heat capacity, enthalpy, thermochemistry, bond energies, the entropy and free energy functions, absolute entropies, Maxwell relations and chemical and thermodynamic equilibrium states, phase rule and phase diagrams, ideal solutions, colligative properties, solubility, electrochemistry, Debye-Hückel Theory.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
CHEM 252Organic Chemistry 2 for Chemistry and Biochemistry4 credits
A fundamental study of aromatic and polar unsaturated functional groups including reaction mechanisms, multi-step synthesis, regioselectivity, and modern spectroscopic techniques for structure determination.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
CHEM 267Introductory Chemical Analysis3 credits
Qualitative and quantitative analysis. A survey of methods of analysis including theory and practice of semimicro qualitative analysis and representative gravimetric, volumetric and instrumental methods. The laboratory component includes introductory experiments in analytical chemistry emphasizing classical and instrumental methods of quantitative analysis.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
CHEM 273Introductory Physical Chemistry 2: Kinetics and Methods3 credits
Kinetics: Transition State Theory, complex reactions, free-radical reactions, chain reactions, catalysis, reactions at surfaces, ionic effects of reactions in solution, photochemistry. Methods: physical chemistry laboratory, differential equations and linear algebra applied to physical chemistry, computation methods for data analysis and modeling
MCGILL complete current official course definition
CHEM 281Inorganic Chemistry 13 credits
Basic concepts of electronic structure and molecular bonding will be developed and applied to the understanding of common materials. Acid-base chemistry. Survey of the chemistry of the main group elements. Introduction to coordination and organometallic chemistry.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
CHEM 302Introductory Organic Chemistry 33 credits
Topics covered may include the following: Aromatic compounds, heterocyclic chemistry, sulfur and phosphorus chemistry, organosulfur and organophosphorus compounds, and biomolecules such as lipids, carbohydrates, amino acids, polypeptides, DNA and RNA.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
CHEM 332Biological Chemistry3 credits
An introduction to biological chemistry. Topics will include chemistry and structure of proteins, nucleic acids, and lipids; protein and nucleic acid biosynthesis; enzyme kinetics and mechanisms; membranes and membrane transport; bioenergetics; redox reactions in biological chemistry; gene expression; cloning, RNA and antibody technologies; genomics and proteomics.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
CHEM 345Introduction to Quantum Chemistry3 credits
An introduction to quantum chemistry covering the historical development, wave theory, methods of quantum mechanics, and applications of quantum chemistry.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
CHEM 355Applications of Quantum Chemistry3 credits
A survey of the principles of electronic, vibrational and rotational spectroscopy. Magnetic resonance and computational methods.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
CHEM 365Statistical Thermodynamics2 credits
Molecular basis of thermodynamics with applications to ideal gases and simple solids. Topics to be covered will include: calculation of thermodynamic functions, chemical equilibrium constants, Einstein and Debye models of solids, absolute reaction rate theory, Debye-Hückel theory of strong electrolytes.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
CHEM 367Instrumental Analysis 13 credits
An introduction to modern instrumental analysis emphasizing chromatography, atomic spectroscopy and computational data analysis. Analytical methods to be examined in detail include gas-liquid and high performance liquid chromatography, LC mass spectrometry, and common methods of atomic determinations using flames/furnaces/plasma sources.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
CHEM 377Instrumental Analysis 23 credits
Spectroscopic methods of analysis will be studied with respect to fundamentals, operational aspects and instrument design. Topics will range from UV-visible to x-ray spectrometry. Methodologies will be evaluated with respect to their application in spectrometric systems. Laboratory automation will be studied and applied in the laboratory.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
CHEM 381Inorganic Chemistry 23 credits
Introduction to transition metal chemistry, coordination numbers and geometry, and nomenclature will be followed by a discussion of crystal field theory and its applications to problems in spectroscopy, magnetochemistry, thermodynamics and kinetics. Several aspects related to applications of organometallic compounds in catalysis and bioinorganic systems will be discussed.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
CHEM 392Experimental Chemistry 13 credits
Experiments related to the theoretical principles, synthetic techniques and instrumental methods used in modern experimental chemistry, including aspects of green chemistry and nanochemistry.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
CHEM 493Advanced Physical Chemistry Laboratory2 credits
Selected experiments to illustrate more advanced physico-chemical principles.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 222Calculus 33 credits
Taylor series, Taylor's theorem in one and several variables. Review of vector geometry. Partial differentiation, directional derivative. Extreme of functions of 2 or 3 variables. Parametric curves and arc length. Polar and spherical coordinates. Multiple integrals.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 242Electricity and Magnetism2 credits
Properties of electromagnetic fields, dipole and quadropole fields and their interactions, chemical binding of molecules, electromagnetic properties of materials, Maxwell's equations and properties of electromagnetic waves, propagation of waves in media.
MCGILL complete current official course definition

Chemistry - Bio-organic25 listed

Published required and complementary course choices for the 63-credit Chemistry - Bio-organic Major (B.Sc.). This is a program within the degree, not the complete degree or a term-by-term timetable. Some requirements specify course levels or subjects rather than naming courses. 63 credits for this program; faculty-wide degree and foundation requirements apply separately.

BIOL 200Molecular Biology3 credits
The physical and chemical properties of the cell and its components in relation to their structure and function. Topics include: protein structure, enzymes and enzyme kinetics; nucleic acid replication, transcription and translation; the genetic code, mutation, recombination, and regulation of gene expression.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 201Cell Biology and Metabolism3 credits
This course introduces the student to our modern understanding of cells and how they work. Major topics to be covered include: photosynthesis, energy metabolism and metabolic integration; plasma membrane including secretion, endocytosis and contact mediated interactions between cells; cytoskeleton including cell and organelle movement; the nervous system; hormone signaling; the cell cycle.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
CHEM 213Introductory Physical Chemistry 1: Thermodynamics3 credits
Thermodynamics. Topics include gas laws, kinetic theory of collisions, heat capacity, enthalpy, thermochemistry, bond energies, the entropy and free energy functions, absolute entropies, Maxwell relations and chemical and thermodynamic equilibrium states, phase rule and phase diagrams, ideal solutions, colligative properties, solubility, electrochemistry, Debye-Hückel Theory.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
CHEM 252Organic Chemistry 2 for Chemistry and Biochemistry4 credits
A fundamental study of aromatic and polar unsaturated functional groups including reaction mechanisms, multi-step synthesis, regioselectivity, and modern spectroscopic techniques for structure determination.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
CHEM 267Introductory Chemical Analysis3 credits
Qualitative and quantitative analysis. A survey of methods of analysis including theory and practice of semimicro qualitative analysis and representative gravimetric, volumetric and instrumental methods. The laboratory component includes introductory experiments in analytical chemistry emphasizing classical and instrumental methods of quantitative analysis.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
CHEM 273Introductory Physical Chemistry 2: Kinetics and Methods3 credits
Kinetics: Transition State Theory, complex reactions, free-radical reactions, chain reactions, catalysis, reactions at surfaces, ionic effects of reactions in solution, photochemistry. Methods: physical chemistry laboratory, differential equations and linear algebra applied to physical chemistry, computation methods for data analysis and modeling
MCGILL complete current official course definition
CHEM 281Inorganic Chemistry 13 credits
Basic concepts of electronic structure and molecular bonding will be developed and applied to the understanding of common materials. Acid-base chemistry. Survey of the chemistry of the main group elements. Introduction to coordination and organometallic chemistry.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
CHEM 302Introductory Organic Chemistry 33 credits
Topics covered may include the following: Aromatic compounds, heterocyclic chemistry, sulfur and phosphorus chemistry, organosulfur and organophosphorus compounds, and biomolecules such as lipids, carbohydrates, amino acids, polypeptides, DNA and RNA.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
CHEM 345Introduction to Quantum Chemistry3 credits
An introduction to quantum chemistry covering the historical development, wave theory, methods of quantum mechanics, and applications of quantum chemistry.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
CHEM 355Applications of Quantum Chemistry3 credits
A survey of the principles of electronic, vibrational and rotational spectroscopy. Magnetic resonance and computational methods.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
CHEM 367Instrumental Analysis 13 credits
An introduction to modern instrumental analysis emphasizing chromatography, atomic spectroscopy and computational data analysis. Analytical methods to be examined in detail include gas-liquid and high performance liquid chromatography, LC mass spectrometry, and common methods of atomic determinations using flames/furnaces/plasma sources.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
CHEM 377Instrumental Analysis 23 credits
Spectroscopic methods of analysis will be studied with respect to fundamentals, operational aspects and instrument design. Topics will range from UV-visible to x-ray spectrometry. Methodologies will be evaluated with respect to their application in spectrometric systems. Laboratory automation will be studied and applied in the laboratory.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
CHEM 381Inorganic Chemistry 23 credits
Introduction to transition metal chemistry, coordination numbers and geometry, and nomenclature will be followed by a discussion of crystal field theory and its applications to problems in spectroscopy, magnetochemistry, thermodynamics and kinetics. Several aspects related to applications of organometallic compounds in catalysis and bioinorganic systems will be discussed.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
CHEM 392Experimental Chemistry 13 credits
Experiments related to the theoretical principles, synthetic techniques and instrumental methods used in modern experimental chemistry, including aspects of green chemistry and nanochemistry.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
CHEM 493Advanced Physical Chemistry Laboratory2 credits
Selected experiments to illustrate more advanced physico-chemical principles.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
CHEM 502Advanced Bio-Organic Chemistry3 credits
This course will cover biologically relevant molecules, particularly nucleic acids, proteins, and their building blocks. In each case, synthesis and biological functions will be discussed. The topics include synthesis of oligonucleotides and peptides; chemistry of phosphates; enzyme structure and function; coenzymes, and enzyme catalysis; polyketides; antiviral and anticancer agents.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 222Calculus 33 credits
Taylor series, Taylor's theorem in one and several variables. Review of vector geometry. Partial differentiation, directional derivative. Extreme of functions of 2 or 3 variables. Parametric curves and arc length. Polar and spherical coordinates. Multiple integrals.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 242Electricity and Magnetism2 credits
Properties of electromagnetic fields, dipole and quadropole fields and their interactions, chemical binding of molecules, electromagnetic properties of materials, Maxwell's equations and properties of electromagnetic waves, propagation of waves in media.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 202Basic Genetics3 credits
Introduction to basic principles, and to modern advances, problems and applications in the genetics of higher and lower organisms with examples representative of the biological sciences.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 301Cell and Molecular Laboratory4 credits
An introduction to biology research and communication with a focus on cell and molecular biology. Through conducting a series of project-based experiments and writing a final report, molecular and synthetic biology techniques such as gene cloning, manipulation, protein isolation and characterization and how research is conducted, analyzed and communicated will be addressed. In addition, an introduction to bioinformatics methods and their role in analysis will be provided.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
CHEM 365Statistical Thermodynamics2 credits
Molecular basis of thermodynamics with applications to ideal gases and simple solids. Topics to be covered will include: calculation of thermodynamic functions, chemical equilibrium constants, Einstein and Debye models of solids, absolute reaction rate theory, Debye-Hückel theory of strong electrolytes.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 315Ordinary Differential Equations3 credits
First order ordinary differential equations including elementary numerical methods. Linear differential equations. Laplace transforms. Series solutions.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MIMM 211Introductory Microbiology3 credits
A general treatment of microbiology bearing specifically on the biological properties of microorganisms. Emphasis will be on procaryotic cells. Basic principles of microbial genetics are also introduced.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHGY 209Mammalian Physiology 13 credits
Physiology of body fluids, blood, body defense mechanisms, muscle, peripheral, central, and autonomic nervous systems.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHGY 210Mammalian Physiology 23 credits
Physiology of cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive, endocrine and renal systems.
MCGILL complete current official course definition

Computer Science18 listed

Published required and complementary course choices for the 63-credit Computer Science Major (B.Sc.). This is a program within the degree, not the complete degree or a term-by-term timetable. Some requirements specify course levels or subjects rather than naming courses. 63 credits for this program; faculty-wide degree and foundation requirements apply separately.

COMP 202Foundations of Programming3 credits
Introduction to computer programming in a high level language: variables, expressions, primitive types, methods, conditionals, loops. Introduction to algorithms, data structures (arrays, strings), modular software design, libraries, file input/output, debugging, exception handling. Selected topics.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 206Introduction to Software Systems3 credits
Comprehensive overview of programming in C, use of system calls and libraries, debugging and testing of code; use of developmental tools like make, version control systems.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 250Introduction to Computer Science3 credits
Object oriented programming in Java: classes and objects, interfaces, inheritance. Data structures and abstract data types: arrays, stacks, queues, linked lists, trees, binary trees,binary search trees, heaps, hash tables, graphs. Recursive and non-recursive algorithms and their asymptotic complexity: searching and sorting, tree and graph traversal. Mathematical tools: induction, recurrence relations.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 251Algorithms and Data Structures3 credits
Data Structures: priority queues, balanced binary search trees, hash tables, graphs. Algorithms: topological sort, connected components, shortest paths, minimum spanning trees, bipartite matching, network flows. Algorithm design: greedy, divide and conquer, dynamic programming, randomization. Mathematicaltools: proofs of asymptotic complexity and program correctness, Master theorem.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 273Introduction to Computer Systems3 credits
Number representations, combinational and sequential digital circuits, MIPS instructions and architecture datapath and control, caches, virtual memory, interrupts and exceptions, pipelining.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 302Programming Languages and Paradigms3 credits
Programming language design issues and programming paradigms. Binding and scoping, parameter passing, lambda abstraction, data abstraction, type checking. Functional and logic programming.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 303Software Design3 credits
Principles, mechanisms, techniques, and tools for object-oriented software design and its implementation, including encapsulation, design patterns, and unit testing.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 310Operating Systems3 credits
Control and scheduling of large information processing systems. Operating system software - resource allocation, dispatching, processors, access methods, job control languages, main storage management. Batch processing, multiprogramming, multiprocessing, time sharing.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 222Calculus 33 credits
Taylor series, Taylor's theorem in one and several variables. Review of vector geometry. Partial differentiation, directional derivative. Extreme of functions of 2 or 3 variables. Parametric curves and arc length. Polar and spherical coordinates. Multiple integrals.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 223Linear Algebra3 credits
Review of matrix algebra, determinants and systems of linear equations. Vector spaces, linear operators and their matrix representations, orthogonality. Eigenvalues and eigenvectors, diagonalization of Hermitian matrices. Applications.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 240Discrete Structures3 credits
Introduction to discrete mathematics and applications. Logical reasoning and methods of proof. Elementary number theory and cryptography: prime numbers, modular equations, RSA encryption. Combinatorics: basic enumeration, combinatorial methods, recurrence equations. Graph theory: trees, cycles, planar graphs.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 330Theory of Computation3 credits
Finite automata, regular languages, context-free languages, push-down automata, models of computation, computability theory, undecidability, reduction techniques.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 350Numerical Computing3 credits
Computer representation of numbers, IEEE Standard for Floating Point Representation, computer arithmetic and rounding errors. Numerical stability. Matrix computations and software systems. Polynomial interpolation. Least-squares approximation. Iterative methods for solving a nonlinear equation. Discretization methods for integration and differential equations.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 360Algorithm Design3 credits
Advanced algorithm design and analysis. Linear programming, complexity and NP-completeness, advanced algorithmic techniques.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 318Mathematical Logic3 credits
Propositional logic: truth-tables, formal proof systems, completeness and compactness theorems, Boolean algebras; first-order logic: formal proofs, Gödel's completeness theorem; axiomatic theories; set theory; Cantor's theorem, axiom of choice and Zorn's lemma, Peano arithmetic; Gödel's incompleteness theorem.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 323Probability3 credits
Sample space, events, conditional probability, independence of events, Bayes' Theorem. Basic combinatorial probability, random variables, discrete and continuous univariate and multivariate distributions. Independence of random variables. Inequalities, weak law of large numbers, central limit theorem.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 324Statistics3 credits
Sampling distributions, including Normal, Chi-squared, Student’s t, and F distributions. Sampling properties of the sample mean and variance. Point estimation: bias, variance, mean squared error, consistency, sufficiency, UMVUE. Method of moments and maximum likelihood estimation. One- and two-sample inference. Confidence intervals and sample size determination. Hypothesis testing, Type 1 and Type 2 errors, power, and p-values. The Neyman Pearson framework and likelihood ratio tests. Linear models used as illustrative examples, linking them to topics in estimation and hypothesis testing. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and contingency tables.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 340Discrete Mathematics3 credits
Discrete Mathematics and applications. Graph Theory: matchings, planarity, and colouring. Discrete probability. Combinatorics: enumeration, combinatorial techniques and proofs.
MCGILL complete current official course definition

Computer Science - Artificial Intelligence36 listed

Published required and complementary course choices for the 63-credit Computer Science - Artificial Intelligence Major (B.Sc.). This is a program within the degree, not the complete degree or a term-by-term timetable. Some requirements specify course levels or subjects rather than naming courses. 63 credits for this program; faculty-wide degree and foundation requirements apply separately.

COMP 202Foundations of Programming3 credits
Introduction to computer programming in a high level language: variables, expressions, primitive types, methods, conditionals, loops. Introduction to algorithms, data structures (arrays, strings), modular software design, libraries, file input/output, debugging, exception handling. Selected topics.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 206Introduction to Software Systems3 credits
Comprehensive overview of programming in C, use of system calls and libraries, debugging and testing of code; use of developmental tools like make, version control systems.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 250Introduction to Computer Science3 credits
Object oriented programming in Java: classes and objects, interfaces, inheritance. Data structures and abstract data types: arrays, stacks, queues, linked lists, trees, binary trees,binary search trees, heaps, hash tables, graphs. Recursive and non-recursive algorithms and their asymptotic complexity: searching and sorting, tree and graph traversal. Mathematical tools: induction, recurrence relations.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 251Algorithms and Data Structures3 credits
Data Structures: priority queues, balanced binary search trees, hash tables, graphs. Algorithms: topological sort, connected components, shortest paths, minimum spanning trees, bipartite matching, network flows. Algorithm design: greedy, divide and conquer, dynamic programming, randomization. Mathematicaltools: proofs of asymptotic complexity and program correctness, Master theorem.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 273Introduction to Computer Systems3 credits
Number representations, combinational and sequential digital circuits, MIPS instructions and architecture datapath and control, caches, virtual memory, interrupts and exceptions, pipelining.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 302Programming Languages and Paradigms3 credits
Programming language design issues and programming paradigms. Binding and scoping, parameter passing, lambda abstraction, data abstraction, type checking. Functional and logic programming.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 303Software Design3 credits
Principles, mechanisms, techniques, and tools for object-oriented software design and its implementation, including encapsulation, design patterns, and unit testing.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 424Artificial Intelligence3 credits
Introduction to search methods. Knowledge representation using logic and probability. Planning and decision making under uncertainty. Introduction to machine learning.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 222Calculus 33 credits
Taylor series, Taylor's theorem in one and several variables. Review of vector geometry. Partial differentiation, directional derivative. Extreme of functions of 2 or 3 variables. Parametric curves and arc length. Polar and spherical coordinates. Multiple integrals.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 223Linear Algebra3 credits
Review of matrix algebra, determinants and systems of linear equations. Vector spaces, linear operators and their matrix representations, orthogonality. Eigenvalues and eigenvectors, diagonalization of Hermitian matrices. Applications.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 240Discrete Structures3 credits
Introduction to discrete mathematics and applications. Logical reasoning and methods of proof. Elementary number theory and cryptography: prime numbers, modular equations, RSA encryption. Combinatorics: basic enumeration, combinatorial methods, recurrence equations. Graph theory: trees, cycles, planar graphs.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 323Probability3 credits
Sample space, events, conditional probability, independence of events, Bayes' Theorem. Basic combinatorial probability, random variables, discrete and continuous univariate and multivariate distributions. Independence of random variables. Inequalities, weak law of large numbers, central limit theorem.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 324Statistics3 credits
Sampling distributions, including Normal, Chi-squared, Student’s t, and F distributions. Sampling properties of the sample mean and variance. Point estimation: bias, variance, mean squared error, consistency, sufficiency, UMVUE. Method of moments and maximum likelihood estimation. One- and two-sample inference. Confidence intervals and sample size determination. Hypothesis testing, Type 1 and Type 2 errors, power, and p-values. The Neyman Pearson framework and likelihood ratio tests. Linear models used as illustrative examples, linking them to topics in estimation and hypothesis testing. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and contingency tables.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 330Theory of Computation3 credits
Finite automata, regular languages, context-free languages, push-down automata, models of computation, computability theory, undecidability, reduction techniques.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 350Numerical Computing3 credits
Computer representation of numbers, IEEE Standard for Floating Point Representation, computer arithmetic and rounding errors. Numerical stability. Matrix computations and software systems. Polynomial interpolation. Least-squares approximation. Iterative methods for solving a nonlinear equation. Discretization methods for integration and differential equations.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 360Algorithm Design3 credits
Advanced algorithm design and analysis. Linear programming, complexity and NP-completeness, advanced algorithmic techniques.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 310Operating Systems3 credits
Control and scheduling of large information processing systems. Operating system software - resource allocation, dispatching, processors, access methods, job control languages, main storage management. Batch processing, multiprogramming, multiprocessing, time sharing.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 421Database Systems3 credits
Database Design: conceptual design of databases (e.g., entity-relationship model), relational data model, functional dependencies. Database Manipulation: relational algebra, SQL, database application programming, triggers, access control. Database Implementation: transactions, concurrency control, recovery, query execution and query optimization.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 451Fundamentals of Machine Learning3 credits
Introduction to the computational, statistical and mathematical foundations of machine learning. Algorithms for both supervised learning and unsupervised learning. Maximum likelihood estimation, neural networks, and regularization.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 551Applied Machine Learning4 credits
Selected topics in machine learning and data mining, including clustering, neural networks, support vector machines, decision trees. Methods include feature selection and dimensionality reduction, error estimation and empirical validation, algorithm design and parallelization, and handling of large data sets. Emphasis on good methods and practices for deployment of real systems.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 345From Natural Language to Data Science3 credits
Introduction to language data science, including theoretical approaches and practical skills. Processing, searching, and querying text data; making sense of large corpora; modelling and interpreting psycholinguistic and historical language data; building models of sequences of words; computing similarity between languages; information retrieval and extraction; question answering; and ethics.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 370Introduction to Data Science3 credits
Comprehensive introduction to the data science process. Orientation to the use and configuration of core data science toolkits, data collection and annotation fundamentals, principles of responsible data science, the use of quantitative tools in data science, and presentation of data science findings.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 417Introduction Robotics and Intelligent Systems3 credits
This course considers issues relevant to the design of robotic and of intelligent systems. How can robots move and interact. Robotic hardware systems. Kinematics and inverse kinematics. Sensors, sensor data interpretation and sensor fusion. Path planning. Configuration spaces. Position estimation. Intelligent systems. Spatial mapping. Multi-agent systems. Applications.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 445Computational Linguistics3 credits
Introduction to foundational ideas in computational linguistics and natural language processing. Topics include formal language theory, probability theory, estimation and inference, and recursively defined models of language structure. Emphasis on both the mathematical foundations of the field as well as how to use these tools to understand human language.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 511Network Science4 credits
Selected topics in Network Science, Graph Mining and Graph Learning, including patterns in real world networks, ranking and similarity measures for graphs, graph clustering and community mining techniques, and node classification and link prediction methods.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 514Applied Robotics4 credits
The approach and the challenges in the key components of manipulators and locomotors: representations, kinematics, dynamics, rigid-body chains, redundant systems, under-actuated systems, control, planning, and perception. Practical aspects of robotics: collisions, integrating sensory feedback, and real-time software development.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 545Natural Language Understanding with Deep Learning 4 credits
Neural network-based methods for natural language understanding (NLU) and computational semantics. Continuous representations for words, phrases, sentences, and discourse, and their connection to formal semantics. Practical and ethical considerations in applications such as text classification, question answering, and conversational assistants.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 549Brain-Inspired Artificial Intelligence3 credits
Overview of the influence of neuroscience and psychology on Artificial Intelligence (AI). Historical topics: perceptrons, the PDP framework, Hopfield nets, Boltzmann and Helmholtz machines, and the behaviourist origins of reinforcement learning. Modern topics: deep learning, attention, memory and consciousness. Emphasis on understanding the interdisciplinary foundations of modern AI.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 550Natural Language Processing3 credits
An introduction to the computational modelling of natural language, including algorithms, formalisms, and applications. Computational morphology, language modelling, syntactic parsing, lexical and compositional semantics, and discourse analysis. Selected applications such as automatic summarization, machine translation, and speech processing. Machine learning techniques for natural language processing.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 558Fundamentals of Computer Vision4 credits
Image filtering, edge detection, image features and histograms, image segmentation, image motion and tracking, projective geometry, camera calibration, homographies, epipolar geometry and stereo, point clouds and 3D registration. Applications in computer graphics and robotics.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 562Theory of Machine Learning4 credits
Concentration inequalities, PAC model, VC dimension, Rademacher complexity, convex optimization, gradient descent, boosting, kernels, support vector machines, regression and learning bounds. Further topics selected from: Gaussian processes, online learning, regret bounds, basic neural network theory.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 565Machine Learning in Genomics and Healthcare4 credits
Linear models in statistical genetics, causal inference, single-cell genomics, multi-omic learning, electronic health record mining. Applications of machine learning techniques: linear regression, latent factor models, variational Bayesian inference, neural networks, model interpretation.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 579Reinforcement Learning4 credits
Bandit algorithms, finite Markov decision processes, dynamic programming, Monte-Carlo Methods, temporal-difference learning, bootstrapping, planning, approximation methods, on versus off policy learning, policy gradient methods temporal abstraction and inverse reinforcement learning.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 585Intelligent Software Systems 4 credits
ECSE 552Deep Learning4 credits
Overview of mathematical background and basics of machine learning, deep feedforward networks, regularization for deep learning, optimization for training deep learning models, convolutional neural networks, recurrent and recursive neural networks, practical considerations,applications of deep learning, recent models and architectures in deep learning.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ECSE 557Introduction to Ethics of Intelligent Systems3 credits
Ethics and social issues related to AI and robotic systems. Consideration for normative values (e.g., fairness) in the design. Ethics principles, data and privacy issues, ethics challenges in interaction and interface design.
MCGILL complete current official course definition

Computer Science - Computer Games29 listed

Published required and complementary course choices for the 65-credit Computer Science - Computer Games Major (B.Sc.). This is a program within the degree, not the complete degree or a term-by-term timetable. Some requirements specify course levels or subjects rather than naming courses. 65 credits for this program; faculty-wide degree and foundation requirements apply separately.

COMP 202Foundations of Programming3 credits
Introduction to computer programming in a high level language: variables, expressions, primitive types, methods, conditionals, loops. Introduction to algorithms, data structures (arrays, strings), modular software design, libraries, file input/output, debugging, exception handling. Selected topics.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 206Introduction to Software Systems3 credits
Comprehensive overview of programming in C, use of system calls and libraries, debugging and testing of code; use of developmental tools like make, version control systems.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 250Introduction to Computer Science3 credits
Object oriented programming in Java: classes and objects, interfaces, inheritance. Data structures and abstract data types: arrays, stacks, queues, linked lists, trees, binary trees,binary search trees, heaps, hash tables, graphs. Recursive and non-recursive algorithms and their asymptotic complexity: searching and sorting, tree and graph traversal. Mathematical tools: induction, recurrence relations.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 251Algorithms and Data Structures3 credits
Data Structures: priority queues, balanced binary search trees, hash tables, graphs. Algorithms: topological sort, connected components, shortest paths, minimum spanning trees, bipartite matching, network flows. Algorithm design: greedy, divide and conquer, dynamic programming, randomization. Mathematicaltools: proofs of asymptotic complexity and program correctness, Master theorem.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 273Introduction to Computer Systems3 credits
Number representations, combinational and sequential digital circuits, MIPS instructions and architecture datapath and control, caches, virtual memory, interrupts and exceptions, pipelining.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 302Programming Languages and Paradigms3 credits
Programming language design issues and programming paradigms. Binding and scoping, parameter passing, lambda abstraction, data abstraction, type checking. Functional and logic programming.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 303Software Design3 credits
Principles, mechanisms, techniques, and tools for object-oriented software design and its implementation, including encapsulation, design patterns, and unit testing.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 310Operating Systems3 credits
Control and scheduling of large information processing systems. Operating system software - resource allocation, dispatching, processors, access methods, job control languages, main storage management. Batch processing, multiprogramming, multiprocessing, time sharing.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 322Introduction to C++1 credits
Basics and advanced features of the C++ language. Syntax, memory management, class structure, method and operator overloading, multiple inheritance, access control, stream I/O, templates, exception handling.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 330Theory of Computation3 credits
Finite automata, regular languages, context-free languages, push-down automata, models of computation, computability theory, undecidability, reduction techniques.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 361D1Software Engineering Project3 credits
Software development process in practice: requirement elicitation and analysis, software design, implementation, integration, test planning, and maintenance. Application of the core concepts and techniques through the realization of a large software system.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 361D2Software Engineering Project3 credits
See COMP 361D1 for course description.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 557Fundamentals of Computer Graphics4 credits
Fundamental mathematical, algorithmic and representational issues in computer graphics: overview of graphics pipeline, homogeneous coordinates, projective transformations, line-drawing and rasterization, hidden surface removal, surface modelling (quadrics, bicubics, meshes), rendering (lighting, reflectance models, ray tracing, texture mapping), compositing colour perception, and other selected topics.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 222Calculus 33 credits
Taylor series, Taylor's theorem in one and several variables. Review of vector geometry. Partial differentiation, directional derivative. Extreme of functions of 2 or 3 variables. Parametric curves and arc length. Polar and spherical coordinates. Multiple integrals.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 223Linear Algebra3 credits
Review of matrix algebra, determinants and systems of linear equations. Vector spaces, linear operators and their matrix representations, orthogonality. Eigenvalues and eigenvectors, diagonalization of Hermitian matrices. Applications.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 240Discrete Structures3 credits
Introduction to discrete mathematics and applications. Logical reasoning and methods of proof. Elementary number theory and cryptography: prime numbers, modular equations, RSA encryption. Combinatorics: basic enumeration, combinatorial methods, recurrence equations. Graph theory: trees, cycles, planar graphs.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 323Probability3 credits
Sample space, events, conditional probability, independence of events, Bayes' Theorem. Basic combinatorial probability, random variables, discrete and continuous univariate and multivariate distributions. Independence of random variables. Inequalities, weak law of large numbers, central limit theorem.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 350Numerical Computing3 credits
Computer representation of numbers, IEEE Standard for Floating Point Representation, computer arithmetic and rounding errors. Numerical stability. Matrix computations and software systems. Polynomial interpolation. Least-squares approximation. Iterative methods for solving a nonlinear equation. Discretization methods for integration and differential equations.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 360Algorithm Design3 credits
Advanced algorithm design and analysis. Linear programming, complexity and NP-completeness, advanced algorithmic techniques.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 308Computer Systems Lab1 credits
Digital circuitry and programming interface of peripheral circuit boards (cards), e.g., graphics cards; introduction to tools and libraries that interact with the card; performance issues.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 424Artificial Intelligence3 credits
Introduction to search methods. Knowledge representation using logic and probability. Planning and decision making under uncertainty. Introduction to machine learning.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 521Modern Computer Games4 credits
Genre and history of games, basic game design, storytelling and narrative analysis, game engines, design of virtual worlds, real-time 2D graphics, game physics and physical simulation, pathfinding and game AI, content generation, 3D game concerns, multiplayer and distributed games, social issues.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 529Software Architecture4 credits
Development, analysis, and maintenance of software architectures, with special focus on modular decomposition and reverse engineering.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 533Model-Driven Software Development3 credits
Model-driven software development; requirements engineering based on use cases and scenarios; object-oriented modelling using UML and OCL to establish complete and precise analysis and design documents; mapping to Java. Introduction to meta-modelling and model transformations, use of modelling tools.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 551Applied Machine Learning4 credits
Selected topics in machine learning and data mining, including clustering, neural networks, support vector machines, decision trees. Methods include feature selection and dimensionality reduction, error estimation and empirical validation, algorithm design and parallelization, and handling of large data sets. Emphasis on good methods and practices for deployment of real systems.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 559Fundamentals of Computer Animation4 credits
Fundamental mathematical and computational issues in computer animation with a focus on physics based simulation: overview of numerical integration methods, accuracy and absolute stability, stiff systems and constraints, rigid body motion, collision detection and response, friction, deformation, stable fluid simulation, use of motion capture, and other selected topics.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 409Concurrent Programming3 credits
Characteristics and utility of concurrent programs; formal methods for specification, verification and development of concurrent programs; communications, synchronization, resource allocation and management, coherency and integrity.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 421Database Systems3 credits
Database Design: conceptual design of databases (e.g., entity-relationship model), relational data model, functional dependencies. Database Manipulation: relational algebra, SQL, database application programming, triggers, access control. Database Implementation: transactions, concurrency control, recovery, query execution and query optimization.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 535Computer Networks 14 credits
Fundamental design principles, elements, and protocols of computer networks, focusing on the current Internet. Topics include: layered architecture, direct link networks, switching and forwarding, bridge routing, congestion control, end-to-end protocols application of DNS, HTTP, P2P, fair queuing, performance modeling and analysis.
MCGILL complete current official course definition

Software Engineering41 listed

Published required and complementary course choices for the 63-credit Software Engineering Major (B.Sc.). This is a program within the degree, not the complete degree or a term-by-term timetable. Some requirements specify course levels or subjects rather than naming courses. 63 credits for this program; faculty-wide degree and foundation requirements apply separately.

COMP 202Foundations of Programming3 credits
Introduction to computer programming in a high level language: variables, expressions, primitive types, methods, conditionals, loops. Introduction to algorithms, data structures (arrays, strings), modular software design, libraries, file input/output, debugging, exception handling. Selected topics.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 206Introduction to Software Systems3 credits
Comprehensive overview of programming in C, use of system calls and libraries, debugging and testing of code; use of developmental tools like make, version control systems.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 250Introduction to Computer Science3 credits
Object oriented programming in Java: classes and objects, interfaces, inheritance. Data structures and abstract data types: arrays, stacks, queues, linked lists, trees, binary trees,binary search trees, heaps, hash tables, graphs. Recursive and non-recursive algorithms and their asymptotic complexity: searching and sorting, tree and graph traversal. Mathematical tools: induction, recurrence relations.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 251Algorithms and Data Structures3 credits
Data Structures: priority queues, balanced binary search trees, hash tables, graphs. Algorithms: topological sort, connected components, shortest paths, minimum spanning trees, bipartite matching, network flows. Algorithm design: greedy, divide and conquer, dynamic programming, randomization. Mathematicaltools: proofs of asymptotic complexity and program correctness, Master theorem.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 273Introduction to Computer Systems3 credits
Number representations, combinational and sequential digital circuits, MIPS instructions and architecture datapath and control, caches, virtual memory, interrupts and exceptions, pipelining.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 302Programming Languages and Paradigms3 credits
Programming language design issues and programming paradigms. Binding and scoping, parameter passing, lambda abstraction, data abstraction, type checking. Functional and logic programming.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 303Software Design3 credits
Principles, mechanisms, techniques, and tools for object-oriented software design and its implementation, including encapsulation, design patterns, and unit testing.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 310Operating Systems3 credits
Control and scheduling of large information processing systems. Operating system software - resource allocation, dispatching, processors, access methods, job control languages, main storage management. Batch processing, multiprogramming, multiprocessing, time sharing.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 361D1Software Engineering Project3 credits
Software development process in practice: requirement elicitation and analysis, software design, implementation, integration, test planning, and maintenance. Application of the core concepts and techniques through the realization of a large software system.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 361D2Software Engineering Project3 credits
See COMP 361D1 for course description.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ECSE 429Software Validation3 credits
Correct and complete implementation of software requirements. Verification and validation lifecycle. Requirements analysis, model based analysis, and design analysis. Unit and system testing, performance, risk management, software reuse. Ubiquitous computing.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 223Linear Algebra3 credits
Review of matrix algebra, determinants and systems of linear equations. Vector spaces, linear operators and their matrix representations, orthogonality. Eigenvalues and eigenvectors, diagonalization of Hermitian matrices. Applications.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 240Discrete Structures3 credits
Introduction to discrete mathematics and applications. Logical reasoning and methods of proof. Elementary number theory and cryptography: prime numbers, modular equations, RSA encryption. Combinatorics: basic enumeration, combinatorial methods, recurrence equations. Graph theory: trees, cycles, planar graphs.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 222Calculus 33 credits
Taylor series, Taylor's theorem in one and several variables. Review of vector geometry. Partial differentiation, directional derivative. Extreme of functions of 2 or 3 variables. Parametric curves and arc length. Polar and spherical coordinates. Multiple integrals.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 323Probability3 credits
Sample space, events, conditional probability, independence of events, Bayes' Theorem. Basic combinatorial probability, random variables, discrete and continuous univariate and multivariate distributions. Independence of random variables. Inequalities, weak law of large numbers, central limit theorem.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 324Statistics3 credits
Sampling distributions, including Normal, Chi-squared, Student’s t, and F distributions. Sampling properties of the sample mean and variance. Point estimation: bias, variance, mean squared error, consistency, sufficiency, UMVUE. Method of moments and maximum likelihood estimation. One- and two-sample inference. Confidence intervals and sample size determination. Hypothesis testing, Type 1 and Type 2 errors, power, and p-values. The Neyman Pearson framework and likelihood ratio tests. Linear models used as illustrative examples, linking them to topics in estimation and hypothesis testing. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and contingency tables.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 330Theory of Computation3 credits
Finite automata, regular languages, context-free languages, push-down automata, models of computation, computability theory, undecidability, reduction techniques.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 360Algorithm Design3 credits
Advanced algorithm design and analysis. Linear programming, complexity and NP-completeness, advanced algorithmic techniques.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 409Concurrent Programming3 credits
Characteristics and utility of concurrent programs; formal methods for specification, verification and development of concurrent programs; communications, synchronization, resource allocation and management, coherency and integrity.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 523Language-based Security3 credits
State-of-the-art language-based techniques for enforcing security policies in distributed computing environments. Static techniques (such as type- and proof-checking technology), verification of security policies and applications such as proof-carrying code, certifying compilers, and proof-carrying authentication.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 525Formal Verification3 credits
Propositional logic - syntax and semantics, temporal logic, other modal logics, model checking, symbolic model checking, binary decision diagrams, other approaches to formal verification.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 529Software Architecture4 credits
Development, analysis, and maintenance of software architectures, with special focus on modular decomposition and reverse engineering.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 533Model-Driven Software Development3 credits
Model-driven software development; requirements engineering based on use cases and scenarios; object-oriented modelling using UML and OCL to establish complete and precise analysis and design documents; mapping to Java. Introduction to meta-modelling and model transformations, use of modelling tools.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 555Information Privacy4 credits
Conceptual foundations of information privacy: security and cryptography, privacy by design, privacy threats. Technical controls for supporting privacy: authorization, authentication, access control, malware and intrusion detection. Application-specific privacy concerns of databases, web and mobile applications, cloud storage.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ECSE 326Software Requirements Engineering3 credits
Techniques for eliciting requirements; languages and models for specification of requirements; analysis and validation techniques, including feature-based, goal-based, and scenario-based analysis; quality requirements; requirements traceability and management; handling evolution of requirements; requirements documentation standards; requirements in the context of system engineering; integration of requirements engineering into software engineering processes.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ECSE 420Parallel Computing3 credits
Modern parallel computing architectures for shared memory, message passing and data parallel programming models. The design of cache coherent shared memory multiprocessors. Programming techniques for multithreaded, message passing and distributed systems. Use of modern programming languages and parallel programming libraries.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ECSE 424Human-Computer Interaction3 credits
The course highlights human-computer interaction strategies from an engineering perspective. Topics include user interfaces, novel paradigms in human-computer interaction, affordances, ecological interface design, ubiquitous computing and computer-supported cooperative work. Attention will be paid to issues of safety, usability, and performance.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ECSE 437Software Delivery3 credits
Design, development, and implementation of code integration processes, release pipelines, and deployment strategies.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ECSE 539Advanced Software Language Engineering4 credits
Practical and theoretical knowledge for developing software languages and models; foundations for model-based software development; topics include principles of model-driven engineering; concern-driven development; intentional, structural, and behavioral models as well as configuration models; constraints; language engineering; domain-specific languages; metamodelling; model transformations; models of computation; model analyses; and modeling tools.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 350Numerical Computing3 credits
Computer representation of numbers, IEEE Standard for Floating Point Representation, computer arithmetic and rounding errors. Numerical stability. Matrix computations and software systems. Polynomial interpolation. Least-squares approximation. Iterative methods for solving a nonlinear equation. Discretization methods for integration and differential equations.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 417Introduction Robotics and Intelligent Systems3 credits
This course considers issues relevant to the design of robotic and of intelligent systems. How can robots move and interact. Robotic hardware systems. Kinematics and inverse kinematics. Sensors, sensor data interpretation and sensor fusion. Path planning. Configuration spaces. Position estimation. Intelligent systems. Spatial mapping. Multi-agent systems. Applications.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 421Database Systems3 credits
Database Design: conceptual design of databases (e.g., entity-relationship model), relational data model, functional dependencies. Database Manipulation: relational algebra, SQL, database application programming, triggers, access control. Database Implementation: transactions, concurrency control, recovery, query execution and query optimization.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 424Artificial Intelligence3 credits
Introduction to search methods. Knowledge representation using logic and probability. Planning and decision making under uncertainty. Introduction to machine learning.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 512Distributed Systems4 credits
Models and Architectures. Application-oriented communication paradigms (e.g. remote method invocation, group communication). Naming services. Synchronization (e.g. mutual exclusion, concurrency control). Fault-tolerance (e.g. process and replication, agreement protocols). Distributed file systems. Security. Examples of distributed systems (e.g. Web, CORBA). Advanced Topics.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 520Compiler Design4 credits
The structure of a compiler. Lexical analysis. Parsing techniques. Syntax directed translation. Run-time implementation of various programming language constructs. Introduction to code generation for an idealized machine. Students will implement parts of a compiler.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 521Modern Computer Games4 credits
Genre and history of games, basic game design, storytelling and narrative analysis, game engines, design of virtual worlds, real-time 2D graphics, game physics and physical simulation, pathfinding and game AI, content generation, 3D game concerns, multiplayer and distributed games, social issues.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 535Computer Networks 14 credits
Fundamental design principles, elements, and protocols of computer networks, focusing on the current Internet. Topics include: layered architecture, direct link networks, switching and forwarding, bridge routing, congestion control, end-to-end protocols application of DNS, HTTP, P2P, fair queuing, performance modeling and analysis.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 551Applied Machine Learning4 credits
Selected topics in machine learning and data mining, including clustering, neural networks, support vector machines, decision trees. Methods include feature selection and dimensionality reduction, error estimation and empirical validation, algorithm design and parallelization, and handling of large data sets. Emphasis on good methods and practices for deployment of real systems.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 557Fundamentals of Computer Graphics4 credits
Fundamental mathematical, algorithmic and representational issues in computer graphics: overview of graphics pipeline, homogeneous coordinates, projective transformations, line-drawing and rasterization, hidden surface removal, surface modelling (quadrics, bicubics, meshes), rendering (lighting, reflectance models, ray tracing, texture mapping), compositing colour perception, and other selected topics.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 558Fundamentals of Computer Vision4 credits
Image filtering, edge detection, image features and histograms, image segmentation, image motion and tracking, projective geometry, camera calibration, homographies, epipolar geometry and stereo, point clouds and 3D registration. Applications in computer graphics and robotics.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 585Intelligent Software Systems 4 credits

Mathematics70 listed

Published required and complementary course choices for the 76-credit Mathematics Major (B.Sc.). This is a program within the degree, not the complete degree or a term-by-term timetable. Some requirements specify course levels or subjects rather than naming courses. 76 credits for this program; faculty-wide degree and foundation requirements apply separately.

BIOL 219Introduction to Physical Molecular and Cell Biology4 credits
An introduction to molecular and cell biology from a physical perspective. Techniques and methodologies, both experimental and computational, are included in the presentation of each thematic module.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 301Cell and Molecular Laboratory4 credits
An introduction to biology research and communication with a focus on cell and molecular biology. Through conducting a series of project-based experiments and writing a final report, molecular and synthetic biology techniques such as gene cloning, manipulation, protein isolation and characterization and how research is conducted, analyzed and communicated will be addressed. In addition, an introduction to bioinformatics methods and their role in analysis will be provided.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 395Quantitative Biology Seminar1 credits
Overview of concepts and current research in quantitative biology; theoretical ecology and evolution, computational biology, and physical biology.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
CHEM 212Introductory Organic Chemistry 14 credits
A fundamental study of aliphatic compounds and saturated functional groups including modern concepts of bonding, reaction mechanisms, conformational analysis, spectroscopy, and stereochemistry.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 202Foundations of Programming3 credits
Introduction to computer programming in a high level language: variables, expressions, primitive types, methods, conditionals, loops. Introduction to algorithms, data structures (arrays, strings), modular software design, libraries, file input/output, debugging, exception handling. Selected topics.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 204Computer Programming for Life Sciences3 credits
Computer Science (Sci): Computer programming in a high level language: variables, expressions, types, functions, conditionals, loops, objects and classes. Introduction to algorithms, modular software design, libraries, file input/output, debugging. Emphasis on applications in the life sciences.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 222Calculus 33 credits
Taylor series, Taylor's theorem in one and several variables. Review of vector geometry. Partial differentiation, directional derivative. Extreme of functions of 2 or 3 variables. Parametric curves and arc length. Polar and spherical coordinates. Multiple integrals.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 223Linear Algebra3 credits
Review of matrix algebra, determinants and systems of linear equations. Vector spaces, linear operators and their matrix representations, orthogonality. Eigenvalues and eigenvectors, diagonalization of Hermitian matrices. Applications.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 247Honours Applied Linear Algebra3 credits
Matrix algebra, determinants, systems of linear equations. Abstract vector spaces, inner product spaces, Fourier series. Linear transformations and their matrix representations. Eigenvalues and eigenvectors, diagonalizable and defective matrices, positive definite and semidefinite matrices. Quadratic and Hermitian forms, generalized eigenvalue problems, simultaneous reduction of quadratic forms. Applications.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 315Ordinary Differential Equations3 credits
First order ordinary differential equations including elementary numerical methods. Linear differential equations. Laplace transforms. Series solutions.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 323Probability3 credits
Sample space, events, conditional probability, independence of events, Bayes' Theorem. Basic combinatorial probability, random variables, discrete and continuous univariate and multivariate distributions. Independence of random variables. Inequalities, weak law of large numbers, central limit theorem.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 215Introduction to Ecology and Evolution3 credits
An introduction to the fundamental processes of ecology and evolution that bear on the nature and diversity of organisms and the processes that govern their assembly into ecological communities and their roles in ecosystem function.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 242Analysis 13 credits
A rigorous presentation of sequences and of real numbers and basic properties of continuous and differentiable functions on the real line.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 243Analysis 23 credits
Definition and properties of Riemann integral, Fundamental Theorem of Calculus, Taylor's theorem. Infinite series: alternating, telescoping series, rearrangements, conditional and absolute convergence, convergence tests. Power series and Taylor series. Elementary functions. Introduction to metric spaces.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 466Independent Research Project 13 credits
Independent research project.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 467Independent Research Project 23 credits
Independent research project.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 468Independent Research Project 36 credits
Independent research project.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 410Majors Project3 credits
A supervised project.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 314Advanced Calculus3 credits
Derivative as a matrix. Chain rule. Implicit functions. Constrained maxima and minima. Jacobians. Multiple integration. Line and surface integrals. Theorems of Green, Stokes and Gauss. Fourier series with applications.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 317Numerical Analysis3 credits
Error analysis. Numerical solutions of equations by iteration. Interpolation. Numerical differentiation and integration. Introduction to numerical solutions of differential equations.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 319Partial Differential Equations 3 credits
MATH 326Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos3 credits
Linear systems of differential equations, linear stability theory. Nonlinear systems: existence and uniqueness, numerical methods, one and two dimensional flows, phase space, limit cycles, Poincare-Bendixson theorem, bifurcations, Hopf bifurcation, the Lorenz equations and chaos.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 208Introduction to Statistical Computing3 credits
Basic data management. Data visualization. Exploratory data analysis and descriptive statistics. Writing functions. Simulation and parallel computing. Communication data and documenting code for reproducible research.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 324Statistics3 credits
Sampling distributions, including Normal, Chi-squared, Student’s t, and F distributions. Sampling properties of the sample mean and variance. Point estimation: bias, variance, mean squared error, consistency, sufficiency, UMVUE. Method of moments and maximum likelihood estimation. One- and two-sample inference. Confidence intervals and sample size determination. Hypothesis testing, Type 1 and Type 2 errors, power, and p-values. The Neyman Pearson framework and likelihood ratio tests. Linear models used as illustrative examples, linking them to topics in estimation and hypothesis testing. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and contingency tables.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 423Applied Regression3 credits
Multiple regression estimators and their properties. Hypothesis tests and confidence intervals. Analysis of variance. Prediction and prediction intervals. Model diagnostics. Model selection. Introduction to weighted least squares. Basic contingency table analysis. Introduction to logistic and Poisson regression. Applications to experimental and observational data.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 447Introduction to Stochastic Processes3 credits
Conditional probability and conditional expectation, generating functions. Branching processes and random walk. Markov chains, transition matrices, classification of states, ergodic theorem, examples. Birth and death processes, queueing theory.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 551Applied Machine Learning4 credits
Selected topics in machine learning and data mining, including clustering, neural networks, support vector machines, decision trees. Methods include feature selection and dimensionality reduction, error estimation and empirical validation, algorithm design and parallelization, and handling of large data sets. Emphasis on good methods and practices for deployment of real systems.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 204Principles of Statistics 23 credits
The concept of degrees of freedom and the analysis of variability. Planning of experiments. Experimental designs. Polynomial and multiple regressions. Statistical computer packages (no previous computing experience is needed). General statistical procedures requiring few assumptions about the probability model.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 308Fundamentals of Statistical Learning3 credits
Theory and application of various techniques for the exploration and analysis of multivariate data: principal component analysis, correspondence analysis, and other visualization and dimensionality reduction techniques; supervised and unsupervised learning; linear discriminant analysis, and clustering techniques. Data applications using appropriate software.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 340Discrete Mathematics3 credits
Discrete Mathematics and applications. Graph Theory: matchings, planarity, and colouring. Discrete probability. Combinatorics: enumeration, combinatorial techniques and proofs.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 437Mathematical Methods in Biology3 credits
The formulation and treatment of realistic mathematical models describing biological phenomena through qualitative and quantitative mathematical techniques (e.g. local and global stability theory, bifurcation analysis and phase plane analysis) and numerical simulation. Concrete and detailed examples will be drawn from molecular and cellular biology and mammalian physiology.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 463Convex Optimization3 credits
Introduction to convex analysis and convex optimization: Convex sets and functions, subdifferential calculus, conjugate functions, Fenchel duality, proximal calculus. Subgradient methods, proximal-based methods. Conditional gradient method, ADMM. Applications including data classification, network-flow problems, image processing, convex feasibility problems, DC optimization, sparse optimization, and compressed sensing.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 478Computational Methods in Applied Mathematics 3 credits
MATH 523Generalized Linear Models4 credits
Exponential families, link functions. Inference and parameter estimation for generalized linear models; model selection using analysis of deviance. Residuals. Contingency table analysis, logistic regression, multinomial regression, Poisson regression, log-linear models. Multinomial models. Overdispersion and Quasilikelihood. Applications to experimental and observational data.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 524Nonparametric Statistics4 credits
Distribution free procedures for 2-sample problem: Wilcoxon rank sum, Siegel-Tukey, Smirnov tests. Shift model: power and estimation. Single sample procedures: Sign, Wilcoxon signed rank tests. Nonparametric ANOVA: Kruskal-Wallis, Friedman tests. Association: Spearman's rank correlation, Kendall's tau. Goodness of fit: Pearson's chi-square, likelihood ratio, Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests. Statistical software packages used.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 525Sampling Theory and Applications4 credits
Simple random sampling, domains, ratio and regression estimators, superpopulation models, stratified sampling, optimal stratification, cluster sampling, sampling with unequal probabilities, multistage sampling, complex surveys, nonresponse.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 558Design of Experiments4 credits
Introduction to concepts in statistically designed experiments. Randomization and replication. Completely randomized designs. Simple linear model and analysis of variance. Introduction to blocking. Orthogonal block designs. Models and analysis for block designs. Factorial designs and their analysis. Row-column designs. Latin squares. Model and analysis for fixed row and column effects. Split-plot designs, model and analysis. Relations and operations on factors. Orthogonal factors. Orthogonal decomposition. Orthogonal plot structures. Hasse diagrams. Applications to real data and ethical issues.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 559Bayesian Theory and Methods4 credits
Subjective probability, Bayesian statistical inference and decision making, de Finetti’s representation. Bayesian parametric methods, optimal decisions, conjugate models, methods of prior specification and elicitation, approximation methods. Hierarchical models. Computational approaches to inference, Markov chain Monte Carlo methods, Metropolis;Hastings. Nonparametric Bayesian inference.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 206Methods in Biology3 credits
Introduction to modern methods used in organismal biology, including ecological sampling, experimental methods and statistics. Particular emphasis is on ways of thinking about the design of sampling programs and the analyses of data to test hypotheses using observational or experimental data.
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BIOL 240Monteregian Flora3 credits
Field studies of ferns, fern allies, conifers and flowering plants; the use of keys for plant identification.
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BIOL 331Ecology/Behaviour Field Course3 credits
Methods of sampling natural populations. Testing hypotheses in nature.
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BIOL 334D1Applied Tropical Ecology1.5 credits
Relevant to agriculture, forestry, fisheries and conservation of natural resources. Field component taught at the University's Bellairs Research Institute in Barbados, for two weeks in early May. The course is organized in a series of small-group field projects of 2-3 days each. Interested students should check the course website, attend the full information session and fill out an application form.
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BIOL 334D2Applied Tropical Ecology1.5 credits
See BIOL 334D1 for course description.
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BIOL 432Limnology3 credits
A study of the physical, chemical and biological properties of lakes and other inland waters, with emphasis on their functioning as systems.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 573Vertebrate Palaeontology Field Course3 credits
Terrestrial vertebrate fossils (i.e. dinosaurs, crocodiles and other reptiles) and palaeocommunity analysis, including practical training with fossil identification, mapping, collecting, and stratigraphic interpretation.
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BIOL 202Basic Genetics3 credits
Introduction to basic principles, and to modern advances, problems and applications in the genetics of higher and lower organisms with examples representative of the biological sciences.
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BIOL 205Functional Biology of Plants and Animals3 credits
Unified view of form and function in animals and plants. Focus on how the laws of chemistry and physics illuminate biological processes relating to the acquisition of energy and materials and their use in movement, growth, development, reproduction and responses to environmental stress.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 302Fundamentals of Genetics and Genomics3 credits
Trait variation within and across populations and species,and how this reflects variation within genomes. Case studies and problem-solving approaches will be used to illustrate the tools of genomics, molecular genetics and classical genetics, and how they are employed to understand the mechanisms of phenotypic variation.Topics will include evolutionary, developmental and human genetics. Application of multiple levels of genetic analysis, formulation, and testing of hypotheses on critical topics ranging from evolution to developmental biology to human genetics.
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BIOL 304Evolution3 credits
A comprehensive introduction to evolutionary biology. It covers both short-term and long-term evolutionary processes. Topics include the history of life, the origin of species, adaptation, natural selection and sexual selection.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 305Animal Diversity3 credits
The characteristics of the major groups of animals, their ancestry, history and relationship to one another. The processes of speciation, adaptive radiation and extinction responsible for diversity. Methods for constructing of phylogenies, for comparing phenotypes, and for estimating and analyzing diversity.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 308Ecological Dynamics3 credits
Principles of population, community, and ecosystem dynamics: population growth and regulation, species interactions, dynamics of competitive interactions and of predator/prey systems; evolutionary dynamics.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 310Biodiversity and Ecosystems3 credits
Ecological bases of the natural causes and consequences of current global environmental changes, including how biodiversity and ecosystem processes are defined and measured, how they vary in space and time, how they are affected by physical and biological factors, and how they affect each other and human societies.
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BIOL 324Ecological Genetics3 credits
Presents evolutionary genetics within an ecological context. Covers theoretical and applied topics together with relevant data from natural populations of plant and animals.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 569Developmental Evolution3 credits
The influence of developmental mechanisms on evolution. This course draws on recent examples from plants and invertebrate and vertebrate animals. Topics include homology, modularity, dissociation, co-option, evolutionary novelty, evolution of cis-regulation and gene regulatory networks, developmental constraint and evolvability, heterochrony, phenotypic plasticity, and canalization.
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BIOL 594Advanced Evolutionary Ecology3 credits
Evolutionary ecology is the study of evolutionary change in natural populations. General predictive approaches in evolutionary ecology, including population genetics, quantitative genetics, optimality, and game theory will be examined. Emphasis will be placed on the mathematical underpinnings of each approach, particularly as they relate to classic and contemporary problems.
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BIOL 303Developmental Biology3 credits
A consideration of the fundamental processes and principles operating during embryogenesis. Experimental analyses at the molecular, cellular, and organismal levels will be presented and discussed to provide an overall appreciation of developmental phenomena.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 313Eukaryotic Cell Biology3 credits
In-depth examination of the structure and function of eukaryotic cells, with an emphasis on experimental design and interpretation. Examination of the molecular mechanisms of various cellular processes, including protein homeostasis, intracellular transport, cytoskeletal dynamics, multicellular organization and cell proliferation.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 518Advanced Topics in Cell Biology3 credits
Concepts and mechanisms in advanced cell biology, based on genetic, cell biological, biophysical, and computational studies. Emphasis is placed on processes that are evolutionarily conserved, with examples from model organisms and cell-free (in vitro) approaches.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 592Integrated Bioinformatics3 credits
'Post-genomic' bioinformatics. Concepts behind large-scale computational analysis and comparison of genomes/proteomes (and beyond), and the implications for our understanding of the basic processes of molecular and cell biology and the evolution of those processes.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 216Biology of Behaviour3 credits
Introduction to the study of animal behaviour at the population, organismal, cellular, and molecular levels. Historical and contemporary methods and experiments will be presented and discussed to provide an overall appreciation of the biology of behaviour, with a focus on the application of multiple levels of analysis to biological phenomena and the formulation of hypotheses about evolution, development, function, and mechanisms of behavioural traits. Topics will range from how animals communicate with one another to the cellular mechanisms that allow information to be processed by nervous systems.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 306Neural Basis of Behaviour3 credits
Neural mechanisms of animal behaviour; neuroethology; cellular neurophysiology, integrative networks within nervous systems; neural control of movement; processing of sensory information.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 320Evolution of Brain and Behaviour3 credits
Functional and comparative approach to neuroanatomy, examining how species changes in brain organization contribute to evolutionary changes in behaviour.
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BIOL 389Laboratory in Neurobiology3 credits
Methods of neurobiological research, including extracellular and intracellular recordings, electrical stimulation, and the study of neuro-behavioural problems.
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BIOL 530Advances in Neuroethology3 credits
Neural mechanisms underlying behaviour in vertebrate and invertebrate organisms.
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BIOL 580Genetic Approaches to Neural Systems3 credits
This course will focus on recent research employing genetic-based methods to examine the functional and structural properties of the nervous system. The focus will be on approaches for studying neural circuits and behavior in a range of model organisms. Topics will include recent technological advances, such as optogenetics for modifying and controlling neuronal activity, and animal models of neurological diseases. Students will critically analyze the application of these methods to current research through in-class discussion of primary literature, student presentations, and written assignments.
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NEUR 310Cellular Neurobiology3 credits
A survey of the functional organization of nerve cells, signalling in the nervous system, and principles of neural development. Topics include cell polarity, neurotransmitters, neurotrophins, receptors and second messengers, cell lineage, guidance of axon outgrowth, and nerve regeneration. Emphasis will be placed on analysis of neurons at the molecular level.
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NEUR 507Topics in Radionuclide Imaging3 credits
The course deals with neuroreceptor and oncologic imaging and imaging of cerebral bloodflow and metabolism. The role of radiochemistry and physics will be demonstrated in the context of clinical and research applications. Understanding how radiochemistry and physics intermingle with the medical aspects of radiotracer development will result in a deeper insight into the complex pathways of tracer design and the methods necessary to properly interpret the data obtained.
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PHGY 314Integrative Neuroscience3 credits
In depth presentation of experimental results and hypotheses underlying our current understanding of how single neurons and ensembles of neurons encode sensory information, generate movement, and control cognitive functions such as emotion, learning, and memory, during voluntary behaviours.
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PHGY 425Analyzing Physiological Systems3 credits
An introduction to quantitative analysis of physiological data, both to the mode of thinking and to a set of tools that allows accurate predictions of biological systems. Examples will range from oscillating genetic networks to understanding higher brain function. Modelling and data analysis through examples and exercises will be emphasized.
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PSYC 427Sensorimotor Neuroscience3 credits
A systematic examination of the sensorimotor system, drawing on models and data from both behavioural and physiological studies. Topics include: cortical motor areas, cerebellum, basal ganglia, spinal mechanisms, motor unit properties and force production, prioception, muscle properties.
MCGILL complete current official course definition

Statistics53 listed

Published required and complementary course choices for the 54-credit Statistics Major (B.Sc.). This is a program within the degree, not the complete degree or a term-by-term timetable. Some requirements specify course levels or subjects rather than naming courses. 54 credits for this program; faculty-wide degree and foundation requirements apply separately.

MATH 133Linear Algebra and Geometry3 credits
Systems of linear equations, matrices, inverses, determinants; geometric vectors in three dimensions, dot product, cross product, lines and planes; introduction to vector spaces, linear dependence and independence, bases. Linear transformations. Eigenvalues and diagonalization.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 140Calculus 13 credits
Review of functions and graphs. Limits, continuity, derivative. Differentiation of elementary functions. Antidifferentiation. Applications.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 141Calculus 24 credits
The definite integral. Techniques of integration. Applications. Introduction to sequences and series.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 204Principles of Statistics 23 credits
The concept of degrees of freedom and the analysis of variability. Planning of experiments. Experimental designs. Polynomial and multiple regressions. Statistical computer packages (no previous computing experience is needed). General statistical procedures requiring few assumptions about the probability model.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 208Introduction to Statistical Computing3 credits
Basic data management. Data visualization. Exploratory data analysis and descriptive statistics. Writing functions. Simulation and parallel computing. Communication data and documenting code for reproducible research.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 222Calculus 33 credits
Taylor series, Taylor's theorem in one and several variables. Review of vector geometry. Partial differentiation, directional derivative. Extreme of functions of 2 or 3 variables. Parametric curves and arc length. Polar and spherical coordinates. Multiple integrals.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 235Algebra 13 credits
Sets, functions and relations. Methods of proof. Complex numbers. Divisibility theory for integers and modular arithmetic. Divisibility theory for polynomials. Rings, ideals and quotient rings. Fields and construction of fields from polynomial rings. Groups, subgroups and cosets; homomorphisms and quotient groups.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 236Algebra 23 credits
Linear equations over a field. Introduction to vector spaces. Linear mappings. Matrix representation of linear mappings. Determinants. Eigenvectors and eigenvalues. Diagonalizable operators. Cayley-Hamilton theorem. Bilinear and quadratic forms. Inner product spaces, orthogonal diagonalization of symmetric matrices. Canonical forms.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 242Analysis 13 credits
A rigorous presentation of sequences and of real numbers and basic properties of continuous and differentiable functions on the real line.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 243Analysis 23 credits
Definition and properties of Riemann integral, Fundamental Theorem of Calculus, Taylor's theorem. Infinite series: alternating, telescoping series, rearrangements, conditional and absolute convergence, convergence tests. Power series and Taylor series. Elementary functions. Introduction to metric spaces.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 323Probability3 credits
Sample space, events, conditional probability, independence of events, Bayes' Theorem. Basic combinatorial probability, random variables, discrete and continuous univariate and multivariate distributions. Independence of random variables. Inequalities, weak law of large numbers, central limit theorem.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 324Statistics3 credits
McGill 2026–27 MATH 324: exact credit-column value, distinct from footnote numbers
MATH 423Applied Regression3 credits
Multiple regression estimators and their properties. Hypothesis tests and confidence intervals. Analysis of variance. Prediction and prediction intervals. Model diagnostics. Model selection. Introduction to weighted least squares. Basic contingency table analysis. Introduction to logistic and Poisson regression. Applications to experimental and observational data.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 523Generalized Linear Models4 credits
Exponential families, link functions. Inference and parameter estimation for generalized linear models; model selection using analysis of deviance. Residuals. Contingency table analysis, logistic regression, multinomial regression, Poisson regression, log-linear models. Multinomial models. Overdispersion and Quasilikelihood. Applications to experimental and observational data.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 203Principles of Statistics 13 credits
Examples of statistical data and the use of graphical means to summarize the data. Basic distributions arising in the natural and behavioural sciences. The logical meaning of a test of significance and a confidence interval. Tests of significance and confidence intervals in the one and two sample setting (means, variances and proportions).
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 208Computer Programming for Physical Sciences and Engineering 3 credits
Programming and problem solving in a high level computer language: variables, expressions, types, functions, conditionals, loops, objects and classes. Introduction to algorithms such as searching and sorting. Modular software design, libraries, file input and output, debugging. Emphasis on applications in Physical Sciences and Engineering, such as root finding, numerical integration, diffusion, Monte Carlo methods.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 250Introduction to Computer Science3 credits
Object oriented programming in Java: classes and objects, interfaces, inheritance. Data structures and abstract data types: arrays, stacks, queues, linked lists, trees, binary trees,binary search trees, heaps, hash tables, graphs. Recursive and non-recursive algorithms and their asymptotic complexity: searching and sorting, tree and graph traversal. Mathematical tools: induction, recurrence relations.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 251Algorithms and Data Structures3 credits
Data Structures: priority queues, balanced binary search trees, hash tables, graphs. Algorithms: topological sort, connected components, shortest paths, minimum spanning trees, bipartite matching, network flows. Algorithm design: greedy, divide and conquer, dynamic programming, randomization. Mathematicaltools: proofs of asymptotic complexity and program correctness, Master theorem.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 350Numerical Computing3 credits
Computer representation of numbers, IEEE Standard for Floating Point Representation, computer arithmetic and rounding errors. Numerical stability. Matrix computations and software systems. Polynomial interpolation. Least-squares approximation. Iterative methods for solving a nonlinear equation. Discretization methods for integration and differential equations.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 209Fundamentals of Statistical Modeling and Inference3 credits
Introduction to statistical modelling, likelihood principle and maximum likelihood estimation, Bayesian principle and Bayesian estimation, with emphasis on their application in statistical analysis and data science.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 314Advanced Calculus3 credits
Derivative as a matrix. Chain rule. Implicit functions. Constrained maxima and minima. Jacobians. Multiple integration. Line and surface integrals. Theorems of Green, Stokes and Gauss. Fourier series with applications.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 315Ordinary Differential Equations3 credits
First order ordinary differential equations including elementary numerical methods. Linear differential equations. Laplace transforms. Series solutions.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 316Complex Variables3 credits
Algebra of complex numbers, Cauchy-Riemann equations, complex integral, Cauchy's theorems. Taylor and Laurent series, residue theory and applications.
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MATH 317Numerical Analysis3 credits
Error analysis. Numerical solutions of equations by iteration. Interpolation. Numerical differentiation and integration. Introduction to numerical solutions of differential equations.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 326Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos3 credits
Linear systems of differential equations, linear stability theory. Nonlinear systems: existence and uniqueness, numerical methods, one and two dimensional flows, phase space, limit cycles, Poincare-Bendixson theorem, bifurcations, Hopf bifurcation, the Lorenz equations and chaos.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 327Matrix Numerical Analysis3 credits
An overview of numerical methods for linear algebra applications and their analysis. Problem classes include linear systems, least squares problems and eigenvalue problems.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 329Theory of Interest3 credits
Simple and compound interest, annuities certain, amortization schedules, bonds, depreciation.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 340Discrete Mathematics3 credits
Discrete Mathematics and applications. Graph Theory: matchings, planarity, and colouring. Discrete probability. Combinatorics: enumeration, combinatorial techniques and proofs.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 350Honours Discrete Mathematics 3 credits
Discrete mathematics. Graph Theory: matching theory, connectivity, planarity, and colouring; graph minors and extremal graph theory. Combinatorics: combinatorial methods, enumerative and algebraic combinatorics, discrete probability.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 378Nonlinear Optimization 3 credits
MATH 417Linear Optimization3 credits
An introduction to linear optimization and its applications: Duality theory, fundamental theorem, sensitivity analysis, convexity, simplex algorithm, interior-point methods, quadratic optimization, applications in game theory.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 430Mathematical Finance3 credits
Introduction to concepts of price and hedge derivative securities. The following concepts will be studied in both concrete and continuous time: filtrations, martingales, the change of measure technique, hedging, pricing, absence of arbitrage opportunities and the Fundamental Theorem of Asset Pricing.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 463Convex Optimization3 credits
Introduction to convex analysis and convex optimization: Convex sets and functions, subdifferential calculus, conjugate functions, Fenchel duality, proximal calculus. Subgradient methods, proximal-based methods. Conditional gradient method, ADMM. Applications including data classification, network-flow problems, image processing, convex feasibility problems, DC optimization, sparse optimization, and compressed sensing.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 451Fundamentals of Machine Learning3 credits
Introduction to the computational, statistical and mathematical foundations of machine learning. Algorithms for both supervised learning and unsupervised learning. Maximum likelihood estimation, neural networks, and regularization.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 551Applied Machine Learning4 credits
Selected topics in machine learning and data mining, including clustering, neural networks, support vector machines, decision trees. Methods include feature selection and dimensionality reduction, error estimation and empirical validation, algorithm design and parallelization, and handling of large data sets. Emphasis on good methods and practices for deployment of real systems.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 308Fundamentals of Statistical Learning3 credits
Theory and application of various techniques for the exploration and analysis of multivariate data: principal component analysis, correspondence analysis, and other visualization and dimensionality reduction techniques; supervised and unsupervised learning; linear discriminant analysis, and clustering techniques. Data applications using appropriate software.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 410Majors Project3 credits
A supervised project.
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MATH 420Independent Study3 credits
Reading projects permitting independent study under the guidance of a staff member specializing in a subject where no appropriate course is available. Arrangements must be made with an instructor and the Chair before registration.
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MATH 427Statistical Quality Control3 credits
Introduction to quality management; variability and productivity. Quality measurement: capability analysis, gauge capability studies. Process control: control charts for variables and attributes. Process improvement: factorial designs, fractional replications, response surface methodology, Taguchi methods. Acceptance sampling: operating characteristic curves; single, multiple and sequential acceptance sampling plans for variables and attributes.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 447Introduction to Stochastic Processes3 credits
Conditional probability and conditional expectation, generating functions. Branching processes and random walk. Markov chains, transition matrices, classification of states, ergodic theorem, examples. Birth and death processes, queueing theory.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 462Machine Learning 3 credits
MATH 510Quantitative Risk Management4 credits
Basics concepts in quantitative risk management: types of financial risk, loss distribution, risk measures, regulatory framework. Empirical properties of financial data, models for stochastic volatility. Extreme-value theory models for maxima and threshold exceedances. Multivariate models, copulas, and dependence measures. Risk aggregation.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 524Nonparametric Statistics4 credits
Distribution free procedures for 2-sample problem: Wilcoxon rank sum, Siegel-Tukey, Smirnov tests. Shift model: power and estimation. Single sample procedures: Sign, Wilcoxon signed rank tests. Nonparametric ANOVA: Kruskal-Wallis, Friedman tests. Association: Spearman's rank correlation, Kendall's tau. Goodness of fit: Pearson's chi-square, likelihood ratio, Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests. Statistical software packages used.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 525Sampling Theory and Applications4 credits
Simple random sampling, domains, ratio and regression estimators, superpopulation models, stratified sampling, optimal stratification, cluster sampling, sampling with unequal probabilities, multistage sampling, complex surveys, nonresponse.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 527D1Statistical Data Science Practicum3 credits
The holistic skills required for doing statistical data science in practice. Data science life cycle from a statistics-centric perspective and from the perspective of a statistician working in the larger data science environment. Group-based projects with industry, government, or university partners. Statistical collaboration and consulting conducted in coordination with the Data Science Solutions Hub (DaS^2H) of the Computational and Data Systems Initiative (CDSI).
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MATH 527D2Statistical Data Science Practicum3 credits
See MATH 527D1 for course description.
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MATH 545Introduction to Time Series Analysis4 credits
Stationary processes; estimation and forecasting of ARMA models; non-stationary and seasonal models; state-space models; financial time series models; multivariate time series models; introduction to spectral analysis; long memory models.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 556Mathematical Statistics 14 credits
Distribution theory, stochastic models and multivariate transformations. Families of distributions including location-scale families, exponential families, convolution families, exponential dispersion models and hierarchical models. Concentration inequalities. Characteristic functions. Convergence in probability, almost surely, in Lp and in distribution. Laws of large numbers and Central Limit Theorem. Stochastic simulation.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 557Mathematical Statistics 24 credits
Sufficiency, minimal and complete sufficiency, ancillarity. Fisher and Kullback-Leibler information. Elements of decision theory. Theory of estimation and hypothesis testing from the Bayesian and frequentist perspective. Elements of asymptotic statistics including large-sample behaviour of maximum likelihood estimators, likelihood-ratio tests, and chi-squared goodness-of-fit tests.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 558Design of Experiments4 credits
Introduction to concepts in statistically designed experiments. Randomization and replication. Completely randomized designs. Simple linear model and analysis of variance. Introduction to blocking. Orthogonal block designs. Models and analysis for block designs. Factorial designs and their analysis. Row-column designs. Latin squares. Model and analysis for fixed row and column effects. Split-plot designs, model and analysis. Relations and operations on factors. Orthogonal factors. Orthogonal decomposition. Orthogonal plot structures. Hasse diagrams. Applications to real data and ethical issues.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 559Bayesian Theory and Methods4 credits
Subjective probability, Bayesian statistical inference and decision making, de Finetti’s representation. Bayesian parametric methods, optimal decisions, conjugate models, methods of prior specification and elicitation, approximation methods. Hierarchical models. Computational approaches to inference, Markov chain Monte Carlo methods, Metropolis;Hastings. Nonparametric Bayesian inference.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 598Topics in Probability & Statistics4 credits
WCOM 314Communicating Science3 credits
Production of written and oral assignments (in English) designed to communicate scientific problems and findings to varied audiences Analysis of the disciplinary conventions of scientific discourse in terms of audience, purpose, organization, and style; comparative rhetorical analysis of academic and popular genres, including abstracts, lab reports, research papers, print and online journalism.
MCGILL complete current official course definition

Mathematics and Computer Science41 listed

Published required and complementary course choices for the 72-credit Mathematics and Computer Science Major (B.Sc.). This is a program within the degree, not the complete degree or a term-by-term timetable. Some requirements specify course levels or subjects rather than naming courses. 72 credits for this program; faculty-wide degree and foundation requirements apply separately.

MATH 133Linear Algebra and Geometry3 credits
Systems of linear equations, matrices, inverses, determinants; geometric vectors in three dimensions, dot product, cross product, lines and planes; introduction to vector spaces, linear dependence and independence, bases. Linear transformations. Eigenvalues and diagonalization.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 140Calculus 13 credits
Review of functions and graphs. Limits, continuity, derivative. Differentiation of elementary functions. Antidifferentiation. Applications.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 141Calculus 24 credits
The definite integral. Techniques of integration. Applications. Introduction to sequences and series.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 202Foundations of Programming3 credits
Introduction to computer programming in a high level language: variables, expressions, primitive types, methods, conditionals, loops. Introduction to algorithms, data structures (arrays, strings), modular software design, libraries, file input/output, debugging, exception handling. Selected topics.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 206Introduction to Software Systems3 credits
Comprehensive overview of programming in C, use of system calls and libraries, debugging and testing of code; use of developmental tools like make, version control systems.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 250Introduction to Computer Science3 credits
Object oriented programming in Java: classes and objects, interfaces, inheritance. Data structures and abstract data types: arrays, stacks, queues, linked lists, trees, binary trees,binary search trees, heaps, hash tables, graphs. Recursive and non-recursive algorithms and their asymptotic complexity: searching and sorting, tree and graph traversal. Mathematical tools: induction, recurrence relations.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 251Algorithms and Data Structures3 credits
Data Structures: priority queues, balanced binary search trees, hash tables, graphs. Algorithms: topological sort, connected components, shortest paths, minimum spanning trees, bipartite matching, network flows. Algorithm design: greedy, divide and conquer, dynamic programming, randomization. Mathematicaltools: proofs of asymptotic complexity and program correctness, Master theorem.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 273Introduction to Computer Systems3 credits
Number representations, combinational and sequential digital circuits, MIPS instructions and architecture datapath and control, caches, virtual memory, interrupts and exceptions, pipelining.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 302Programming Languages and Paradigms3 credits
Programming language design issues and programming paradigms. Binding and scoping, parameter passing, lambda abstraction, data abstraction, type checking. Functional and logic programming.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 310Operating Systems3 credits
Control and scheduling of large information processing systems. Operating system software - resource allocation, dispatching, processors, access methods, job control languages, main storage management. Batch processing, multiprogramming, multiprocessing, time sharing.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 330Theory of Computation3 credits
Finite automata, regular languages, context-free languages, push-down automata, models of computation, computability theory, undecidability, reduction techniques.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 360Algorithm Design3 credits
Advanced algorithm design and analysis. Linear programming, complexity and NP-completeness, advanced algorithmic techniques.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 222Calculus 33 credits
Taylor series, Taylor's theorem in one and several variables. Review of vector geometry. Partial differentiation, directional derivative. Extreme of functions of 2 or 3 variables. Parametric curves and arc length. Polar and spherical coordinates. Multiple integrals.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 235Algebra 13 credits
Sets, functions and relations. Methods of proof. Complex numbers. Divisibility theory for integers and modular arithmetic. Divisibility theory for polynomials. Rings, ideals and quotient rings. Fields and construction of fields from polynomial rings. Groups, subgroups and cosets; homomorphisms and quotient groups.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 236Algebra 23 credits
Linear equations over a field. Introduction to vector spaces. Linear mappings. Matrix representation of linear mappings. Determinants. Eigenvectors and eigenvalues. Diagonalizable operators. Cayley-Hamilton theorem. Bilinear and quadratic forms. Inner product spaces, orthogonal diagonalization of symmetric matrices. Canonical forms.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 242Analysis 13 credits
A rigorous presentation of sequences and of real numbers and basic properties of continuous and differentiable functions on the real line.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 315Ordinary Differential Equations3 credits
First order ordinary differential equations including elementary numerical methods. Linear differential equations. Laplace transforms. Series solutions.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 317Numerical Analysis3 credits
Error analysis. Numerical solutions of equations by iteration. Interpolation. Numerical differentiation and integration. Introduction to numerical solutions of differential equations.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 318Mathematical Logic3 credits
Propositional logic: truth-tables, formal proof systems, completeness and compactness theorems, Boolean algebras; first-order logic: formal proofs, Gödel's completeness theorem; axiomatic theories; set theory; Cantor's theorem, axiom of choice and Zorn's lemma, Peano arithmetic; Gödel's incompleteness theorem.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 323Probability3 credits
Sample space, events, conditional probability, independence of events, Bayes' Theorem. Basic combinatorial probability, random variables, discrete and continuous univariate and multivariate distributions. Independence of random variables. Inequalities, weak law of large numbers, central limit theorem.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 340Discrete Mathematics3 credits
Discrete Mathematics and applications. Graph Theory: matchings, planarity, and colouring. Discrete probability. Combinatorics: enumeration, combinatorial techniques and proofs.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 204Principles of Statistics 23 credits
The concept of degrees of freedom and the analysis of variability. Planning of experiments. Experimental designs. Polynomial and multiple regressions. Statistical computer packages (no previous computing experience is needed). General statistical procedures requiring few assumptions about the probability model.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 208Introduction to Statistical Computing3 credits
Basic data management. Data visualization. Exploratory data analysis and descriptive statistics. Writing functions. Simulation and parallel computing. Communication data and documenting code for reproducible research.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 308Fundamentals of Statistical Learning3 credits
Theory and application of various techniques for the exploration and analysis of multivariate data: principal component analysis, correspondence analysis, and other visualization and dimensionality reduction techniques; supervised and unsupervised learning; linear discriminant analysis, and clustering techniques. Data applications using appropriate software.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 319Partial Differential Equations 3 credits
MATH 324Statistics3 credits
Sampling distributions, including Normal, Chi-squared, Student’s t, and F distributions. Sampling properties of the sample mean and variance. Point estimation: bias, variance, mean squared error, consistency, sufficiency, UMVUE. Method of moments and maximum likelihood estimation. One- and two-sample inference. Confidence intervals and sample size determination. Hypothesis testing, Type 1 and Type 2 errors, power, and p-values. The Neyman Pearson framework and likelihood ratio tests. Linear models used as illustrative examples, linking them to topics in estimation and hypothesis testing. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and contingency tables.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 326Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos3 credits
Linear systems of differential equations, linear stability theory. Nonlinear systems: existence and uniqueness, numerical methods, one and two dimensional flows, phase space, limit cycles, Poincare-Bendixson theorem, bifurcations, Hopf bifurcation, the Lorenz equations and chaos.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 327Matrix Numerical Analysis3 credits
An overview of numerical methods for linear algebra applications and their analysis. Problem classes include linear systems, least squares problems and eigenvalue problems.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 329Theory of Interest3 credits
Simple and compound interest, annuities certain, amortization schedules, bonds, depreciation.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 338History and Philosophy of Mathematics3 credits
Egyptian, Babylonian, Greek, Indian and Arab contributions to mathematics are studied together with some modern developments they give rise to, for example, the problem of trisecting the angle. European mathematics from the Renaissance to the 18th century is discussed, culminating in the discovery of the infinitesimal and integral calculus by Newton and Leibnitz. Demonstration of how mathematics was done in past centuries, and involves the practice of mathematics, including detailed calculations, arguments based on geometric reasoning, and proofs.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 346Number Theory3 credits
Divisibility. Congruences. Quadratic reciprocity. Diophantine equations. Arithmetical functions.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 348Euclidean Geometry3 credits
Points and lines in a triangle. Quadrilaterals. Angles in a circle. Circumscribed and inscribed circles. Congruent and similar triangles. Area. Power of a point with respect to a circle. Ceva’s theorem. Isometries. Homothety. Inversion.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 378Nonlinear Optimization 3 credits
MATH 410Majors Project3 credits
A supervised project.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 417Linear Optimization3 credits
An introduction to linear optimization and its applications: Duality theory, fundamental theorem, sensitivity analysis, convexity, simplex algorithm, interior-point methods, quadratic optimization, applications in game theory.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 423Applied Regression3 credits
Multiple regression estimators and their properties. Hypothesis tests and confidence intervals. Analysis of variance. Prediction and prediction intervals. Model diagnostics. Model selection. Introduction to weighted least squares. Basic contingency table analysis. Introduction to logistic and Poisson regression. Applications to experimental and observational data.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 427Statistical Quality Control3 credits
Introduction to quality management; variability and productivity. Quality measurement: capability analysis, gauge capability studies. Process control: control charts for variables and attributes. Process improvement: factorial designs, fractional replications, response surface methodology, Taguchi methods. Acceptance sampling: operating characteristic curves; single, multiple and sequential acceptance sampling plans for variables and attributes.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 430Mathematical Finance3 credits
Introduction to concepts of price and hedge derivative securities. The following concepts will be studied in both concrete and continuous time: filtrations, martingales, the change of measure technique, hedging, pricing, absence of arbitrage opportunities and the Fundamental Theorem of Asset Pricing.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 447Introduction to Stochastic Processes3 credits
Conditional probability and conditional expectation, generating functions. Branching processes and random walk. Markov chains, transition matrices, classification of states, ergodic theorem, examples. Birth and death processes, queueing theory.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 463Convex Optimization3 credits
Introduction to convex analysis and convex optimization: Convex sets and functions, subdifferential calculus, conjugate functions, Fenchel duality, proximal calculus. Subgradient methods, proximal-based methods. Conditional gradient method, ADMM. Applications including data classification, network-flow problems, image processing, convex feasibility problems, DC optimization, sparse optimization, and compressed sensing.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 478Computational Methods in Applied Mathematics 3 credits

Statistics and Computer Science49 listed

Published required and complementary course choices for the 72-credit Statistics and Computer Science Major (B.Sc.). This is a program within the degree, not the complete degree or a term-by-term timetable. Some requirements specify course levels or subjects rather than naming courses. 72 credits for this program; faculty-wide degree and foundation requirements apply separately.

MATH 133Linear Algebra and Geometry3 credits
Systems of linear equations, matrices, inverses, determinants; geometric vectors in three dimensions, dot product, cross product, lines and planes; introduction to vector spaces, linear dependence and independence, bases. Linear transformations. Eigenvalues and diagonalization.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 140Calculus 13 credits
Review of functions and graphs. Limits, continuity, derivative. Differentiation of elementary functions. Antidifferentiation. Applications.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 141Calculus 24 credits
The definite integral. Techniques of integration. Applications. Introduction to sequences and series.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 202Foundations of Programming3 credits
Introduction to computer programming in a high level language: variables, expressions, primitive types, methods, conditionals, loops. Introduction to algorithms, data structures (arrays, strings), modular software design, libraries, file input/output, debugging, exception handling. Selected topics.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 206Introduction to Software Systems3 credits
Comprehensive overview of programming in C, use of system calls and libraries, debugging and testing of code; use of developmental tools like make, version control systems.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 250Introduction to Computer Science3 credits
Object oriented programming in Java: classes and objects, interfaces, inheritance. Data structures and abstract data types: arrays, stacks, queues, linked lists, trees, binary trees,binary search trees, heaps, hash tables, graphs. Recursive and non-recursive algorithms and their asymptotic complexity: searching and sorting, tree and graph traversal. Mathematical tools: induction, recurrence relations.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 251Algorithms and Data Structures3 credits
Data Structures: priority queues, balanced binary search trees, hash tables, graphs. Algorithms: topological sort, connected components, shortest paths, minimum spanning trees, bipartite matching, network flows. Algorithm design: greedy, divide and conquer, dynamic programming, randomization. Mathematicaltools: proofs of asymptotic complexity and program correctness, Master theorem.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 273Introduction to Computer Systems3 credits
Number representations, combinational and sequential digital circuits, MIPS instructions and architecture datapath and control, caches, virtual memory, interrupts and exceptions, pipelining.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 302Programming Languages and Paradigms3 credits
Programming language design issues and programming paradigms. Binding and scoping, parameter passing, lambda abstraction, data abstraction, type checking. Functional and logic programming.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 330Theory of Computation3 credits
Finite automata, regular languages, context-free languages, push-down automata, models of computation, computability theory, undecidability, reduction techniques.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 350Numerical Computing3 credits
Computer representation of numbers, IEEE Standard for Floating Point Representation, computer arithmetic and rounding errors. Numerical stability. Matrix computations and software systems. Polynomial interpolation. Least-squares approximation. Iterative methods for solving a nonlinear equation. Discretization methods for integration and differential equations.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 360Algorithm Design3 credits
Advanced algorithm design and analysis. Linear programming, complexity and NP-completeness, advanced algorithmic techniques.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 222Calculus 33 credits
Taylor series, Taylor's theorem in one and several variables. Review of vector geometry. Partial differentiation, directional derivative. Extreme of functions of 2 or 3 variables. Parametric curves and arc length. Polar and spherical coordinates. Multiple integrals.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 223Linear Algebra3 credits
Review of matrix algebra, determinants and systems of linear equations. Vector spaces, linear operators and their matrix representations, orthogonality. Eigenvalues and eigenvectors, diagonalization of Hermitian matrices. Applications.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 235Algebra 13 credits
Sets, functions and relations. Methods of proof. Complex numbers. Divisibility theory for integers and modular arithmetic. Divisibility theory for polynomials. Rings, ideals and quotient rings. Fields and construction of fields from polynomial rings. Groups, subgroups and cosets; homomorphisms and quotient groups.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 236Algebra 23 credits
Linear equations over a field. Introduction to vector spaces. Linear mappings. Matrix representation of linear mappings. Determinants. Eigenvectors and eigenvalues. Diagonalizable operators. Cayley-Hamilton theorem. Bilinear and quadratic forms. Inner product spaces, orthogonal diagonalization of symmetric matrices. Canonical forms.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 242Analysis 13 credits
A rigorous presentation of sequences and of real numbers and basic properties of continuous and differentiable functions on the real line.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 314Advanced Calculus3 credits
Derivative as a matrix. Chain rule. Implicit functions. Constrained maxima and minima. Jacobians. Multiple integration. Line and surface integrals. Theorems of Green, Stokes and Gauss. Fourier series with applications.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 317Numerical Analysis3 credits
Error analysis. Numerical solutions of equations by iteration. Interpolation. Numerical differentiation and integration. Introduction to numerical solutions of differential equations.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 323Probability3 credits
Sample space, events, conditional probability, independence of events, Bayes' Theorem. Basic combinatorial probability, random variables, discrete and continuous univariate and multivariate distributions. Independence of random variables. Inequalities, weak law of large numbers, central limit theorem.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 324Statistics3 credits
Sampling distributions, including Normal, Chi-squared, Student’s t, and F distributions. Sampling properties of the sample mean and variance. Point estimation: bias, variance, mean squared error, consistency, sufficiency, UMVUE. Method of moments and maximum likelihood estimation. One- and two-sample inference. Confidence intervals and sample size determination. Hypothesis testing, Type 1 and Type 2 errors, power, and p-values. The Neyman Pearson framework and likelihood ratio tests. Linear models used as illustrative examples, linking them to topics in estimation and hypothesis testing. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and contingency tables.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 423Applied Regression3 credits
Multiple regression estimators and their properties. Hypothesis tests and confidence intervals. Analysis of variance. Prediction and prediction intervals. Model diagnostics. Model selection. Introduction to weighted least squares. Basic contingency table analysis. Introduction to logistic and Poisson regression. Applications to experimental and observational data.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 204Principles of Statistics 23 credits
The concept of degrees of freedom and the analysis of variability. Planning of experiments. Experimental designs. Polynomial and multiple regressions. Statistical computer packages (no previous computing experience is needed). General statistical procedures requiring few assumptions about the probability model.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 208Introduction to Statistical Computing3 credits
Basic data management. Data visualization. Exploratory data analysis and descriptive statistics. Writing functions. Simulation and parallel computing. Communication data and documenting code for reproducible research.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 308Fundamentals of Statistical Learning3 credits
Theory and application of various techniques for the exploration and analysis of multivariate data: principal component analysis, correspondence analysis, and other visualization and dimensionality reduction techniques; supervised and unsupervised learning; linear discriminant analysis, and clustering techniques. Data applications using appropriate software.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 327Matrix Numerical Analysis3 credits
An overview of numerical methods for linear algebra applications and their analysis. Problem classes include linear systems, least squares problems and eigenvalue problems.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 340Discrete Mathematics3 credits
Discrete Mathematics and applications. Graph Theory: matchings, planarity, and colouring. Discrete probability. Combinatorics: enumeration, combinatorial techniques and proofs.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 350Honours Discrete Mathematics ., but not both3 credits
MATH 352Problem Seminar1 credits
Seminar in Mathematical Problem Solving. The problems considered will be of the type that occur in the Putnam competition and in other similar mathematical competitions.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 410Majors Project3 credits
A supervised project.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 427Statistical Quality Control3 credits
Introduction to quality management; variability and productivity. Quality measurement: capability analysis, gauge capability studies. Process control: control charts for variables and attributes. Process improvement: factorial designs, fractional replications, response surface methodology, Taguchi methods. Acceptance sampling: operating characteristic curves; single, multiple and sequential acceptance sampling plans for variables and attributes.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 447Introduction to Stochastic Processes3 credits
Conditional probability and conditional expectation, generating functions. Branching processes and random walk. Markov chains, transition matrices, classification of states, ergodic theorem, examples. Birth and death processes, queueing theory.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 523Generalized Linear Models4 credits
Exponential families, link functions. Inference and parameter estimation for generalized linear models; model selection using analysis of deviance. Residuals. Contingency table analysis, logistic regression, multinomial regression, Poisson regression, log-linear models. Multinomial models. Overdispersion and Quasilikelihood. Applications to experimental and observational data.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 524Nonparametric Statistics4 credits
Distribution free procedures for 2-sample problem: Wilcoxon rank sum, Siegel-Tukey, Smirnov tests. Shift model: power and estimation. Single sample procedures: Sign, Wilcoxon signed rank tests. Nonparametric ANOVA: Kruskal-Wallis, Friedman tests. Association: Spearman's rank correlation, Kendall's tau. Goodness of fit: Pearson's chi-square, likelihood ratio, Kolmogorov-Smirnov tests. Statistical software packages used.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 525Sampling Theory and Applications4 credits
Simple random sampling, domains, ratio and regression estimators, superpopulation models, stratified sampling, optimal stratification, cluster sampling, sampling with unequal probabilities, multistage sampling, complex surveys, nonresponse.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 527D1Statistical Data Science Practicum3 credits
The holistic skills required for doing statistical data science in practice. Data science life cycle from a statistics-centric perspective and from the perspective of a statistician working in the larger data science environment. Group-based projects with industry, government, or university partners. Statistical collaboration and consulting conducted in coordination with the Data Science Solutions Hub (DaS^2H) of the Computational and Data Systems Initiative (CDSI).
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 527D2Statistical Data Science Practicum3 credits
See MATH 527D1 for course description.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 545Introduction to Time Series Analysis4 credits
Stationary processes; estimation and forecasting of ARMA models; non-stationary and seasonal models; state-space models; financial time series models; multivariate time series models; introduction to spectral analysis; long memory models.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 558Design of Experiments4 credits
Introduction to concepts in statistically designed experiments. Randomization and replication. Completely randomized designs. Simple linear model and analysis of variance. Introduction to blocking. Orthogonal block designs. Models and analysis for block designs. Factorial designs and their analysis. Row-column designs. Latin squares. Model and analysis for fixed row and column effects. Split-plot designs, model and analysis. Relations and operations on factors. Orthogonal factors. Orthogonal decomposition. Orthogonal plot structures. Hasse diagrams. Applications to real data and ethical issues.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 559Bayesian Theory and Methods4 credits
Subjective probability, Bayesian statistical inference and decision making, de Finetti’s representation. Bayesian parametric methods, optimal decisions, conjugate models, methods of prior specification and elicitation, approximation methods. Hierarchical models. Computational approaches to inference, Markov chain Monte Carlo methods, Metropolis;Hastings. Nonparametric Bayesian inference.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 578Numerical Analysis 14 credits
Development, analysis and effective use of numerical methods to solve problems arising in applications. Topics include direct and iterative methods for the solution of linear equations (including preconditioning), eigenvalue problems, interpolation, approximation, quadrature, solution of nonlinear systems.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 598Topics in Probability & Statistics4 credits
COMP 424Artificial Intelligence3 credits
Introduction to search methods. Knowledge representation using logic and probability. Planning and decision making under uncertainty. Introduction to machine learning.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 462Computational Biology Methods3 credits
Application of computer science techniques to problems arising in biology and medicine, techniques for modeling evolution, aligning molecular sequences, predicting structure of a molecule and other problems from computational biology.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 540Matrix Computations4 credits
Designing and programming reliable numerical algorithms. Stability of algorithms and condition of problems. Reliable and efficient algorithms for solution of equations, linear least squares problems, the singular value decomposition, the eigenproblem and related problems. Perturbation analysis of problems. Algorithms for structured matrices.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 547Cryptography and Data Security4 credits
This course presents an in-depth study of modern cryptography and data security. The basic information theoretic and computational properties of classical and modern cryptographic systems are presented, followed by a cryptanalytic examination of several important systems. We will study the applications of cryptography to the security of systems.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 551Applied Machine Learning4 credits
Selected topics in machine learning and data mining, including clustering, neural networks, support vector machines, decision trees. Methods include feature selection and dimensionality reduction, error estimation and empirical validation, algorithm design and parallelization, and handling of large data sets. Emphasis on good methods and practices for deployment of real systems.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 564Advanced Computational Biology Methods and Research3 credits
Fundamental concepts and techniques in computational structural biology, system biology. Techniques include dynamic programming algorithms for RNA structure analysis, molecular dynamics and machine learning techniques for protein structure prediction, and graphical models for gene regulatory and protein-protein interaction networks analysis. Practical sessions with state-of-the-art software.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 567Discrete Optimization 23 credits
Formulation, solution and applications of integer programs. Branch and bound, cutting plane, and column generation algorithms. Combinatorial optimization. Polyhedral methods. A large emphasis will be placed on modelling. Students will select and present a case study of an application of integer programming in an area of their choice.
MCGILL complete current official course definition

Physics43 listed

Published required and complementary course choices for the 67-credit Physics Major (B.Sc.). This is a program within the degree, not the complete degree or a term-by-term timetable. Some requirements specify course levels or subjects rather than naming courses. 67 credits for this program; faculty-wide degree and foundation requirements apply separately.

ATOC 214Introduction: Physics of the Atmosphere3 credits
An introduction to key physical processes operating in the atmosphere, designed for students in science and engineering. Topics typically include: composition of the atmosphere; vertical structure; heat transfer; solar and terrestrial radiation and Earth's energy balance; seasonal and daily temperature changes; humidity and the formation of clouds and precipitation; stability of tropospheric air layers; applications of adiabatic charts.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ATOC 215Oceans, Weather and Climate3 credits
An introduction to key physical and dynamical processes in the oceans and atmosphere. Topics typically include air-sea-ice interactions, laws of motion, the geostrophic and thermal wind relations, general circulation of the atmosphere and oceans, weather, radiative balance, climate sensitivity and variability, role of the atmosphere and oceans in climate.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ATOC 309Weather Radars and Satellites3 credits
Basic notions of radiative transfer and applications of satellite and radar data to mesoscale and synoptic-scale systems are discussed. Emphasis will be put on the contribution of remote sensing to atmospheric and oceanic sciences.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ATOC 312Rotating Fluid Dynamics3 credits
Fundamentals of fluid motion on a rotating sphere: Rotating coordinate systems, the Lagrangian time derivative, and equations of motion. The geostrophic approximation and thermal wind balance; departures from geostrophy, such as frictional Ekman layers, inertial oscillations, and the gradient wind balance. The shallow water equations, including potential vorticity conservation, quasigeostrophy, and simple wave solutions.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ATOC 315Thermodynamics and Convection3 credits
Buoyancy, stability, and vertical oscillations. Dry and moist adiabatic processes. Resulting dry and precipitating convective circulations from the small scale to the global scale. Mesoscale precipitation systems from the cell to convective complexes. Severe convection, downbursts, mesocyclones.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 208Computer Programming for Physical Sciences and Engineering 3 credits
Programming and problem solving in a high level computer language: variables, expressions, types, functions, conditionals, loops, objects and classes. Introduction to algorithms such as searching and sorting. Modular software design, libraries, file input and output, debugging. Emphasis on applications in Physical Sciences and Engineering, such as root finding, numerical integration, diffusion, Monte Carlo methods.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 222Calculus 33 credits
Taylor series, Taylor's theorem in one and several variables. Review of vector geometry. Partial differentiation, directional derivative. Extreme of functions of 2 or 3 variables. Parametric curves and arc length. Polar and spherical coordinates. Multiple integrals.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 223Linear Algebra3 credits
Review of matrix algebra, determinants and systems of linear equations. Vector spaces, linear operators and their matrix representations, orthogonality. Eigenvalues and eigenvectors, diagonalization of Hermitian matrices. Applications.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 314Advanced Calculus3 credits
Derivative as a matrix. Chain rule. Implicit functions. Constrained maxima and minima. Jacobians. Multiple integration. Line and surface integrals. Theorems of Green, Stokes and Gauss. Fourier series with applications.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 315Ordinary Differential Equations3 credits
First order ordinary differential equations including elementary numerical methods. Linear differential equations. Laplace transforms. Series solutions.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 230Dynamics of Simple Systems3 credits
Translational motion under Newton's laws; forces, momentum, work/energy theorem. Special relativity; Lorentz transforms, relativistic mechanics, mass/energy equivalence. Topics in rotational dynamics. Noninertial frames.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 232Heat and Waves3 credits
The laws of thermodynamics and their consequences. Thermodynamics of P-V-T systems and simple heat engines. Free, driven, and damped harmonic oscillators. Coupled systems and normal modes. Fourier methods. Wave motion and dispersion. The wave equation.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 241Signal Processing3 credits
Linear circuit elements, resonance, network theorems, diodes, transistors, amplifiers, feedback, integrated circuits.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 257Experimental Methods 13 credits
Introductory laboratory work and data analysis as related to mechanics, optics and thermodynamics. Introduction to computers as they are employed for laboratory work, for data analysis and for numerical computation. Previous experience with computers is an asset, but is not required.
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PHYS 333Thermal and Statistical Physics3 credits
Introductory equilibrium statistical mechanics. Quantum states, probabilities, ensemble averages. Entropy, temperature, Boltzmann factor, chemical potential. Photons and phonons. Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein distributions; applications.
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PHYS 340Majors Electricity and Magnetism3 credits
The electrostatic field and scalar potential. Dielectric properties of matter. Energy in the electrostatic field. Methods for solving problems in electrostatics. The magnetic field. Induction and inductance. Energy in the magnetic field. Magnetic properties of matter. Maxwell's equations. The dipole approximation.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 342Majors Electromagnetic Waves3 credits
Maxwell's equations. The wave equation. The electromagnetic wave, reflection, refraction, polarization. Guided waves. Transmission lines and wave guides. Vector potential. Radiation. The elemental dipole; the half-wave dipole; vertical dipole; folded dipoles; Yagi antennas. Accelerating charged particles.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 346Majors Quantum Physics3 credits
De Broglie waves, Bohr atom. Schroedinger equation, wave functions, observables. One dimensional potentials. Schroedinger equation in three dimensions. Angular momentum, hydrogen atom. Spin, experimental consequences.
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ATOC 357Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Laboratory3 credits
Students will gain hands-on experience in several fundamental atmospheric and oceanic science topics through practical experimentation. A diverse set of experiments will be conducted, ranging from in situ observations in Montreal, to remote sensing of clouds and radiation, to laboratory chemistry and water-tank experiments. As a background for these experiments, students will receive training on sensor principles and measurement error analysis, as well as the fundamental physical processes of interest in each experiment. They will learn to operate, and physically interpret data from, various sensors for in situ and remote observation of meteorological variables. Their training will also extend to operational weather observations, analysis, and forecasting.
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PHYS 258Experimental Methods 23 credits
Advanced laboratory work and data analysis as related to mechanics, optics and thermodynamics. Computers will be employed routinely for data analysis and for numerical computation, and, particularly, to facilitate the use of Fourier methods.
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ATOC 404Climate Physics3 credits
This course covers the essentials of climate physics through the lens of one-dimensional, vertical atmospheric models. This includes shortwave and longwave radiative transfer, convection, phase changes, clouds, greenhouse gases, and atmospheric escape. This is an adequate level of detail for understanding Earth's climate, paleoclimate, anthropogenic climate change, or pursuing studies of Solar System planets and extrasolar planets.
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ATOC 480Honours Research Project3 credits
The student will carry out a research project under the supervision of a member of the staff. The student will be expected to write a report and present a seminar on the work.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ATOC 512Atmospheric and Oceanic Dynamics3 credits
Equations of motion used to study waves, turbulence, and the general circulation of the atmosphere and oceans. Standard approximations to these equations, including the Boussinesq, primitive, quasigeostrohic, and rotating shallow water equations. Emphasis is on effects for which rotation and/or buoyancy play essential roles. Simple classes of flow, e.g., geostrophic, thermal wind, Ekman, and inertial oscillations.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ATOC 513Waves and Stability3 credits
Description of the principal wave types and instability mechanisms of geophysical fluid dynamics. Geostrophic adjustment, wave dispersion, the WKBJ approximation. Wave types considered include (internal) inertia-gravity waves, planetary Rossby waves, and the equatorial and coastal wave guides. Instabilities considered include inertial, symmetric, barotropic, baroclinic, and Kelvin-Helmholtz instability.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ATOC 515Turbulence in Atmosphere and Oceans3 credits
Application of statistical and semi-empirical methods to the study of geophysical turbulence. Reynolds' equations, dimensional analysis, and similarity. The surface and planetary boundary layers. Oceanic mixed layer. Theories of isotropic two- and three- dimensional turbulence: energy and enstrophy inertial ranges. Beta turbulence.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ATOC 517Boundary Layer Meteorology 3 credits
ATOC 521Cloud Physics3 credits
A detailed overview of the environmental factors and microphysical processes involved in the formation of clouds and precipitation. Topics typically include: cloud observations, atmospheric thermodynamics, environmental stability regimes, convection, the microphysics of the formation of cloud droplets and ice crystals, initiation of precipitation, aerosol–cloud interactions.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ATOC 525Atmospheric Radiation3 credits
Solar and terrestrial radiation. Interactions of molecules, aerosols, clouds, and precipitation with radiation of various wavelengths. Radiative transfer through the clear and cloudy atmosphere. Radiation budgets. Satellite and ground-based measurements. Climate implications.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ATOC 531Dynamics of Current Climates3 credits
A detailed overview of the climate and the global energy balance. Topics typically include: energy balance at top of the atmosphere and at the surface, poleward energy flux, the role of clouds, climate and atmospheric/oceanic general circulations, natural variability of the climate system, evolution of climate and climate change.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ATOC 540Synoptic Meteorology 13 credits
Analysis of current meteorological data. Description of a geostrophic, hydrostatic atmosphere. Ageostrophic circulations and hydrostatic instabilities. Kinematic and thermodynamic methods of computing vertical motions. Tropical and extratropical condensation rates. Barotropic and equivalent barotropic atmospheres.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ATOC 541Synoptic Meteorology 23 credits
Analysis of current meteorological data. Quasi-geostrophic theory, including the omega equation, as it relates to extratropical cyclone and anticyclone development. Frontogenesis and frontal circulations in the lower and upper troposphere. Cumulus convection and its relationship to tropical and extratropical circulations. Diagnostic case study work.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ATOC 548Mesoscale Meteorology3 credits
Theory of meteorologically important mesoscale phenomena including mesoscale instabilities, cumulus convection and its organization (including thunderstorms, squall lines, and other forms of severe weather), internal gravity waves, and topographically forced flows. Application of theory to the physical interpretation of observations and numerical simulations.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ATOC 557Research Methods: Atmospheric and Oceanic Science3 credits
The analysis of observational and modeling data, and the advantages and limitations of different data. Different analysis methods including regression, linear stochastic processes autocovariance and spectral analysis, principle component analysis, inverse problems and data assimilation, commonly used in the atmospheric and oceanic sciences.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ATOC 558Numerical Methods and Laboratory3 credits
Numerical simulation of atmospheric and oceanic processes. Finite difference, finite element, and spectral modelling techniques. Term project including computer modelling of convection or large-scale flows in the atmosphere or ocean.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ATOC 568Ocean Physics3 credits
Major topics in physics and dynamics of the ocean including seawater properties, density and equation of state, sea ice, air-sea-ice exchanges, mixing and stability in the ocean, wind-driven and thermohaline circulations. Observational techniques and numerical models of the ocean, which include some data analysis and literature review.
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COMP 551Applied Machine Learning4 credits
Selected topics in machine learning and data mining, including clustering, neural networks, support vector machines, decision trees. Methods include feature selection and dimensionality reduction, error estimation and empirical validation, algorithm design and parallelization, and handling of large data sets. Emphasis on good methods and practices for deployment of real systems.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 331Topics in Classical Mechanics3 credits
Forced and damped oscillators, Newtonian mechanics in three dimensions, rotational motion, Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics, small vibrations, normal modes. Nonlinear dynamics and chaos.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 339Measurements Laboratory in General Physics3 credits
Introduction to modern techniques of measurement. The use of computers in performing and analysing experiments. Data reduction, statistical methods, report writing. Extensive use of computers is made in this laboratory; therefore some familiarity with computers and computing is an advantage.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 404Climate Physics3 credits
This course covers the essentials of climate physics through the lens of one-dimensional, vertical atmospheric models. This includes shortwave and longwave radiative transfer, convection, phase changes, clouds, greenhouse gases, and atmospheric escape. This is an adequate level of detail for understanding Earth's climate, paleoclimate, anthropogenic climate change, or pursing studies of Solar System planets and extrasolar planets.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 432Physics of Fluids3 credits
The physical properties of fluids. The kinematics and dynamics of flow. The effects of viscosity and turbulence. Applications of fluid mechanics in biophysics, geophysics and engineering.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 434Optics3 credits
Fundamental concepts of optics, including applications and modern developments. Light propagation in media; geometric optics and optical instruments; polarization and coherence properties of light; interference and interferometry; diffraction theory and applications in spectrometry and imaging; Gaussian beams, Fourier optics and photonic band structure. A laboratory component provides hands-on experience in optical setup design, construction and testing of concepts introduced in lectures.
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PHYS 449Majors Research Project3 credits
A supervised research project.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 512Computational Physics with Applications3 credits
Computational methods in Physics illustrated with realworld applications.
MCGILL complete current official course definition

Physics and Geophysics46 listed

Published required and complementary course choices for the 69-credit Physics and Geophysics Major (B.Sc.). This is a program within the degree, not the complete degree or a term-by-term timetable. Some requirements specify course levels or subjects rather than naming courses. 69 credits for this program; faculty-wide degree and foundation requirements apply separately.

CHEM 110General Chemistry 14 credits
A study of the fundamental principles of atomic structure, radiation and nuclear chemistry, valence theory, coordination chemistry, and the periodic table.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
CHEM 120General Chemistry 24 credits
A study of the fundamental principles of physical chemistry.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 131Mechanics and Waves4 credits
The basic laws and principles of Newtonian mechanics; oscillations, waves, and wave optics.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 142Electromagnetism and Optics4 credits
The basic laws of electricity and magnetism; geometrical optics.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 111Principles: Organismal Biology3 credits
An introduction to the phylogeny, structure, function and adaptation of unicellular organisms, plants and animals in the biosphere.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 112Cell and Molecular Biology3 credits
The cell: ultrastructure, division, chemical constituents and reactions. Bioenergetics: photosynthesis and respiration. Principles of genetics, the molecular basis of inheritance and biotechnology.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 133Linear Algebra and Geometry3 credits
Systems of linear equations, matrices, inverses, determinants; geometric vectors in three dimensions, dot product, cross product, lines and planes; introduction to vector spaces, linear dependence and independence, bases. Linear transformations. Eigenvalues and diagonalization.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 140Calculus 13 credits
Review of functions and graphs. Limits, continuity, derivative. Differentiation of elementary functions. Antidifferentiation. Applications.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 141Calculus 24 credits
The definite integral. Techniques of integration. Applications. Introduction to sequences and series.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 150Calculus A4 credits
Functions, limits and continuity, differentiation, L'Hospital's rule, applications, Taylor polynomials, parametric curves, functions of several variables.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 151Calculus B4 credits
Integration, methods and applications, infinite sequences and series, power series, arc length and curvature, multiple integration.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
EPSC 231Field School 13 credits
Held locally in Québec. Field projects focused on geological mapping of selected areas, the preparation of maps and reports from field notes, the use of aerial photographs, and the exploration of various field techniques in various tectonic settings.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
EPSC 240Geology in the Field3 credits
Lectures and field-based exercises, held locally on campus and in the Montreal area, introduce students to the reading and interpretation of a topographic map, the basic description of a stratigraphic section and the inference of its depositional environment, the nature of intrusive contacts, and the field measurement of some structural features and geophysical properties. Students plot geological information on a map, identify landforms in aerial views and learn the tectonic features diagnostic of plate margins. By the end of the course, the students relate a geological map to the geological history of Quebec.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
EPSC 303Structural Geology3 credits
Primary igneous and sedimentary structures, attitudes of planes and lines, stress and strain, fracturing of rocks, faulting, homogeneous strain, description and classification of folds, foliation and lineation, orthographic and stereographic projections.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
EPSC 320Elementary Earth Physics3 credits
Physical properties of Earth and the processes associated with its existence as inferred from astronomy, geodesy, seismology, geology, terrestrial magnetism and thermal evolution.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 222Calculus 33 credits
Taylor series, Taylor's theorem in one and several variables. Review of vector geometry. Partial differentiation, directional derivative. Extreme of functions of 2 or 3 variables. Parametric curves and arc length. Polar and spherical coordinates. Multiple integrals.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 223Linear Algebra3 credits
Review of matrix algebra, determinants and systems of linear equations. Vector spaces, linear operators and their matrix representations, orthogonality. Eigenvalues and eigenvectors, diagonalization of Hermitian matrices. Applications.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 314Advanced Calculus3 credits
Derivative as a matrix. Chain rule. Implicit functions. Constrained maxima and minima. Jacobians. Multiple integration. Line and surface integrals. Theorems of Green, Stokes and Gauss. Fourier series with applications.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 315Ordinary Differential Equations3 credits
First order ordinary differential equations including elementary numerical methods. Linear differential equations. Laplace transforms. Series solutions.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 230Dynamics of Simple Systems3 credits
Translational motion under Newton's laws; forces, momentum, work/energy theorem. Special relativity; Lorentz transforms, relativistic mechanics, mass/energy equivalence. Topics in rotational dynamics. Noninertial frames.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 232Heat and Waves3 credits
The laws of thermodynamics and their consequences. Thermodynamics of P-V-T systems and simple heat engines. Free, driven, and damped harmonic oscillators. Coupled systems and normal modes. Fourier methods. Wave motion and dispersion. The wave equation.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 241Signal Processing3 credits
Linear circuit elements, resonance, network theorems, diodes, transistors, amplifiers, feedback, integrated circuits.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 257Experimental Methods 13 credits
Introductory laboratory work and data analysis as related to mechanics, optics and thermodynamics. Introduction to computers as they are employed for laboratory work, for data analysis and for numerical computation. Previous experience with computers is an asset, but is not required.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 258Experimental Methods 23 credits
Advanced laboratory work and data analysis as related to mechanics, optics and thermodynamics. Computers will be employed routinely for data analysis and for numerical computation, and, particularly, to facilitate the use of Fourier methods.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 331Topics in Classical Mechanics3 credits
Forced and damped oscillators, Newtonian mechanics in three dimensions, rotational motion, Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics, small vibrations, normal modes. Nonlinear dynamics and chaos.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 333Thermal and Statistical Physics3 credits
Introductory equilibrium statistical mechanics. Quantum states, probabilities, ensemble averages. Entropy, temperature, Boltzmann factor, chemical potential. Photons and phonons. Fermi-Dirac and Bose-Einstein distributions; applications.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 340Majors Electricity and Magnetism3 credits
The electrostatic field and scalar potential. Dielectric properties of matter. Energy in the electrostatic field. Methods for solving problems in electrostatics. The magnetic field. Induction and inductance. Energy in the magnetic field. Magnetic properties of matter. Maxwell's equations. The dipole approximation.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 342Majors Electromagnetic Waves3 credits
Maxwell's equations. The wave equation. The electromagnetic wave, reflection, refraction, polarization. Guided waves. Transmission lines and wave guides. Vector potential. Radiation. The elemental dipole; the half-wave dipole; vertical dipole; folded dipoles; Yagi antennas. Accelerating charged particles.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 346Majors Quantum Physics3 credits
De Broglie waves, Bohr atom. Schroedinger equation, wave functions, observables. One dimensional potentials. Schroedinger equation in three dimensions. Angular momentum, hydrogen atom. Spin, experimental consequences.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 432Physics of Fluids3 credits
The physical properties of fluids. The kinematics and dynamics of flow. The effects of viscosity and turbulence. Applications of fluid mechanics in biophysics, geophysics and engineering.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
EPSC 350Tectonics3 credits
Rheology of the Earth, mechanics of the crust and mantle and core, convection in the mantle, evolution and kinematics and deformations of the oceanic and continental plates, thermal evolution of the Earth, the unifying theory of plate tectonics.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
EPSC 425Sediments to Sequences3 credits
EPSC 482Research in Earth and Planetary Sciences3 credits
Research project designed by a student in consultation with a departmental faculty member of Earth & Planetary Sciences.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
EPSC 510Climate and Geodynamics3 credits
Topics in geodynamics and its connection to climate and surface processes, including the Earth's gravity field, body and orbital dynamics, tidal interactions, Earth deformation under static and dynamic loads including glacial isostatic adjustment and sea level change, the history and dynamics of the Earth's climate and of surface ice and water.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
EPSC 520Earthquake Physics and Geology3 credits
What are earthquakes and how do we study them? Fundamental mechanics of faulting and earthquake source processes are explored from theoretical and observational perspectives. The lectures cover concepts of earthquake source mechanism, including seismic waves, earthquake energy budget, fracture and friction mechanics, earthquake cycle deformation, earthquake triggering and prediction, and seismic hazards. This is complemented by in-class discussion on recent major discoveries and challenges in the field. Students learn to investigate earthquake source process by using seismic, geodetic and geological data in computer labs and course projects supervised by the instructor(s).
MCGILL complete current official course definition
EPSC 549Hydrogeology3 credits
Introduction to groundwater flow through porous media. Notions of fluid potential and hydraulic head. Darcy flux and Darcy's Law. Physical properties of porous media and their measurement. Equation of groundwater flow. Flow systems. Hydraulics of pumping and recharging wells. Notions of hydrology. Groundwater quality and contamination. Physical processes of contaminant transport.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 319Partial Differential Equations 3 credits
PHYS 320Introductory Astrophysics3 credits
A survey of astrophysics ranging from stars and planets, to compact objects, galaxies, and the large-scale evolution of the Universe. A calculusbased course, with a focus on simple mathematical derivations that capture the essential physics.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 321Data Science and Observational Astrophysics3 credits
Data analysis methods as applied in experimental physics, with an emphasis on applications in observational astrophysics. An introduction to Bayesian inference, model selection, Markov Chain Monte Carlo, common probability distributions, jackknives and null tests, as they are used in the analysis of observational data from across the electromagnetic spectrum.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 339Measurements Laboratory in General Physics3 credits
Introduction to modern techniques of measurement. The use of computers in performing and analysing experiments. Data reduction, statistical methods, report writing. Extensive use of computers is made in this laboratory; therefore some familiarity with computers and computing is an advantage.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 404Climate Physics3 credits
This course covers the essentials of climate physics through the lens of one-dimensional, vertical atmospheric models. This includes shortwave and longwave radiative transfer, convection, phase changes, clouds, greenhouse gases, and atmospheric escape. This is an adequate level of detail for understanding Earth's climate, paleoclimate, anthropogenic climate change, or pursing studies of Solar System planets and extrasolar planets.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 449Majors Research Project3 credits
A supervised research project.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 459D1Research Thesis3 credits
Supervised research project and thesis.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 459D2Research Thesis3 credits
See PHYS 459D1 for course description.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 512Computational Physics with Applications3 credits
Computational methods in Physics illustrated with realworld applications.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 521Astrophysics3 credits
An advanced course in modern astrophysics, covering topics such as the basic tools of astronomy (statistics, mathematical methods, computational tools, and instrumentation); stellar astrophysics (properties, structure, atmospheres, binaries/exoplanets); the interstellar medium, star formation, stellar evolution and endpoints (white dwarfs, neutron stars, black holes); and the Milky Way, galaxies, and cosmology.
MCGILL complete current official course definition

Physics and Computer Science33 listed

Published required and complementary course choices for the 66-credit Physics and Computer Science Major (B.Sc.). This is a program within the degree, not the complete degree or a term-by-term timetable. Some requirements specify course levels or subjects rather than naming courses. 66 credits for this program; faculty-wide degree and foundation requirements apply separately.

CHEM 110General Chemistry 14 credits
A study of the fundamental principles of atomic structure, radiation and nuclear chemistry, valence theory, coordination chemistry, and the periodic table.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
CHEM 120General Chemistry 24 credits
A study of the fundamental principles of physical chemistry.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 131Mechanics and Waves4 credits
The basic laws and principles of Newtonian mechanics; oscillations, waves, and wave optics.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 142Electromagnetism and Optics4 credits
The basic laws of electricity and magnetism; geometrical optics.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 111Principles: Organismal Biology3 credits
An introduction to the phylogeny, structure, function and adaptation of unicellular organisms, plants and animals in the biosphere.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 112Cell and Molecular Biology3 credits
The cell: ultrastructure, division, chemical constituents and reactions. Bioenergetics: photosynthesis and respiration. Principles of genetics, the molecular basis of inheritance and biotechnology.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 133Linear Algebra and Geometry3 credits
Systems of linear equations, matrices, inverses, determinants; geometric vectors in three dimensions, dot product, cross product, lines and planes; introduction to vector spaces, linear dependence and independence, bases. Linear transformations. Eigenvalues and diagonalization.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 140Calculus 13 credits
Review of functions and graphs. Limits, continuity, derivative. Differentiation of elementary functions. Antidifferentiation. Applications.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 141Calculus 24 credits
The definite integral. Techniques of integration. Applications. Introduction to sequences and series.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 150Calculus A4 credits
Functions, limits and continuity, differentiation, L'Hospital's rule, applications, Taylor polynomials, parametric curves, functions of several variables.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 151Calculus B4 credits
Integration, methods and applications, infinite sequences and series, power series, arc length and curvature, multiple integration.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 250Introduction to Computer Science3 credits
Object oriented programming in Java: classes and objects, interfaces, inheritance. Data structures and abstract data types: arrays, stacks, queues, linked lists, trees, binary trees,binary search trees, heaps, hash tables, graphs. Recursive and non-recursive algorithms and their asymptotic complexity: searching and sorting, tree and graph traversal. Mathematical tools: induction, recurrence relations.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 222Calculus 33 credits
Taylor series, Taylor's theorem in one and several variables. Review of vector geometry. Partial differentiation, directional derivative. Extreme of functions of 2 or 3 variables. Parametric curves and arc length. Polar and spherical coordinates. Multiple integrals.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 223Linear Algebra3 credits
Review of matrix algebra, determinants and systems of linear equations. Vector spaces, linear operators and their matrix representations, orthogonality. Eigenvalues and eigenvectors, diagonalization of Hermitian matrices. Applications.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 240Discrete Structures3 credits
Introduction to discrete mathematics and applications. Logical reasoning and methods of proof. Elementary number theory and cryptography: prime numbers, modular equations, RSA encryption. Combinatorics: basic enumeration, combinatorial methods, recurrence equations. Graph theory: trees, cycles, planar graphs.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 230Dynamics of Simple Systems3 credits
Translational motion under Newton's laws; forces, momentum, work/energy theorem. Special relativity; Lorentz transforms, relativistic mechanics, mass/energy equivalence. Topics in rotational dynamics. Noninertial frames.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 257Experimental Methods 13 credits
Introductory laboratory work and data analysis as related to mechanics, optics and thermodynamics. Introduction to computers as they are employed for laboratory work, for data analysis and for numerical computation. Previous experience with computers is an asset, but is not required.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 258Experimental Methods 23 credits
Advanced laboratory work and data analysis as related to mechanics, optics and thermodynamics. Computers will be employed routinely for data analysis and for numerical computation, and, particularly, to facilitate the use of Fourier methods.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 206Introduction to Software Systems3 credits
Comprehensive overview of programming in C, use of system calls and libraries, debugging and testing of code; use of developmental tools like make, version control systems.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 251Algorithms and Data Structures3 credits
Data Structures: priority queues, balanced binary search trees, hash tables, graphs. Algorithms: topological sort, connected components, shortest paths, minimum spanning trees, bipartite matching, network flows. Algorithm design: greedy, divide and conquer, dynamic programming, randomization. Mathematicaltools: proofs of asymptotic complexity and program correctness, Master theorem.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 302Programming Languages and Paradigms3 credits
Programming language design issues and programming paradigms. Binding and scoping, parameter passing, lambda abstraction, data abstraction, type checking. Functional and logic programming.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 350Numerical Computing3 credits
Computer representation of numbers, IEEE Standard for Floating Point Representation, computer arithmetic and rounding errors. Numerical stability. Matrix computations and software systems. Polynomial interpolation. Least-squares approximation. Iterative methods for solving a nonlinear equation. Discretization methods for integration and differential equations.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 314Advanced Calculus3 credits
Derivative as a matrix. Chain rule. Implicit functions. Constrained maxima and minima. Jacobians. Multiple integration. Line and surface integrals. Theorems of Green, Stokes and Gauss. Fourier series with applications.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 315Ordinary Differential Equations3 credits
First order ordinary differential equations including elementary numerical methods. Linear differential equations. Laplace transforms. Series solutions.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 232Heat and Waves3 credits
The laws of thermodynamics and their consequences. Thermodynamics of P-V-T systems and simple heat engines. Free, driven, and damped harmonic oscillators. Coupled systems and normal modes. Fourier methods. Wave motion and dispersion. The wave equation.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 241Signal Processing3 credits
Linear circuit elements, resonance, network theorems, diodes, transistors, amplifiers, feedback, integrated circuits.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
COMP 360Algorithm Design3 credits
Advanced algorithm design and analysis. Linear programming, complexity and NP-completeness, advanced algorithmic techniques.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 323Probability3 credits
Sample space, events, conditional probability, independence of events, Bayes' Theorem. Basic combinatorial probability, random variables, discrete and continuous univariate and multivariate distributions. Independence of random variables. Inequalities, weak law of large numbers, central limit theorem.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 331Topics in Classical Mechanics3 credits
Forced and damped oscillators, Newtonian mechanics in three dimensions, rotational motion, Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics, small vibrations, normal modes. Nonlinear dynamics and chaos.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 339Measurements Laboratory in General Physics3 credits
Introduction to modern techniques of measurement. The use of computers in performing and analysing experiments. Data reduction, statistical methods, report writing. Extensive use of computers is made in this laboratory; therefore some familiarity with computers and computing is an advantage.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 340Majors Electricity and Magnetism3 credits
The electrostatic field and scalar potential. Dielectric properties of matter. Energy in the electrostatic field. Methods for solving problems in electrostatics. The magnetic field. Induction and inductance. Energy in the magnetic field. Magnetic properties of matter. Maxwell's equations. The dipole approximation.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 346Majors Quantum Physics3 credits
De Broglie waves, Bohr atom. Schroedinger equation, wave functions, observables. One dimensional potentials. Schroedinger equation in three dimensions. Angular momentum, hydrogen atom. Spin, experimental consequences.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHYS 489Special Project3 credits
A project incorporating aspects of both physics and computer science, under the joint supervision of the two departments. The Physics aspect may be either laboratory-based or theoretical in nature. The Computational aspect will involve the development and implementation of algorithms arising from the investigation.
MCGILL complete current official course definition

Environment - Biodiversity and Conservation101 listed

Published required and complementary course choices for the 63-credit Environment Major - Biodiversity and Conservation (B.Sc.(Ag.Env.Sc.)) or (B.Sc.). This is a program within the degree, not the complete degree or a term-by-term timetable. Some requirements specify course levels or subjects rather than naming courses. 63 credits for this program; faculty-wide degree and foundation requirements apply separately.

ENVR 200The Global Environment3 credits
A systems approach to study the different components of the environment involved in global climate change: the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. The interactions among these components. Their role in global climate change. The human dimension to global change.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 201Society, Environment and Sustainability3 credits
This course deals with how scientific-technological, socio-economic, political-institutional and behavioural factors mediate society-environment interactions. Issues discussed include population and resources; consumption, impacts and institutions; integrating environmental values in societal decision-making; and the challenges associated with, and strategies for, promoting sustainability. Case studies in various sectors and contexts are used.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 202The Evolving Earth3 credits
Formation of the Earth and the evolution of life. How geological and biological change are the consequence of history, chance, and necessity acting over different scales of space and time. General principles governing the formation of modern landscapes and biotas. Effects of human activities on natural systems.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 203Knowledge, Ethics and Environment3 credits
Introduction to cultural perspectives on the environment: the influence of culture and cognition on perceptions of the natural world; conflicts in orders of knowledge (models, taxonomies, paradigms, theories, cosmologies), ethics (moral values, frameworks, dilemmas), and law (formal and customary, rights and obligations) regarding political dimensions of critical environments, resource use, and technologies.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 301Environmental Research Design3 credits
Techniques used in design and completion of environmental research projects. Problem definition, data sources and use of appropriate strategies and methodologies. Principles underlying research design are emphasized, including critical thinking, recognizing causal relationships, ideologies and bias in research, and when and where to seek expertise.
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ENVR 400Environmental Thought3 credits
Students work in interdisciplinary seminar groups on challenging philosophical, ethical, scientific and practical issues. They will explore cutting-edge ideas and grapple with the reconciliation of environmental imperatives and social, political and economic pragmatics. Activities include meeting practitioners, attending guest lectures, following directed readings, and organizing, leading and participating in seminars.
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AEBI 427Barbados Interdisciplinary Project6 credits
The planning of projects and research activities related to tropical food, nutrition, or energy at the local, regional, or national scale in Barbados. Projects and activities designed in consultation with university instructors, government, NGO, or private partners, and prepared by teams of 2-3 students working cooperatively with these mentors.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 401Environmental Research3 credits
Students work in an interdisciplinary team on a real-world research project involving problem definition, methodology development, social, ethical and environmental impact assessment, execution of the study, and dissemination of results to the research community and to the people affected. Teams begin defining their projects during the preceding summer.
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ENVR 451Research in Panama6 credits
Research projects will be developed by instructors in consultation with Panamanian universities, government agencies and non-governmental organizations. Project groups will consist of four to six students working with a Panamanian institution. Topics will be relevant to Panama: e.g., protection of the Canal watershed, economical alternatives to deforestation, etc.
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FSCI 444Barbados Research Project6 credits
A research project that is supervised by McGill academic staff and is conducted in collaboration with local partners. The project topic must relate to the field of sustainability relating to the Caribbean or Barbados specifically.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
GEOG 451Research in Society and Development in Africa3 credits
Three intersecting components: 1) core development themes including culture change, environmental conservation, water, health, development (urban and rural), governance and conflict resolution, 2) research techniques for topics related to core themes, including ethics, risk, field methods and data analysis, 3) field documentation, scientific recording and communication.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
AEBI 212Evolution and Phylogeny3 credits
Overview of the tree of life and exploration of the central role evolution plays in the field of biology. Difficulties inherent to classifying life and critically assessing evolutionary theory among scientific and popular audiences. The importance of phylogenetics and the relationships among major groups of organisms.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 304Evolution3 credits
A comprehensive introduction to evolutionary biology. It covers both short-term and long-term evolutionary processes. Topics include the history of life, the origin of species, adaptation, natural selection and sexual selection.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
AEBI 211Organisms 23 credits
Introduction to the biology of heterotrophs, focusing on animal diversity from the perspectives of phylogenetics, physiology, and ecology. Introduction to major animal taxa, comparing and contrasting these taxa, and exploration of the relationships among them.
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BIOL 305Animal Diversity3 credits
The characteristics of the major groups of animals, their ancestry, history and relationship to one another. The processes of speciation, adaptive radiation and extinction responsible for diversity. Methods for constructing of phylogenies, for comparing phenotypes, and for estimating and analyzing diversity.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 465Conservation Biology3 credits
Discussion of relevant theoretical and applied issues in conservation biology. Topics: biodiversity, population viability analysis, community dynamics, biology of rarity, extinction, habitat fragmentation, social issues.
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WILD 421Wildlife Conservation3 credits
Study of current controversial issues focusing on wildlife conservation. Topics include: animal rights, exotic species, ecotourism, urban wildlife, multi-use of national parks, harvesting of wildlife, biological controls, and endangered species.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 308Ecological Dynamics3 credits
Principles of population, community, and ecosystem dynamics: population growth and regulation, species interactions, dynamics of competitive interactions and of predator/prey systems; evolutionary dynamics.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVB 305Population and Community Ecology3 credits
Interactions between organisms and their environment; historical and current perspectives in applied and theoretical population and community ecology. Principles of population dynamics, feedback loops, and population regulation. Development and structure of communities; competition, predation and food web dynamics. Biodiversity science in theory and practice.
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AEMA 310Statistical Methods 13 credits
Measures of central tendency and dispersion; binomial and Poisson distributions; normal, chi-square, Student's t and Fisher-Snedecor F distributions; estimation and hypothesis testing; simple linear regression and correlation; analysis of variance for simple experimental designs.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
GEOG 202Statistics and Spatial Analysis3 credits
Exploratory data analysis, univariate descriptive and inferential statistics, non-parametric statistics, correlation and simple regression. Problems associated with analysing spatial data such as the 'modifiable areal unit problem' and spatial autocorrelation. Statistics measuring spatial pattern in point, line and polygon data.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 203Principles of Statistics 13 credits
Examples of statistical data and the use of graphical means to summarize the data. Basic distributions arising in the natural and behavioural sciences. The logical meaning of a test of significance and a confidence interval. Tests of significance and confidence intervals in the one and two sample setting (means, variances and proportions).
MCGILL complete current official course definition
AEBI 423Sustainable Land Use3 credits
Management, preservation, and utilization of forage crops in sustainable tropical environments; examination of their value as livestock feed in terms of nutritional composition and impact on animal performance; land use issues as it pertains to forage and animal production in insular environments.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
AGEC 200Principles of Microeconomics3 credits
The field of economics as it relates to the activities of individual consumers, firms and organizations. Emphasis is on the application of economic principles and concepts to everyday decision making and to the analysis of current economic issues.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
AGEC 430Agriculture, Food and Resource Policy3 credits
Examination of North American and international agriculture, food and resource policies, policy instruments, programs and their implications. Economic analysis applied to the principles, procedures and objectives of various policy actions affecting agriculture, and the environment.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 451Research in Ecology and Development in Africa3 credits
Development of observation and independent inquiry skills through: 1) participation in short-term project modules in collaboration with existing researchers; 2) participation in interdisciplinary team research on topics selected to allow comparative analysis of field sites; 3) active and systematic observation, documentation, and integration of field experience in ecology and development issues.
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ECON 208Microeconomic Analysis and Applications3 credits
A university-level introduction to demand and supply, consumer behaviour, production theory, market structures and income distribution theory.
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ECON 225Economics of the Environment3 credits
A study of the application of economic theory to questions of environmental policy. Particular attention will be given to the measurement and regulation of pollution, congestion and waste and other environmental aspects of specific economies.
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ENVB 437Assessing Environmental Impact3 credits
Principles and practice of Environmental Assessment (EA) in Canada and internationally. Exploration of issues surrounding impact assessment for sustainable development in different sectors, including their limitations.
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ENVR 422Montreal Urban Sustainability Analysis3 credits
Applied and experience-based learning opportunities are employed to critically assess Montreal as a sustainable city through research, discussion, and field trips. The urban environment is considered through various specific dimensions, ranging from: waste, energy, urban agriculture, green spaces and design, or transportation.
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GEOG 302Environmental Management 13 credits
An ecological analysis of the physical and biotic components of natural resource systems. Emphasis on scientific, technological and institutional aspects of environmental management. Study of the use of biological resources and of the impact of individual processes.
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GEOG 340Sustainability in the Caribbean3 credits
The local environmental, social, historical, political and economic context of Barbados and the Caribbean. The small island developing States (SIDS), and why those nations are more vulnerable to global environmental challenges. The 17 Sustainability Development Goals of the United Nations, with a focus on the leadership role played by Barbados for the entire Caribbean region.
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GEOG 360Analyzing Sustainability3 credits
Examines challenges to sustainability through a series of case studies to illustrate the analytical approaches used to understand the linkages between scientific-technological, socio-economic, political-institutional, ethical, and human behavioural aspect of systems. Includes cases that are thematic and place-based, national and international, spanning from the local to global scales.
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GEOG 408Geography of Development3 credits
Examines the geographical dimensions of development policy, specifically the relationships between the process of development and human-induced environmental change. Focuses on environmental sustainability, struggles over resource control, population and poverty, and levels of governance (the role of the state, non-governmental organizations, and local communities).
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NRSC 451Research in Ecology and Development in Africa3 credits
Development of observation and independent inquiry skills through: 1) participation in short-term project modules in collaboration with existing researchers; 2) participation in interdisciplinary team research on topics selected to allow comparative analysis of field sites; 3) active and systematic observation, documentation, and integration of field experience in ecology and development issues.
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PLNT 312Urban Horticulture3 credits
Selection, use and care of plants in urban environments for the benefit of urban populations: landscape design, turf and green space management, urban trees, green roofs and walls, design and management of community gardens, urban agriculture.
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POLI 345International Organizations3 credits
The politics and processes of global governance in the 21st century, with a special emphasis on the United Nations system.
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POLI 350Global Environmental Politics3 credits
Environmental problems like climate change, deforestation, biodiversity loss, and ocean acidification transcend national borders. Solving these problems will require global cooperation on an unprecedented level. This course will explore the challenges of contemporary global environmental governance and the innovative solutions being advanced at the community, municipal, provincial, national, and international levels.
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WCOM 314Communicating Science3 credits
Production of written and oral assignments (in English) designed to communicate scientific problems and findings to varied audiences Analysis of the disciplinary conventions of scientific discourse in terms of audience, purpose, organization, and style; comparative rhetorical analysis of academic and popular genres, including abstracts, lab reports, research papers, print and online journalism.
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BIOL 240Monteregian Flora3 credits
Field studies of ferns, fern allies, conifers and flowering plants; the use of keys for plant identification.
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BIOL 331Ecology/Behaviour Field Course3 credits
Methods of sampling natural populations. Testing hypotheses in nature.
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BIOL 334D1Applied Tropical Ecology1.5 credits
Relevant to agriculture, forestry, fisheries and conservation of natural resources. Field component taught at the University's Bellairs Research Institute in Barbados, for two weeks in early May. The course is organized in a series of small-group field projects of 2-3 days each. Interested students should check the course website, attend the full information session and fill out an application form.
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BIOL 334D2Applied Tropical Ecology1.5 credits
See BIOL 334D1 for course description.
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BIOL 335Marine Mammals3 credits
Biology of marine mammals with special emphasis on seals and whales of the Bay of Fundy. Taught at the Huntsman Marine Science Centre, St. Andrews, N.B., for two weeks in August. The course combines lectures, laboratory exercises, field trips, and individual projects.
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BIOL 553Neotropical Environments3 credits
Ecology revisited in view of tropical conditions. Exploring species richness. Sampling and measuring biodiversity. Conservation status of ecosystems, communities and species. Indigenous knowledge.
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ENTO 340Field Entomology3 credits
A field course and project about arthropod taxonomy, field methods and experimental design in entomology. Includes natural history observation, and experimental approaches to arthropod population and community ecology.
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ENVB 410Ecosystem Ecology3 credits
Biotic and abiotic processes that control the flows of energy, nutrients and water through ecosystems; emergent system properties; approaches to analyzing complex systems. Labs include collection and multivariate analysis of field data.
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GEOG 495Field Studies - Physical Geography3 credits
Field research projects in physical geography. Held locally in Monteregian or Eastern Township regions. The course is organised around field projects designed to formulate and test scientific hypotheses in a physical geography discipline. May Summer session.
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PLNT 358Flowering Plant Diversity3 credits
Principles of classification and identification of flowering plants and ferns, with emphasis on 35 major families of flowering plants and the habitats in which they grow.
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PLNT 460Plant Ecology3 credits
Theory and practice of plant ecology with an emphasis on the interaction between patterns and ecological processes and the dynamics, conservation and management of plant populations and communities over a range of temporal and spatial scales.
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WILD 401Fisheries and Wildlife Management3 credits
Principles of fisheries and wildlife management are considered and current practices of research and management are discussed.
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WILD 475Desert Ecology3 credits
A three week field course exploring relationships between climate, geology, landforms, biodiversity, biotic adaptations and ecosystem conditions in the arid regions of Arizona and southern California. Focus is on the Sonoran and Mojave deserts but includes the transitions to adjacent grassland and forest biomes of the Sky Islands and Colorado Plateau. Exploration of issues arising from human use of land and water, and conservation in arid environments. Experiential learning involving team and individual projects and assignments before and during the field trip.
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WOOD 441Integrated Forest Management3 credits
The study of silviculture and silvics and their application to forest management to sustain the production of wood and other ecological goods and services such as wildlife, water and landscape in natural forests and rural environments (agroforestry). Acquisition of practical skills in forest surveying and computer simulation of forest growth.
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ANSC 326Fundamentals of Population Genetics3 credits
Population genetics mechanisms in mammals, birds and plant. Factors influencing gene, genotype, and phenotypic frequencies. Effects of different types of selection, Hardy-Weinberg, linkage and recombination, polymorphisms and heterozygosity, population size, random drift and inbreeding on gene and genotype frequencies. Relationship between quantitative genetic parameters and gene frequencies.
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ATOC 341Caribbean Climate and Weather3 credits
The climate system and ongoing global change, ocean and atmosphere circulation and future trends in the tropics; local climate variability and dynamics, extreme weather events in the Caribbean .
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BIOL 202Basic Genetics3 credits
Introduction to basic principles, and to modern advances, problems and applications in the genetics of higher and lower organisms with examples representative of the biological sciences.
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BIOL 216Biology of Behaviour3 credits
Introduction to the study of animal behaviour at the population, organismal, cellular, and molecular levels. Historical and contemporary methods and experiments will be presented and discussed to provide an overall appreciation of the biology of behaviour, with a focus on the application of multiple levels of analysis to biological phenomena and the formulation of hypotheses about evolution, development, function, and mechanisms of behavioural traits. Topics will range from how animals communicate with one another to the cellular mechanisms that allow information to be processed by nervous systems.
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BIOL 324Ecological Genetics3 credits
Presents evolutionary genetics within an ecological context. Covers theoretical and applied topics together with relevant data from natural populations of plant and animals.
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BIOL 342Global Change Biology of Aquatic Ecosystems3 credits
An introduction to freshwater and marine biology. Topics include the structure and functioning of the major aquatic ecosystems and how these aspects are affected by global change drivers.
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BIOL 432Limnology3 credits
A study of the physical, chemical and biological properties of lakes and other inland waters, with emphasis on their functioning as systems.
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BIOL 441Biological Oceanography3 credits
An introduction to how the ocean functions biologically: biology and ecology of marine plankton; regulation, extent and fate of production in the sea.
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BIOL 515Advances in Aquatic Ecology3 credits
Aquatic ecology and the major issues challenging the field.
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BREE 217Hydrology and Water Resources3 credits
Introduction to water resources and hydrologic cycle. Precipitation and hydrologic frequency analysis. Soil water processes, infiltration theory and modeling. Evapotranspiration estimation methods and crop water requirements. Surface runoff estimation as a function of land use modifications. Estimation of peak runoff rates. Unit hydrograph. Design of open channels and vegetated waterways.
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BREE 529GIS for Natural Resource Management3 credits
Applications of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and spatial analysis techniques to the presentation and analysis of ecological information, including sources and capture of spatial data; characterizing, transforming, displaying spatial data; and spatial analysis to solve resource management problems.
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ENVB 313Phylogeny and Biogeography3 credits
Topics in the interface of evolution, phylogenetics, and biogeography, including tree thinking, phylogeny estimation, and the processes that generate and maintain biodiversity. The major scientific discoveries that demonstrated how Earth’s history affects the evolution of organisms, including the unheard voices of evolutionary biology.
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ENVB 500Advanced Topics in Ecotoxicology3 credits
Exploring the impact of environmental chemicals on biological organisms in an ecological context. Basic topics in ecotoxicology, such as source and fate, routes of exposure, bioavailability, dose-response, biomarkers, and risk assessment will be covered from both theoretical and applied perspectives. The processes by which pollutants are tested, regulated, and monitored will be critically examined.
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ENVB 529GIS for Natural Resource Management3 credits
Applications of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and spatial analysis techniques to the presentation and analysis of ecological information, including sources and capture of spatial data; characterizing, transforming, displaying spatial data; and spatial analysis to solve resource management problems.
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GEOG 272Earth's Changing Surface3 credits
Introduction to the study of landforms as products of geomorphic and geologic systems acting at and near the Earth's surface. The process geomorphology approach will be used to demonstrate how landforms of different geomorphic settings represent a dynamic balance between forces acting in the environment and the physical properties of materials present.
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GEOG 321Climatic Environments3 credits
The earth-atmosphere system, radiation and energy balances. Surface-atmosphere exchange of energy, mass and momentum and related atmospheric processes on a local and regional scale. Introduction to measurement theory and practice in micrometeorology.
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GEOG 322Environmental Hydrology3 credits
Quantitative, experimental study of the principles governing the movement of water at or near the Earth's surface and how the research relates to the chemistry and biology of ecosystems.
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LSCI 204Genetics3 credits
The course integrates classical, molecular and population genetics of animals, plants, bacteria and viruses. The aim is to understand the flow of genetic information within a cell, within families and in populations. Emphasis will be placed on problem solving based learning. The laboratory exercises will emphasize the interpretation of genetic experimental data.
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MICR 331Microbial Ecology3 credits
The ecology of microorganisms, primarily bacteria and archaea, and their roles in biogeochemical cycles. Microbial interactions with the environment, plants, animals and other microbes emphasizing the underlying genetics and physiology. Diversity, evolution (microbial phylogenetics) and the application of molecular biology in microbial ecology.
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SOIL 315Soil Nutrient Management3 credits
Plant nutrients in the soil, influence of soil properties on nutrient absorption and plant growth, use of organic and inorganic fertilizers.
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AGEC 333Resource Economics3 credits
The role of resources in the environment, use of resources, and management of economic resources within the firm or organization. Problem-solving, case studies involving private and public decision-making in organizations are utilized.
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AGRI 411Global Issues on Development, Food and Agriculture3 credits
International development and world food security and challenges in developing countries. Soil and water management, climate change, demographic issues, plant and animal resources conservation, bio-products and biofuels, economic and environmental issues specially in tropical and sub-tropical regions. Globalization, sustainable development, technology transfer and human resources needs for rural development.
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ANSC 555The Use and Welfare of Animals3 credits
Understanding the roles in which animals are used by Society, especially in food production, companionship, research, and recreation; application of the scientific approaches that are used in assessing and improving animal welfare; and use of ethical approaches that are invoked in the use of animals, often in controversial contexts. An interdisciplinary course, based on active participation and discussion-method learning.
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ANTH 339Ecological Anthropology3 credits
Intensive study of theories and cases in ecological anthropology. Theories are examined and tested through comparative case-study analysis. Cultural constructions of "nature" and "environment" are compared and analyzed. Systems of resource management and conflicts over the use of resources are studied in depth.
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ANTH 416Environment/Development: Africa3 credits
Study of environmental effects of development in East Africa, especially due to changes in traditional land tenure and resource use across diverse ecosystems. Models, policies and cases of pastoralist, agricultural, fishing, wildlife and tourist development will be examined, across savanna, desert, forest, highland and coastal environments.
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ANTH 451Research in Society and Development in Africa3 credits
Instruction focuses on three goals: 1) existing research in selected core thematic areas, 2) participating in interdisciplinary team research, 3) developing powers of observation and independent inquiry. Students will be expected to develop research activities and interdisciplinary perspectives, and to become conversant with advances in local research in their field.
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ECON 326Ecological Economics3 credits
Macroeconomic and structural aspects of the ecological crisis. A course in which subjects discussed include the conflict between economic growth and the laws of thermodynamics; the search for alternative economic indicators; the fossil fuels crisis; and "green'' fiscal policy.
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ENVR 421Montreal: Environmental History and Sustainability3 credits
This course will focus on the role of place and history in the cities in which we live and in our understanding of sustainability. Each year, students will work to develop a historical reconstruction of the natural environment of Montreal and of its links to the cultural landscape, building on the work of previous cohorts of students.
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GEOG 404Environmental Management 23 credits
Practical application of environmental planning, analysis and management techniques with reference to the needs and problems of developing areas. Special challenges posed by cultural differences and traditional resource systems are discussed. This course involves practical field work in a developing area (Kenya or Panama).
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GEOG 498Humans in Tropical Environments3 credits
Focus on understanding of inter-relations between humans and neotropical environments represented in Panama. Study of contemporary rural landscapes, their origins, development and change. Impacts of economic growth and inequality, social organization, and politics on natural resource use and environmental degradation. Site visits and field exercises in peasant/colonist, Amerindian, and plantation communities.
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GEOG 530Global Land and Water Resources3 credits
Linkage of physical processes (hydrology and ecosystems) with issues of societal and socio-economic relevance (land, food, and water use appropriation for human well-being). Application of a holistic perspective on land, food and water issues in an international setting, highlighting linkages, feedbacks and trade-offs in an Earth system context.
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AEBI 421Tropical Horticultural Ecology3 credits
A comprehensive survey of the major fruit, vegetable, turf, and ornamental crops grown in Barbados. Effect of cultural practices, environment, pests and pathogens, social and touristic activities, and importation of horticultural produce on local horticulture.
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AGRI 340Principles of Ecological Agriculture3 credits
Focus on low-input, sustainable, and organic agriculture: the farm as an ecosystem; complex system theory; practical examples of soil management, pest control, integrated crop and livestock production, and marketing systems.
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BIOL 310Biodiversity and Ecosystems3 credits
Ecological bases of the natural causes and consequences of current global environmental changes, including how biodiversity and ecosystem processes are defined and measured, how they vary in space and time, how they are affected by physical and biological factors, and how they affect each other and human societies.
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BIOL 343Biodiversity in the Caribean3 credits
Biodiversity loss and the measure of ecological integrity of ecosystems, patterns of diversification and evolution of terrestrial and oceanic biotas in the Caribbean.
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BIOL 352Dinosaur Biology3 credits
Using dinosaurs as exemplars, this course teaches aspects of comparative, functional, and developmental morphology, macroevolution, macroecology, and phylogenetic systematics. Lab dissections will explore vertebrate anatomy.
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BIOL 427Herpetology3 credits
Principles of biology as exemplified by amphibians and reptiles. Topics include: adaptation, social behaviour, reproductive strategies, physiology, biomechanics, ecology, biogeography and evolution. Laboratories will emphasize structure, systematics and identification of local and world herpetofauna as well as field methods.
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BIOL 510Advances in Community Ecology3 credits
The origin, maintenance and roles of biological diversity within ecological communities.
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BIOL 540Ecology of Species Invasions3 credits
Causes and consequences of biological invasion, as well as risk assessment methods and management strategies for dealing with invasive species.
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ENTO 330Insect Biology3 credits
Introduction to entomology, including the the importance and diversity of insects; insect morphology, anatomy and physiology; insect sensory systems; reproduction; metamorphosis; insect classification and survey of the orders and common families.
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ENVR 540Ecology of Species Invasions3 credits
Causes and consequences of biological invasion, as well as risk assessment methods and management strategies for dealing with invasive species.
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PARA 424Fundamental Parasitology3 credits
Systematics, morphology, biology and ecology of parasitic protozoa, flatworms, roundworms and arthropods with emphasis on economically and medically important species.
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PLNT 304Biology of Fungi3 credits
This course describes the various groups of fungi and explores in depth their biology and physiology, their ecological niches and the role in various ecosystems and their benefits and uses in industry and biotechnology.
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PLNT 434Weed Biology and Control3 credits
A study of the biology of undesirable vegetation as related to the principles of prevention and physical, biological, managerial and chemical control. Emphasis on the environmental impact of the different methods of weed control.
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REDM 400Science and Museums3 credits
Natural history museums and their collections, how collections are created and maintained and how collections are used in scientific research. Context of natural history museums, collections-based research and curatorial methods.
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WILD 307Natural History of Vertebrates3 credits
The diversity and natural history of Canadian vertebrates illustrated with trophic, phylogenetic, and macroecological approaches.
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WILD 350Mammalogy3 credits
This course focuses on the evolution, classification, ecology and behaviour of mammals and relations between humans and mammals. Also structure, systematics and identification of local and world mammals, as well as field methods will be emphasized.
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WILD 420Ornithology3 credits
Taxonomic relationships and evolution of birds. Examination of the physiology, migration, identification and ecological processes of North American birds.
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Environment - Ecological Determinants of Health - Cellular81 listed

Published required and complementary course choices for the 63-credit Environment Major - Ecological Determinants of Health - Cellular (B.Sc.(Ag.Env.Sc.)) or (B.Sc.). This is a program within the degree, not the complete degree or a term-by-term timetable. Some requirements specify course levels or subjects rather than naming courses. 63 credits for this program; faculty-wide degree and foundation requirements apply separately.

ENVR 200The Global Environment3 credits
A systems approach to study the different components of the environment involved in global climate change: the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. The interactions among these components. Their role in global climate change. The human dimension to global change.
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ENVR 201Society, Environment and Sustainability3 credits
This course deals with how scientific-technological, socio-economic, political-institutional and behavioural factors mediate society-environment interactions. Issues discussed include population and resources; consumption, impacts and institutions; integrating environmental values in societal decision-making; and the challenges associated with, and strategies for, promoting sustainability. Case studies in various sectors and contexts are used.
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ENVR 202The Evolving Earth3 credits
Formation of the Earth and the evolution of life. How geological and biological change are the consequence of history, chance, and necessity acting over different scales of space and time. General principles governing the formation of modern landscapes and biotas. Effects of human activities on natural systems.
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ENVR 203Knowledge, Ethics and Environment3 credits
Introduction to cultural perspectives on the environment: the influence of culture and cognition on perceptions of the natural world; conflicts in orders of knowledge (models, taxonomies, paradigms, theories, cosmologies), ethics (moral values, frameworks, dilemmas), and law (formal and customary, rights and obligations) regarding political dimensions of critical environments, resource use, and technologies.
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ENVR 301Environmental Research Design3 credits
Techniques used in design and completion of environmental research projects. Problem definition, data sources and use of appropriate strategies and methodologies. Principles underlying research design are emphasized, including critical thinking, recognizing causal relationships, ideologies and bias in research, and when and where to seek expertise.
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ENVR 400Environmental Thought3 credits
Students work in interdisciplinary seminar groups on challenging philosophical, ethical, scientific and practical issues. They will explore cutting-edge ideas and grapple with the reconciliation of environmental imperatives and social, political and economic pragmatics. Activities include meeting practitioners, attending guest lectures, following directed readings, and organizing, leading and participating in seminars.
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AEBI 427Barbados Interdisciplinary Project6 credits
The planning of projects and research activities related to tropical food, nutrition, or energy at the local, regional, or national scale in Barbados. Projects and activities designed in consultation with university instructors, government, NGO, or private partners, and prepared by teams of 2-3 students working cooperatively with these mentors.
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ENVR 401Environmental Research3 credits
Students work in an interdisciplinary team on a real-world research project involving problem definition, methodology development, social, ethical and environmental impact assessment, execution of the study, and dissemination of results to the research community and to the people affected. Teams begin defining their projects during the preceding summer.
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ENVR 451Research in Panama6 credits
Research projects will be developed by instructors in consultation with Panamanian universities, government agencies and non-governmental organizations. Project groups will consist of four to six students working with a Panamanian institution. Topics will be relevant to Panama: e.g., protection of the Canal watershed, economical alternatives to deforestation, etc.
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FSCI 444Barbados Research Project6 credits
A research project that is supervised by McGill academic staff and is conducted in collaboration with local partners. The project topic must relate to the field of sustainability relating to the Caribbean or Barbados specifically.
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GEOG 403Global Health and Environmental Change3 credits
Major themes and contemporary case studies in global health and environmental change. Focus on understanding global trends in emerging infectious disease from social, biophysical, and geographical perspectives, and critically assessing the health implications of environmental change in different international contexts.
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PARA 410Environment and Infection3 credits
Infectious pathogens of humans and animals and their impact on the global environment are considered. The central tenet is that infectious pathogens are environmental risk factors. The course considers their impact on the human condition and juxtaposes the impact of control and treatment measures and environmental change.
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GEOG 221Environment and Health3 credits
Key chemical, physical, and social stressors in the environment, and how these affect the health of people and ecosystems. Hazards in air, water, food, and work environments. Historic, current, and future need for environmental health science, from scientific, personal, and practical perspectives.
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GEOG 303Health Geography3 credits
Discussion of the research questions and methods of health geography. Particular emphasis on health inequalities at multiple geographic scales and the theoretical links between characteristics of places and the health of people.
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GEOG 503Advanced Topics in Health Geography3 credits
A critical review of current themes and trends in health geography, with an emphasis on housing as a place-based determinant of health and as a setting for intervention, i.e. how changes in housing conditions can translate into improvements in health and well-being. Seminars focus on critical appraisal of conceptual and methodological approaches in health geography and related disciplines.
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NRSC 221Environment and Health3 credits
Key chemical, physical, and social stressors in the environment, and how these affect the health of people and ecosystems. Hazards in air, water, food, and work environments. Historic, current, and future need for environmental health science, from scientific, personal, and practical perspectives.
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PPHS 529Global Environmental Health and Burden of Disease3 credits
This course presents the grand challenges in global health from environmental and occupational risks along with the multi-disciplinary methods used to identify, control, and prevent them. It will introduce students to knowledge and skills in core disciplines of environmental health and approaches to environmental risk recognition, control and prevention in a global context.
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SOCI 234Population and Society3 credits
Introduction to the reciprocal linkages in the social world between population size, structure and dynamics on the one hand, social structure, action and change on the other. An examination of population processes and their relation to the social world.
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SOCI 309Health and Illness3 credits
Health and illness as social rather than purely bio-medical phenomena. Topics include: studies of ill persons, health care occupations and organizations; poverty and health; inequalities in access to and use of health services; recent policies, ideologies, and problems in reform of health services organization.
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SOCI 331Population and Environment3 credits
Main topics and controversies linking population processes and the environment. Topics include how population processes influence the environment, population responses to changing environments, policies related to these effects, variation across and within developed and developing countries.
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ANSC 234Biochemistry 23 credits
Metabolism in humans and domestic animals. The chemistry of alimentary digestion, absorption, transport, intermediary metabolism and excretion.
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BIOL 201Cell Biology and Metabolism3 credits
This course introduces the student to our modern understanding of cells and how they work. Major topics to be covered include: photosynthesis, energy metabolism and metabolic integration; plasma membrane including secretion, endocytosis and contact mediated interactions between cells; cytoskeleton including cell and organelle movement; the nervous system; hormone signaling; the cell cycle.
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LSCI 202Molecular Cell Biology3 credits
Organization and function of intracellular organelles in eukaryotic cells. Mechanisms of membrane transport. Protein sorting and vesicular transport. Cytoskeleton. DNA and chromosome structure. DNA replication. Mechanisms of RNA and protein synthesis. Control of gene expression. Cell cycle and the control of cell division. Mechanisms of cell communication and signal transduction. Apoptosis. Neuronal signaling.
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BIOL 202Basic Genetics3 credits
Introduction to basic principles, and to modern advances, problems and applications in the genetics of higher and lower organisms with examples representative of the biological sciences.
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LSCI 204Genetics3 credits
The course integrates classical, molecular and population genetics of animals, plants, bacteria and viruses. The aim is to understand the flow of genetic information within a cell, within families and in populations. Emphasis will be placed on problem solving based learning. The laboratory exercises will emphasize the interpretation of genetic experimental data.
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BIOL 200Molecular Biology3 credits
The physical and chemical properties of the cell and its components in relation to their structure and function. Topics include: protein structure, enzymes and enzyme kinetics; nucleic acid replication, transcription and translation; the genetic code, mutation, recombination, and regulation of gene expression.
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LSCI 211Biochemistry 13 credits
Biochemistry of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids; enzymes and coenzymes. Introduction to intermediary metabolism.
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AEMA 310Statistical Methods 13 credits
Measures of central tendency and dispersion; binomial and Poisson distributions; normal, chi-square, Student's t and Fisher-Snedecor F distributions; estimation and hypothesis testing; simple linear regression and correlation; analysis of variance for simple experimental designs.
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MATH 203Principles of Statistics 13 credits
Examples of statistical data and the use of graphical means to summarize the data. Basic distributions arising in the natural and behavioural sciences. The logical meaning of a test of significance and a confidence interval. Tests of significance and confidence intervals in the one and two sample setting (means, variances and proportions).
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ANSC 433Animal Nutrition and Metabolism3 credits
Introduction to fundamental aspects of animal nutrition, including gastrointestinal anatomy and physiology; nutrient digestion, absorption, and metabolism; nutrient functions and requirements of livestock species; evaluation of feedstuffs and their use in ration formulation; and feeding strategies. Laboratory classes will include hands-on experience on feed analyses, gastrointestinal tract dissections, nutritional experiments and demonstrations in livestock species as well as computer-based ration balancing exercises.
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NUTR 207Nutrition and Health3 credits
Provides students who have a basic biology/chemistry background with the fundamental information on how macronutrients, vitamins and minerals are metabolized in the body, followed by application to evaluate current issues of maximizing health and disease prevention at different stages of the lifecycle.
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NUTR 307Metabolism and Human Nutrition3 credits
This course looks at the importance of nutrition from the molecular to the organismal levels in human health and disease. The focus will be on the significance of nutrients in regulating metabolism, and impact of genotype in the metabolism of nutrients.
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MICR 341Mechanisms of Pathogenicity3 credits
A study of the means by which bacteria cause disease in animals and humans. Includes response of host to invading bacteria, bacterial attachment and penetration processes, and modes of actions of exotoxins and endotoxins.
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MIMM 214Introductory Immunology: Elements of Immunity3 credits
Basic immunology, organs and cells, elements of innate immunity, phagocytes, complement, elements of adaptive immunity, B-cells, T-cells, antigen presenting cells, MHC genes and molecules, antigen processing and presentation, cytokines and chemokines. Emphasis on anatomy and the molecular and cellular players working together as a physiological system to maintain human health.
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MIMM 314Intermediate Immunology3 credits
An intermediate-level immunology course covering the cellular and molecular basis of lymphocyte development and activation in immune responses in health and disease.
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PARA 438Immunology3 credits
An in-depth analysis of the principles of cellular and molecular immunology. The emphasis of the course is on host defence against infection and on diseases caused by abnormal immune responses.
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PATH 300Human Disease3 credits
Provides a fundamental understanding of the diseases prevalent in North America, for upper level students in the biological sciences. Includes: general responses of cells and organ systems to injury; assessment of individual diseases by relating the causes, symptoms, diagnosis, treatment and prevention to the primary biological abnormalities in each disorder.
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ANSC 400Eukaryotic Cells and Viruses3 credits
The basic principles of molecular biology and the underlying molecular basis for various methodologies in molecular biology are covered. The molecular genetic basis for viral infections and tumorigenesis will be covered as examples of the use of molecular genetic approaches to address biological problems.
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MIMM 324Fundamental Virology3 credits
A study of the fundamental properties of viruses and their interactions with host cells. Bacteriophages, DNA- and RNA-containing animal viruses, and retroviruses are covered. Emphasis will be on phenomena occurring at the molecular level and on the regulated control of gene expression in virus-infected cells.
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MIMM 413Parasitology3 credits
A study of the biology, immunological aspects of host-parasite interactions, pathogenicity, epidemiology and molecular biological aspects of selected parasites of medical importance. Laboratory will consist of a lecture on techniques, demonstrations and practical work.
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PARA 424Fundamental Parasitology3 credits
Systematics, morphology, biology and ecology of parasitic protozoa, flatworms, roundworms and arthropods with emphasis on economically and medically important species.
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PPHS 501Population Health and Epidemiology3 credits
This course presents concepts and methods of epidemiology at the introductory level. The use of epidemiologic methods for population and public health research and practice will be illustrated. A review of selected population health questions such as the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the cardiovascular disease epidemic, cigarette smoking, or screening for disease will be presented.
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ANSC 312Animal Health and Disease3 credits
An introduction to the pathogenesis and control of diseases in farm animals. Immune response and other protective mechanisms. Implications of animal diseases and drug therapy for product safety and public health.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVB 500Advanced Topics in Ecotoxicology3 credits
Exploring the impact of environmental chemicals on biological organisms in an ecological context. Basic topics in ecotoxicology, such as source and fate, routes of exposure, bioavailability, dose-response, biomarkers, and risk assessment will be covered from both theoretical and applied perspectives. The processes by which pollutants are tested, regulated, and monitored will be critically examined.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
NUTR 512Herbs, Foods and Phytochemicals3 credits
An overview of the use of herbal medicines and food phytochemicals and the benefits and risks of their consumption. The physiological basis for activity and the assessment of toxicity will be presented. Current practices relating to the regulation, commercialization and promotion of herbs and phytochemicals will be considered.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHAR 300Drug Action3 credits
Principles of pharmacology and toxicology. Frequently encountered drugs will be used as a focus to illustrate sites and mechanisms of action, distribution, metabolism, elimination and adverse side effects.
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PHAR 303Principles of Toxicology3 credits
Fundamental mechanisms by which toxic compounds damage a biological system (organelle, cell, organ, organism, ecosystem). Detection and quantification of toxicity and risk/benefit analysis are considered. Selected agents of current risk to human health or the environment are evaluated in depth.
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ANSC 424Metabolic Endocrinology3 credits
A detailed study of the endocrine system and its role in the maintenance of homeostasis in higher vertebrates, including the endocrine regulation of energy balance.
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PHGY 210Mammalian Physiology 23 credits
Physiology of cardiovascular, respiratory, digestive, endocrine and renal systems.
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PSYC 342Hormones and Behaviour3 credits
The role of hormones in organization of CNS function, as effectors of behaviour, in expression of behaviours and in mental illness.
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ANSC 323Mammalian Physiology3 credits
A study of the organization, functions and regulation of various organ systems in mammals. The nervous, endocrine, muscular, cardiovascular, respiratory, urinary, digestive and reproductive systems are discussed.
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PHGY 209Mammalian Physiology 13 credits
Physiology of body fluids, blood, body defense mechanisms, muscle, peripheral, central, and autonomic nervous systems.
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ATOC 341Caribbean Climate and Weather3 credits
The climate system and ongoing global change, ocean and atmosphere circulation and future trends in the tropics; local climate variability and dynamics, extreme weather events in the Caribbean .
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BREE 217Hydrology and Water Resources3 credits
Introduction to water resources and hydrologic cycle. Precipitation and hydrologic frequency analysis. Soil water processes, infiltration theory and modeling. Evapotranspiration estimation methods and crop water requirements. Surface runoff estimation as a function of land use modifications. Estimation of peak runoff rates. Unit hydrograph. Design of open channels and vegetated waterways.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
GEOG 321Climatic Environments3 credits
The earth-atmosphere system, radiation and energy balances. Surface-atmosphere exchange of energy, mass and momentum and related atmospheric processes on a local and regional scale. Introduction to measurement theory and practice in micrometeorology.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
GEOG 322Environmental Hydrology3 credits
Quantitative, experimental study of the principles governing the movement of water at or near the Earth's surface and how the research relates to the chemistry and biology of ecosystems.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
AEBI 423Sustainable Land Use3 credits
Management, preservation, and utilization of forage crops in sustainable tropical environments; examination of their value as livestock feed in terms of nutritional composition and impact on animal performance; land use issues as it pertains to forage and animal production in insular environments.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVB 437Assessing Environmental Impact3 credits
Principles and practice of Environmental Assessment (EA) in Canada and internationally. Exploration of issues surrounding impact assessment for sustainable development in different sectors, including their limitations.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 422Montreal Urban Sustainability Analysis3 credits
Applied and experience-based learning opportunities are employed to critically assess Montreal as a sustainable city through research, discussion, and field trips. The urban environment is considered through various specific dimensions, ranging from: waste, energy, urban agriculture, green spaces and design, or transportation.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
GEOG 302Environmental Management 13 credits
An ecological analysis of the physical and biotic components of natural resource systems. Emphasis on scientific, technological and institutional aspects of environmental management. Study of the use of biological resources and of the impact of individual processes.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
GEOG 340Sustainability in the Caribbean3 credits
The local environmental, social, historical, political and economic context of Barbados and the Caribbean. The small island developing States (SIDS), and why those nations are more vulnerable to global environmental challenges. The 17 Sustainability Development Goals of the United Nations, with a focus on the leadership role played by Barbados for the entire Caribbean region.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
NUTR 450Research Methods: Human Nutrition3 credits
Introduction to how diverse approaches to nutrition research including international, community, laboratory, clinical, molecular, meta-analyses are necessary to advance the field of nutrition. Emphasis on ethics, scientific method, research process and analysis of results.
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BIOL 350Insect Biology and Control3 credits
Introduction to insect structure, physiology, biochemistry, development, systematics, evolution, ecology and control. Stress on interrelationships and integrated pest control.
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ENTO 352Biocontrol of Pest Insects3 credits
Modern concepts of integrated control techniques and principles of insect pest management, with emphasis on biological control (use of predators, parasites and pathogens against pest insects), population monitoring, and manipulation of environmental, behavioral and physiological factors in the pest's way of life. Physical, cultural, and genetic controls and an introduction to the use of non-toxic biochemical controls (attractants, repellents, pheromones, antimetabolites).
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BREE 322Management of Organic Residue3 credits
Engineering aspects of handling, storage, and treatment of organic residues in agricultural and municipal contexts. Technologies, design approaches, and management strategies for resource recovery and increasing the circularity of material and energy flows.
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BREE 518Ecological Engineering3 credits
Concepts and practice of ecological engineering: the planned creation or management of a community of organisms, their nonliving surroundings, and technological components to provide services. Survey of applications such as constructed wetlands, aquatic production systems, green infrastructure for urban storm water management, environmental restoration. Taught cooperatively with a parallel course at University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Online collaboration with an interdisciplinary, international team is an important component of the course.
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NRSC 333Pollution and Bioremediation3 credits
The environmental contaminants which cause pollution; sources, amounts and transport of pollutants in water, air and soil; waste management.
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NRSC 515Water and Health3 credits
Anticipate, recognize, evaluate, and control water-related hazards such as: biological, chemical, and physical. Considerations for public health and environmental management.
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AEBI 421Tropical Horticultural Ecology3 credits
A comprehensive survey of the major fruit, vegetable, turf, and ornamental crops grown in Barbados. Effect of cultural practices, environment, pests and pathogens, social and touristic activities, and importation of horticultural produce on local horticulture.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 343Biodiversity in the Caribean3 credits
Biodiversity loss and the measure of ecological integrity of ecosystems, patterns of diversification and evolution of terrestrial and oceanic biotas in the Caribbean.
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BIOL 432Limnology3 credits
A study of the physical, chemical and biological properties of lakes and other inland waters, with emphasis on their functioning as systems.
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BIOL 451Research in Ecology and Development in Africa3 credits
Development of observation and independent inquiry skills through: 1) participation in short-term project modules in collaboration with existing researchers; 2) participation in interdisciplinary team research on topics selected to allow comparative analysis of field sites; 3) active and systematic observation, documentation, and integration of field experience in ecology and development issues.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 465Conservation Biology3 credits
Discussion of relevant theoretical and applied issues in conservation biology. Topics: biodiversity, population viability analysis, community dynamics, biology of rarity, extinction, habitat fragmentation, social issues.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 540Ecology of Species Invasions3 credits
Causes and consequences of biological invasion, as well as risk assessment methods and management strategies for dealing with invasive species.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 553Neotropical Environments3 credits
Ecology revisited in view of tropical conditions. Exploring species richness. Sampling and measuring biodiversity. Conservation status of ecosystems, communities and species. Indigenous knowledge.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVB 410Ecosystem Ecology3 credits
Biotic and abiotic processes that control the flows of energy, nutrients and water through ecosystems; emergent system properties; approaches to analyzing complex systems. Labs include collection and multivariate analysis of field data.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 540Ecology of Species Invasions3 credits
Causes and consequences of biological invasion, as well as risk assessment methods and management strategies for dealing with invasive species.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MICR 331Microbial Ecology3 credits
The ecology of microorganisms, primarily bacteria and archaea, and their roles in biogeochemical cycles. Microbial interactions with the environment, plants, animals and other microbes emphasizing the underlying genetics and physiology. Diversity, evolution (microbial phylogenetics) and the application of molecular biology in microbial ecology.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
NRSC 451Research in Ecology and Development in Africa3 credits
Development of observation and independent inquiry skills through: 1) participation in short-term project modules in collaboration with existing researchers; 2) participation in interdisciplinary team research on topics selected to allow comparative analysis of field sites; 3) active and systematic observation, documentation, and integration of field experience in ecology and development issues.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PLNT 304Biology of Fungi3 credits
This course describes the various groups of fungi and explores in depth their biology and physiology, their ecological niches and the role in various ecosystems and their benefits and uses in industry and biotechnology.
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PLNT 460Plant Ecology3 credits
Theory and practice of plant ecology with an emphasis on the interaction between patterns and ecological processes and the dynamics, conservation and management of plant populations and communities over a range of temporal and spatial scales.
MCGILL complete current official course definition

Environment - Ecological Determinants of Health - Population89 listed

Published required and complementary course choices for the 63-credit Environment Major - Ecological Determinants of Health - Population (B.Sc.(Ag.Env.Sc.)) or (B.Sc.). This is a program within the degree, not the complete degree or a term-by-term timetable. Some requirements specify course levels or subjects rather than naming courses. 63 credits for this program; faculty-wide degree and foundation requirements apply separately.

ENVR 200The Global Environment3 credits
A systems approach to study the different components of the environment involved in global climate change: the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. The interactions among these components. Their role in global climate change. The human dimension to global change.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 201Society, Environment and Sustainability3 credits
This course deals with how scientific-technological, socio-economic, political-institutional and behavioural factors mediate society-environment interactions. Issues discussed include population and resources; consumption, impacts and institutions; integrating environmental values in societal decision-making; and the challenges associated with, and strategies for, promoting sustainability. Case studies in various sectors and contexts are used.
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ENVR 202The Evolving Earth3 credits
Formation of the Earth and the evolution of life. How geological and biological change are the consequence of history, chance, and necessity acting over different scales of space and time. General principles governing the formation of modern landscapes and biotas. Effects of human activities on natural systems.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 203Knowledge, Ethics and Environment3 credits
Introduction to cultural perspectives on the environment: the influence of culture and cognition on perceptions of the natural world; conflicts in orders of knowledge (models, taxonomies, paradigms, theories, cosmologies), ethics (moral values, frameworks, dilemmas), and law (formal and customary, rights and obligations) regarding political dimensions of critical environments, resource use, and technologies.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 301Environmental Research Design3 credits
Techniques used in design and completion of environmental research projects. Problem definition, data sources and use of appropriate strategies and methodologies. Principles underlying research design are emphasized, including critical thinking, recognizing causal relationships, ideologies and bias in research, and when and where to seek expertise.
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ENVR 400Environmental Thought3 credits
Students work in interdisciplinary seminar groups on challenging philosophical, ethical, scientific and practical issues. They will explore cutting-edge ideas and grapple with the reconciliation of environmental imperatives and social, political and economic pragmatics. Activities include meeting practitioners, attending guest lectures, following directed readings, and organizing, leading and participating in seminars.
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AEBI 427Barbados Interdisciplinary Project6 credits
The planning of projects and research activities related to tropical food, nutrition, or energy at the local, regional, or national scale in Barbados. Projects and activities designed in consultation with university instructors, government, NGO, or private partners, and prepared by teams of 2-3 students working cooperatively with these mentors.
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ENVR 401Environmental Research3 credits
Students work in an interdisciplinary team on a real-world research project involving problem definition, methodology development, social, ethical and environmental impact assessment, execution of the study, and dissemination of results to the research community and to the people affected. Teams begin defining their projects during the preceding summer.
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ENVR 451Research in Panama6 credits
Research projects will be developed by instructors in consultation with Panamanian universities, government agencies and non-governmental organizations. Project groups will consist of four to six students working with a Panamanian institution. Topics will be relevant to Panama: e.g., protection of the Canal watershed, economical alternatives to deforestation, etc.
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FSCI 444Barbados Research Project6 credits
A research project that is supervised by McGill academic staff and is conducted in collaboration with local partners. The project topic must relate to the field of sustainability relating to the Caribbean or Barbados specifically.
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PARA 410Environment and Infection3 credits
Infectious pathogens of humans and animals and their impact on the global environment are considered. The central tenet is that infectious pathogens are environmental risk factors. The course considers their impact on the human condition and juxtaposes the impact of control and treatment measures and environmental change.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
GEOG 221Environment and Health3 credits
Key chemical, physical, and social stressors in the environment, and how these affect the health of people and ecosystems. Hazards in air, water, food, and work environments. Historic, current, and future need for environmental health science, from scientific, personal, and practical perspectives.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
GEOG 303Health Geography3 credits
Discussion of the research questions and methods of health geography. Particular emphasis on health inequalities at multiple geographic scales and the theoretical links between characteristics of places and the health of people.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
NRSC 221Environment and Health3 credits
Key chemical, physical, and social stressors in the environment, and how these affect the health of people and ecosystems. Hazards in air, water, food, and work environments. Historic, current, and future need for environmental health science, from scientific, personal, and practical perspectives.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
GEOG 403Global Health and Environmental Change3 credits
Major themes and contemporary case studies in global health and environmental change. Focus on understanding global trends in emerging infectious disease from social, biophysical, and geographical perspectives, and critically assessing the health implications of environmental change in different international contexts.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
GEOG 503Advanced Topics in Health Geography3 credits
A critical review of current themes and trends in health geography, with an emphasis on housing as a place-based determinant of health and as a setting for intervention, i.e. how changes in housing conditions can translate into improvements in health and well-being. Seminars focus on critical appraisal of conceptual and methodological approaches in health geography and related disciplines.
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PPHS 529Global Environmental Health and Burden of Disease3 credits
This course presents the grand challenges in global health from environmental and occupational risks along with the multi-disciplinary methods used to identify, control, and prevent them. It will introduce students to knowledge and skills in core disciplines of environmental health and approaches to environmental risk recognition, control and prevention in a global context.
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SOCI 234Population and Society3 credits
Introduction to the reciprocal linkages in the social world between population size, structure and dynamics on the one hand, social structure, action and change on the other. An examination of population processes and their relation to the social world.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
SOCI 309Health and Illness3 credits
Health and illness as social rather than purely bio-medical phenomena. Topics include: studies of ill persons, health care occupations and organizations; poverty and health; inequalities in access to and use of health services; recent policies, ideologies, and problems in reform of health services organization.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
SOCI 331Population and Environment3 credits
Main topics and controversies linking population processes and the environment. Topics include how population processes influence the environment, population responses to changing environments, policies related to these effects, variation across and within developed and developing countries.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ANSC 312Animal Health and Disease3 credits
An introduction to the pathogenesis and control of diseases in farm animals. Immune response and other protective mechanisms. Implications of animal diseases and drug therapy for product safety and public health.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVB 500Advanced Topics in Ecotoxicology3 credits
Exploring the impact of environmental chemicals on biological organisms in an ecological context. Basic topics in ecotoxicology, such as source and fate, routes of exposure, bioavailability, dose-response, biomarkers, and risk assessment will be covered from both theoretical and applied perspectives. The processes by which pollutants are tested, regulated, and monitored will be critically examined.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
NUTR 512Herbs, Foods and Phytochemicals3 credits
An overview of the use of herbal medicines and food phytochemicals and the benefits and risks of their consumption. The physiological basis for activity and the assessment of toxicity will be presented. Current practices relating to the regulation, commercialization and promotion of herbs and phytochemicals will be considered.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHAR 303Principles of Toxicology3 credits
Fundamental mechanisms by which toxic compounds damage a biological system (organelle, cell, organ, organism, ecosystem). Detection and quantification of toxicity and risk/benefit analysis are considered. Selected agents of current risk to human health or the environment are evaluated in depth.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ANSC 234Biochemistry 23 credits
Metabolism in humans and domestic animals. The chemistry of alimentary digestion, absorption, transport, intermediary metabolism and excretion.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 201Cell Biology and Metabolism3 credits
This course introduces the student to our modern understanding of cells and how they work. Major topics to be covered include: photosynthesis, energy metabolism and metabolic integration; plasma membrane including secretion, endocytosis and contact mediated interactions between cells; cytoskeleton including cell and organelle movement; the nervous system; hormone signaling; the cell cycle.
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LSCI 202Molecular Cell Biology3 credits
Organization and function of intracellular organelles in eukaryotic cells. Mechanisms of membrane transport. Protein sorting and vesicular transport. Cytoskeleton. DNA and chromosome structure. DNA replication. Mechanisms of RNA and protein synthesis. Control of gene expression. Cell cycle and the control of cell division. Mechanisms of cell communication and signal transduction. Apoptosis. Neuronal signaling.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 200Molecular Biology3 credits
The physical and chemical properties of the cell and its components in relation to their structure and function. Topics include: protein structure, enzymes and enzyme kinetics; nucleic acid replication, transcription and translation; the genetic code, mutation, recombination, and regulation of gene expression.
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LSCI 211Biochemistry 13 credits
Biochemistry of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids; enzymes and coenzymes. Introduction to intermediary metabolism.
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AEMA 310Statistical Methods 13 credits
Measures of central tendency and dispersion; binomial and Poisson distributions; normal, chi-square, Student's t and Fisher-Snedecor F distributions; estimation and hypothesis testing; simple linear regression and correlation; analysis of variance for simple experimental designs.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 203Principles of Statistics 13 credits
Examples of statistical data and the use of graphical means to summarize the data. Basic distributions arising in the natural and behavioural sciences. The logical meaning of a test of significance and a confidence interval. Tests of significance and confidence intervals in the one and two sample setting (means, variances and proportions).
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ANSC 433Animal Nutrition and Metabolism3 credits
Introduction to fundamental aspects of animal nutrition, including gastrointestinal anatomy and physiology; nutrient digestion, absorption, and metabolism; nutrient functions and requirements of livestock species; evaluation of feedstuffs and their use in ration formulation; and feeding strategies. Laboratory classes will include hands-on experience on feed analyses, gastrointestinal tract dissections, nutritional experiments and demonstrations in livestock species as well as computer-based ration balancing exercises.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
NUTR 207Nutrition and Health3 credits
Provides students who have a basic biology/chemistry background with the fundamental information on how macronutrients, vitamins and minerals are metabolized in the body, followed by application to evaluate current issues of maximizing health and disease prevention at different stages of the lifecycle.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
NUTR 307Metabolism and Human Nutrition3 credits
This course looks at the importance of nutrition from the molecular to the organismal levels in human health and disease. The focus will be on the significance of nutrients in regulating metabolism, and impact of genotype in the metabolism of nutrients.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
AEBI 421Tropical Horticultural Ecology3 credits
A comprehensive survey of the major fruit, vegetable, turf, and ornamental crops grown in Barbados. Effect of cultural practices, environment, pests and pathogens, social and touristic activities, and importation of horticultural produce on local horticulture.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 451Research in Ecology and Development in Africa3 credits
Development of observation and independent inquiry skills through: 1) participation in short-term project modules in collaboration with existing researchers; 2) participation in interdisciplinary team research on topics selected to allow comparative analysis of field sites; 3) active and systematic observation, documentation, and integration of field experience in ecology and development issues.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 465Conservation Biology3 credits
Discussion of relevant theoretical and applied issues in conservation biology. Topics: biodiversity, population viability analysis, community dynamics, biology of rarity, extinction, habitat fragmentation, social issues.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 540Ecology of Species Invasions3 credits
Causes and consequences of biological invasion, as well as risk assessment methods and management strategies for dealing with invasive species.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 553Neotropical Environments3 credits
Ecology revisited in view of tropical conditions. Exploring species richness. Sampling and measuring biodiversity. Conservation status of ecosystems, communities and species. Indigenous knowledge.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVB 410Ecosystem Ecology3 credits
Biotic and abiotic processes that control the flows of energy, nutrients and water through ecosystems; emergent system properties; approaches to analyzing complex systems. Labs include collection and multivariate analysis of field data.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 540Ecology of Species Invasions3 credits
Causes and consequences of biological invasion, as well as risk assessment methods and management strategies for dealing with invasive species.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MICR 331Microbial Ecology3 credits
The ecology of microorganisms, primarily bacteria and archaea, and their roles in biogeochemical cycles. Microbial interactions with the environment, plants, animals and other microbes emphasizing the underlying genetics and physiology. Diversity, evolution (microbial phylogenetics) and the application of molecular biology in microbial ecology.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
NRSC 451Research in Ecology and Development in Africa3 credits
Development of observation and independent inquiry skills through: 1) participation in short-term project modules in collaboration with existing researchers; 2) participation in interdisciplinary team research on topics selected to allow comparative analysis of field sites; 3) active and systematic observation, documentation, and integration of field experience in ecology and development issues.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PLNT 460Plant Ecology3 credits
Theory and practice of plant ecology with an emphasis on the interaction between patterns and ecological processes and the dynamics, conservation and management of plant populations and communities over a range of temporal and spatial scales.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
AGRI 340Principles of Ecological Agriculture3 credits
Focus on low-input, sustainable, and organic agriculture: the farm as an ecosystem; complex system theory; practical examples of soil management, pest control, integrated crop and livestock production, and marketing systems.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
AGRI 550Sustained Tropical Agriculture3 credits
Contrast theory and practice in defining agricultural environmental "challenges" in the Neotropics. Indigenous and appropriate technological means of mitigation. Soil management and erosion, water scarcity, water over-abundance, and water quality. Explore agro-ecosystem protection via field trips and project designs. Institutional context of conservation strategies, NGO links, and public participation.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ATOC 341Caribbean Climate and Weather3 credits
The climate system and ongoing global change, ocean and atmosphere circulation and future trends in the tropics; local climate variability and dynamics, extreme weather events in the Caribbean .
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BREE 217Hydrology and Water Resources3 credits
Introduction to water resources and hydrologic cycle. Precipitation and hydrologic frequency analysis. Soil water processes, infiltration theory and modeling. Evapotranspiration estimation methods and crop water requirements. Surface runoff estimation as a function of land use modifications. Estimation of peak runoff rates. Unit hydrograph. Design of open channels and vegetated waterways.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
GEOG 321Climatic Environments3 credits
The earth-atmosphere system, radiation and energy balances. Surface-atmosphere exchange of energy, mass and momentum and related atmospheric processes on a local and regional scale. Introduction to measurement theory and practice in micrometeorology.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
GEOG 322Environmental Hydrology3 credits
Quantitative, experimental study of the principles governing the movement of water at or near the Earth's surface and how the research relates to the chemistry and biology of ecosystems.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
AEBI 423Sustainable Land Use3 credits
Management, preservation, and utilization of forage crops in sustainable tropical environments; examination of their value as livestock feed in terms of nutritional composition and impact on animal performance; land use issues as it pertains to forage and animal production in insular environments.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
AGEC 200Principles of Microeconomics3 credits
The field of economics as it relates to the activities of individual consumers, firms and organizations. Emphasis is on the application of economic principles and concepts to everyday decision making and to the analysis of current economic issues.
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AGEC 333Resource Economics3 credits
The role of resources in the environment, use of resources, and management of economic resources within the firm or organization. Problem-solving, case studies involving private and public decision-making in organizations are utilized.
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ENVB 437Assessing Environmental Impact3 credits
Principles and practice of Environmental Assessment (EA) in Canada and internationally. Exploration of issues surrounding impact assessment for sustainable development in different sectors, including their limitations.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVB 529GIS for Natural Resource Management3 credits
Applications of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and spatial analysis techniques to the presentation and analysis of ecological information, including sources and capture of spatial data; characterizing, transforming, displaying spatial data; and spatial analysis to solve resource management problems.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ECON 208Microeconomic Analysis and Applications3 credits
A university-level introduction to demand and supply, consumer behaviour, production theory, market structures and income distribution theory.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 422Montreal Urban Sustainability Analysis3 credits
Applied and experience-based learning opportunities are employed to critically assess Montreal as a sustainable city through research, discussion, and field trips. The urban environment is considered through various specific dimensions, ranging from: waste, energy, urban agriculture, green spaces and design, or transportation.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
GEOG 201Introductory Geo-Information Science3 credits
An introduction to Geographic Information Systems. The systematic management of spatial data. The use and construction of maps. The use of microcomputers and software for mapping and statistical work. Air photo and topographic map analyses.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
GEOG 302Environmental Management 13 credits
An ecological analysis of the physical and biotic components of natural resource systems. Emphasis on scientific, technological and institutional aspects of environmental management. Study of the use of biological resources and of the impact of individual processes.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
GEOG 340Sustainability in the Caribbean3 credits
The local environmental, social, historical, political and economic context of Barbados and the Caribbean. The small island developing States (SIDS), and why those nations are more vulnerable to global environmental challenges. The 17 Sustainability Development Goals of the United Nations, with a focus on the leadership role played by Barbados for the entire Caribbean region.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
GEOG 404Environmental Management 23 credits
Practical application of environmental planning, analysis and management techniques with reference to the needs and problems of developing areas. Special challenges posed by cultural differences and traditional resource systems are discussed. This course involves practical field work in a developing area (Kenya or Panama).
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PHIL 343Biomedical Ethics3 credits
An investigation of ethical issues as they arise in the practice of medicine (informed consent, e.g.) or in the application of medical technology (in vitro fertilization, euthanasia, e.g.)
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ANTH 212Anthropology of Development3 credits
Processes of developmental change, as they affect small communities in the Third World and in unindustrialized parts of developed countries. Problems of technological change, political integration, population growth, industrialization, urban growth, social services, infrastructure and economic dependency.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
EDER 461Society and Change3 credits
Factors influencing patterns of stability and change in major social institutions and the implications for formal and non-formal education.
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HIST 292History and the Environment3 credits
Sketch of the history of the material aspects of human interaction with the rest of nature. Included will be a historian's view of the social, technical, and ecological implications of the great variety of activities devised by our species. Though global in outlook, this course will emphasize the relevant historiography of France, England and North America.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
NUTR 501Nutrition in the Majority World3 credits
Current nutrition-related issues in the Majority World, emphasizing young children and other vulnerable groups. The integration of a life science and social science perspective. The multiple causes, consequences, policies, and interventions related to current nutrition.
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SOCI 254Development and Underdevelopment3 credits
Competing theories about the causes of underdevelopment in the poor countries. Topics include the impact of geography, the population explosion, culture and national character, economic and sexual inequalities, democracy and dictatorship. Western imperialism and multi-national corporations, reliance on the market, and development through local participation, cooperation, and appropriate technology.
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ANSC 400Eukaryotic Cells and Viruses3 credits
The basic principles of molecular biology and the underlying molecular basis for various methodologies in molecular biology are covered. The molecular genetic basis for viral infections and tumorigenesis will be covered as examples of the use of molecular genetic approaches to address biological problems.
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MIMM 214Introductory Immunology: Elements of Immunity3 credits
Basic immunology, organs and cells, elements of innate immunity, phagocytes, complement, elements of adaptive immunity, B-cells, T-cells, antigen presenting cells, MHC genes and molecules, antigen processing and presentation, cytokines and chemokines. Emphasis on anatomy and the molecular and cellular players working together as a physiological system to maintain human health.
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MIMM 314Intermediate Immunology3 credits
An intermediate-level immunology course covering the cellular and molecular basis of lymphocyte development and activation in immune responses in health and disease.
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MIMM 324Fundamental Virology3 credits
A study of the fundamental properties of viruses and their interactions with host cells. Bacteriophages, DNA- and RNA-containing animal viruses, and retroviruses are covered. Emphasis will be on phenomena occurring at the molecular level and on the regulated control of gene expression in virus-infected cells.
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MIMM 413Parasitology3 credits
A study of the biology, immunological aspects of host-parasite interactions, pathogenicity, epidemiology and molecular biological aspects of selected parasites of medical importance. Laboratory will consist of a lecture on techniques, demonstrations and practical work.
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PARA 424Fundamental Parasitology3 credits
Systematics, morphology, biology and ecology of parasitic protozoa, flatworms, roundworms and arthropods with emphasis on economically and medically important species.
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PARA 438Immunology3 credits
An in-depth analysis of the principles of cellular and molecular immunology. The emphasis of the course is on host defence against infection and on diseases caused by abnormal immune responses.
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PPHS 501Population Health and Epidemiology3 credits
This course presents concepts and methods of epidemiology at the introductory level. The use of epidemiologic methods for population and public health research and practice will be illustrated. A review of selected population health questions such as the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the cardiovascular disease epidemic, cigarette smoking, or screening for disease will be presented.
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AGRI 411Global Issues on Development, Food and Agriculture3 credits
International development and world food security and challenges in developing countries. Soil and water management, climate change, demographic issues, plant and animal resources conservation, bio-products and biofuels, economic and environmental issues specially in tropical and sub-tropical regions. Globalization, sustainable development, technology transfer and human resources needs for rural development.
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ANTH 451Research in Society and Development in Africa3 credits
Instruction focuses on three goals: 1) existing research in selected core thematic areas, 2) participating in interdisciplinary team research, 3) developing powers of observation and independent inquiry. Students will be expected to develop research activities and interdisciplinary perspectives, and to become conversant with advances in local research in their field.
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ENVR 421Montreal: Environmental History and Sustainability3 credits
This course will focus on the role of place and history in the cities in which we live and in our understanding of sustainability. Each year, students will work to develop a historical reconstruction of the natural environment of Montreal and of its links to the cultural landscape, building on the work of previous cohorts of students.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
GEOG 300Human Ecology in Geography3 credits
The course will examine research approaches in human ecology since its inception early in this century. Emphasis will be placed on the theoretical shifts that have led to its emergence as an important social science perspective. The course will also involve case studies to evaluate the methodological utility of the approach.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
GEOG 451Research in Society and Development in Africa3 credits
Three intersecting components: 1) core development themes including culture change, environmental conservation, water, health, development (urban and rural), governance and conflict resolution, 2) research techniques for topics related to core themes, including ethics, risk, field methods and data analysis, 3) field documentation, scientific recording and communication.
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GEOG 498Humans in Tropical Environments3 credits
Focus on understanding of inter-relations between humans and neotropical environments represented in Panama. Study of contemporary rural landscapes, their origins, development and change. Impacts of economic growth and inequality, social organization, and politics on natural resource use and environmental degradation. Site visits and field exercises in peasant/colonist, Amerindian, and plantation communities.
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NUTR 341Global Food Security3 credits
Food insecurity is one of the most critical issues humanity has faced in history. The magnitude of this phenomenon, reflected in its worldwide presence and in the number of individuals affected, makes it an imperative component of all nations' and of all internaltional agencies' agendas. Its complexity of determinants and its numerous consequences require the involvement of multipe disciplines and sectors. McGill undergraduate students as future professionals tackling global issues require an integrated and multidisciplinary training on food security.
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BIOL 350Insect Biology and Control3 credits
Introduction to insect structure, physiology, biochemistry, development, systematics, evolution, ecology and control. Stress on interrelationships and integrated pest control.
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BREE 322Management of Organic Residue3 credits
Engineering aspects of handling, storage, and treatment of organic residues in agricultural and municipal contexts. Technologies, design approaches, and management strategies for resource recovery and increasing the circularity of material and energy flows.
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ENTO 352Biocontrol of Pest Insects3 credits
Modern concepts of integrated control techniques and principles of insect pest management, with emphasis on biological control (use of predators, parasites and pathogens against pest insects), population monitoring, and manipulation of environmental, behavioral and physiological factors in the pest's way of life. Physical, cultural, and genetic controls and an introduction to the use of non-toxic biochemical controls (attractants, repellents, pheromones, antimetabolites).
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NRSC 333Pollution and Bioremediation3 credits
The environmental contaminants which cause pollution; sources, amounts and transport of pollutants in water, air and soil; waste management.
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NRSC 515Water and Health3 credits
Anticipate, recognize, evaluate, and control water-related hazards such as: biological, chemical, and physical. Considerations for public health and environmental management.
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BIOL 202Basic Genetics3 credits
Introduction to basic principles, and to modern advances, problems and applications in the genetics of higher and lower organisms with examples representative of the biological sciences.
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LSCI 204Genetics3 credits
The course integrates classical, molecular and population genetics of animals, plants, bacteria and viruses. The aim is to understand the flow of genetic information within a cell, within families and in populations. Emphasis will be placed on problem solving based learning. The laboratory exercises will emphasize the interpretation of genetic experimental data.
MCGILL complete current official course definition

Environment - Environmetrics60 listed

Published required and complementary course choices for the 63-credit Environment Major - Environmetrics (B.Sc.(Ag.Env.Sc.)) or (B.Sc.). This is a program within the degree, not the complete degree or a term-by-term timetable. Some requirements specify course levels or subjects rather than naming courses. 63 credits for this program; faculty-wide degree and foundation requirements apply separately.

ENVR 200The Global Environment3 credits
A systems approach to study the different components of the environment involved in global climate change: the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. The interactions among these components. Their role in global climate change. The human dimension to global change.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 201Society, Environment and Sustainability3 credits
This course deals with how scientific-technological, socio-economic, political-institutional and behavioural factors mediate society-environment interactions. Issues discussed include population and resources; consumption, impacts and institutions; integrating environmental values in societal decision-making; and the challenges associated with, and strategies for, promoting sustainability. Case studies in various sectors and contexts are used.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 202The Evolving Earth3 credits
Formation of the Earth and the evolution of life. How geological and biological change are the consequence of history, chance, and necessity acting over different scales of space and time. General principles governing the formation of modern landscapes and biotas. Effects of human activities on natural systems.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 203Knowledge, Ethics and Environment3 credits
Introduction to cultural perspectives on the environment: the influence of culture and cognition on perceptions of the natural world; conflicts in orders of knowledge (models, taxonomies, paradigms, theories, cosmologies), ethics (moral values, frameworks, dilemmas), and law (formal and customary, rights and obligations) regarding political dimensions of critical environments, resource use, and technologies.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 301Environmental Research Design3 credits
Techniques used in design and completion of environmental research projects. Problem definition, data sources and use of appropriate strategies and methodologies. Principles underlying research design are emphasized, including critical thinking, recognizing causal relationships, ideologies and bias in research, and when and where to seek expertise.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 400Environmental Thought3 credits
Students work in interdisciplinary seminar groups on challenging philosophical, ethical, scientific and practical issues. They will explore cutting-edge ideas and grapple with the reconciliation of environmental imperatives and social, political and economic pragmatics. Activities include meeting practitioners, attending guest lectures, following directed readings, and organizing, leading and participating in seminars.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 401Environmental Research3 credits
Students work in an interdisciplinary team on a real-world research project involving problem definition, methodology development, social, ethical and environmental impact assessment, execution of the study, and dissemination of results to the research community and to the people affected. Teams begin defining their projects during the preceding summer.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 451Research in Panama6 credits
Research projects will be developed by instructors in consultation with Panamanian universities, government agencies and non-governmental organizations. Project groups will consist of four to six students working with a Panamanian institution. Topics will be relevant to Panama: e.g., protection of the Canal watershed, economical alternatives to deforestation, etc.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
FSCI 444Barbados Research Project6 credits
A research project that is supervised by McGill academic staff and is conducted in collaboration with local partners. The project topic must relate to the field of sustainability relating to the Caribbean or Barbados specifically.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
AEMA 403Environmetrics Stage3 credits
Summer stage of at least four weeks, including a report. Provides students with professional experience in statistical analyses of environmental data. Can be undertaken at federal or provincial research stations and university research laboratories.
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AEMA 414Temporal and Spatial Statistics 013 credits
Temporal statistics: analysis in the time domain, Box-Jenkins forecasting methodology, analysis in the frequency domain, periodogram analysis. Spatial statistics: mapping, autocorrelogram analysis, geostatistics. Statistical inference with autocorrelated sample data.
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BIOL 308Ecological Dynamics3 credits
Principles of population, community, and ecosystem dynamics: population growth and regulation, species interactions, dynamics of competitive interactions and of predator/prey systems; evolutionary dynamics.
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ENVB 305Population and Community Ecology3 credits
Interactions between organisms and their environment; historical and current perspectives in applied and theoretical population and community ecology. Principles of population dynamics, feedback loops, and population regulation. Development and structure of communities; competition, predation and food web dynamics. Biodiversity science in theory and practice.
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ENVB 437Assessing Environmental Impact3 credits
Principles and practice of Environmental Assessment (EA) in Canada and internationally. Exploration of issues surrounding impact assessment for sustainable development in different sectors, including their limitations.
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GEOG 340Sustainability in the Caribbean3 credits
The local environmental, social, historical, political and economic context of Barbados and the Caribbean. The small island developing States (SIDS), and why those nations are more vulnerable to global environmental challenges. The 17 Sustainability Development Goals of the United Nations, with a focus on the leadership role played by Barbados for the entire Caribbean region.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MIME 308Social Impact of Technology3 credits
Critical examination of the socio-economic costs and benefits of technology, case studies of old engineering works and new technologies. The integration of applied ethics and engineering practice, analysis of basic concepts of technology assessment, the inter-connected processes of risk assessment, management, and communication.
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BIOL 309Mathematical Models in Biology3 credits
Application of finite difference and differential equations to problems in cell and developmental biology, ecology and physiology. Qualitative, quantitative and graphical techniques are used to analyze mathematical models and to compare theoretical predictions with experimental data.
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ENVB 506Quantitative Methods: Ecology3 credits
Introduction to a broad range of innovative data analysis strategies commonly applied to ecological data. How to apply these strategies. Common “best practices” for data management, study design, and graphing techniques.
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ENVB 529GIS for Natural Resource Management3 credits
Applications of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and spatial analysis techniques to the presentation and analysis of ecological information, including sources and capture of spatial data; characterizing, transforming, displaying spatial data; and spatial analysis to solve resource management problems.
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GEOG 201Introductory Geo-Information Science3 credits
An introduction to Geographic Information Systems. The systematic management of spatial data. The use and construction of maps. The use of microcomputers and software for mapping and statistical work. Air photo and topographic map analyses.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BREE 217Hydrology and Water Resources3 credits
Introduction to water resources and hydrologic cycle. Precipitation and hydrologic frequency analysis. Soil water processes, infiltration theory and modeling. Evapotranspiration estimation methods and crop water requirements. Surface runoff estimation as a function of land use modifications. Estimation of peak runoff rates. Unit hydrograph. Design of open channels and vegetated waterways.
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CIVE 323Hydrology and Water Resources3 credits
Precipitation, evaporation and transpiration. Streamflow, storage reservoirs, flood routing. Groundwater hydrology. Ecohydrology. Statistical analysis in hydrology, stochastic modelling. Simulations using hydrologic models. Case studies in flood damage mitigation, surface and ground water management, and water-energy-food nexus.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVB 210The Biophysical Environment3 credits
With reference to the ecosystems in the St Lawrence lowlands, the principles and processes governing climate-landform-water-soil-vegetation systems and their interactions will be examined in lecture and laboratory. Emphasis on the natural environment as an integrated system.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
GEOG 305Soils and Environment3 credits
Discussion of the major properties of soils; soil formation, classification and mapping; land capability assessment; the role and response of soils in natural and disturbed environments (e.g. global change, ecosystem disturbance).
MCGILL complete current official course definition
GEOG 322Environmental Hydrology3 credits
Quantitative, experimental study of the principles governing the movement of water at or near the Earth's surface and how the research relates to the chemistry and biology of ecosystems.
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GEOG 350Ecological Biogeography3 credits
The study of the patterns of distribution of organisms in space and time with emphasis on plant communities. Ecological, geographical, historical and anthropological factors affecting these distribution patterns will be discussed. Particular consideration is given to methods for description and classification of plant communities.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 323Probability3 credits
Sample space, events, conditional probability, independence of events, Bayes' Theorem. Basic combinatorial probability, random variables, discrete and continuous univariate and multivariate distributions. Independence of random variables. Inequalities, weak law of large numbers, central limit theorem.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 324Statistics3 credits
Sampling distributions, including Normal, Chi-squared, Student’s t, and F distributions. Sampling properties of the sample mean and variance. Point estimation: bias, variance, mean squared error, consistency, sufficiency, UMVUE. Method of moments and maximum likelihood estimation. One- and two-sample inference. Confidence intervals and sample size determination. Hypothesis testing, Type 1 and Type 2 errors, power, and p-values. The Neyman Pearson framework and likelihood ratio tests. Linear models used as illustrative examples, linking them to topics in estimation and hypothesis testing. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and contingency tables.
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AEMA 310Statistical Methods 13 credits
Measures of central tendency and dispersion; binomial and Poisson distributions; normal, chi-square, Student's t and Fisher-Snedecor F distributions; estimation and hypothesis testing; simple linear regression and correlation; analysis of variance for simple experimental designs.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 373Biometry3 credits
Elementary statistical methods in biology. Introduction to the analysis of biological data with emphasis on the assumptions behind statistical tests and models. Use of statistical techniques typically available on computer packages.
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AEMA 411Experimental Designs 013 credits
General principles of experimental design, split-plot designs, spatial heterogeneity and experimental design, incomplete block designs and unbalanced designs, analysis of repeated measures, multivariate and modified univariate analyses of variance, central composite designs.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
CIVE 555Environmental Data Analysis3 credits
Application of statistical principles to design of measurement systems and sampling programs. Introduction to experimental design. Graphical data analysis. Description of uncertainty. Hypothesis tests. Model parameter estimation methods: linear and nonlinear regression methods. Trend analysis. Statistical analysis of censored data. Statistics of extremes.
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GEOG 351Quantitative Methods3 credits
Multiple regression and correlation, logit models, discrete choice models, gravity models, facility location algorithms, survey design, population projection.
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SOCI 461Quantitative Data Analysis3 credits
This course blends theory and applications in regression analysis. It focuses on fitting a straight line regression using matrix algebra, extending models for multivariate analysis and discusses problems in the use of regression analysis, providing criteria for model building and selection, and using statistical software to apply statistics efficiently.
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BREE 252Computing for Engineers3 credits
A disciplined general approach to the solution of engineering problems, and the implementation of these solutions using structured programming methods in a current computational environment.
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BREE 319Engineering Mathematics3 credits
Advanced topics in engineering mathematics, including systems of ordinary differential equations, stability analysis, special functions, orthogonal functions and Fourier series, boundary value problems in various coordinate systems, and integral transforms. The use of computer-based mathematical tools is an integral part of the course.
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GEOG 401Socio-Environmental Systems: Theory and Simulation3 credits
Conceptual and simulation models of key case studies for developing system thinking, including system stability, threshold dynamics in regime shifts, resilience, and adaptive environmental management.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 223Linear Algebra3 credits
Review of matrix algebra, determinants and systems of linear equations. Vector spaces, linear operators and their matrix representations, orthogonality. Eigenvalues and eigenvectors, diagonalization of Hermitian matrices. Applications.
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MATH 326Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos3 credits
Linear systems of differential equations, linear stability theory. Nonlinear systems: existence and uniqueness, numerical methods, one and two dimensional flows, phase space, limit cycles, Poincare-Bendixson theorem, bifurcations, Hopf bifurcation, the Lorenz equations and chaos.
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MATH 423Applied Regression3 credits
Multiple regression estimators and their properties. Hypothesis tests and confidence intervals. Analysis of variance. Prediction and prediction intervals. Model diagnostics. Model selection. Introduction to weighted least squares. Basic contingency table analysis. Introduction to logistic and Poisson regression. Applications to experimental and observational data.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 447Introduction to Stochastic Processes3 credits
Conditional probability and conditional expectation, generating functions. Branching processes and random walk. Markov chains, transition matrices, classification of states, ergodic theorem, examples. Birth and death processes, queueing theory.
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MATH 525Sampling Theory and Applications4 credits
Simple random sampling, domains, ratio and regression estimators, superpopulation models, stratified sampling, optimal stratification, cluster sampling, sampling with unequal probabilities, multistage sampling, complex surveys, nonresponse.
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SOCI 504Quantitative Methods 13 credits
An introduction to basic regression techniques commonly used in the social sciences. Covers the least squares linear regression model in depth and may introduce models for discrete dependent variables as well as the maximum-likelihood approach to statistical inference. Emphasis on the assumptions behind regression models and correct interpretation of results. Assignments will emphasize practical aspects of quantitative analysis.
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SOCI 580Social Research Design and Practice3 credits
Asking researchable sociological questions and evaluation of different research designs used to answer such questions. Development of cogent research proposals, including data collection procedures. Principles, dynamics, strengths and practical limitations of research designs. Examples from recent publications.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
AGRI 550Sustained Tropical Agriculture3 credits
Contrast theory and practice in defining agricultural environmental "challenges" in the Neotropics. Indigenous and appropriate technological means of mitigation. Soil management and erosion, water scarcity, water over-abundance, and water quality. Explore agro-ecosystem protection via field trips and project designs. Institutional context of conservation strategies, NGO links, and public participation.
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ATOC 341Caribbean Climate and Weather3 credits
The climate system and ongoing global change, ocean and atmosphere circulation and future trends in the tropics; local climate variability and dynamics, extreme weather events in the Caribbean .
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BIOL 331Ecology/Behaviour Field Course3 credits
Methods of sampling natural populations. Testing hypotheses in nature.
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BIOL 343Biodiversity in the Caribean3 credits
Biodiversity loss and the measure of ecological integrity of ecosystems, patterns of diversification and evolution of terrestrial and oceanic biotas in the Caribbean.
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BIOL 553Neotropical Environments3 credits
Ecology revisited in view of tropical conditions. Exploring species richness. Sampling and measuring biodiversity. Conservation status of ecosystems, communities and species. Indigenous knowledge.
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ENVB 313Phylogeny and Biogeography3 credits
Topics in the interface of evolution, phylogenetics, and biogeography, including tree thinking, phylogeny estimation, and the processes that generate and maintain biodiversity. The major scientific discoveries that demonstrated how Earth’s history affects the evolution of organisms, including the unheard voices of evolutionary biology.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVB 500Advanced Topics in Ecotoxicology3 credits
Exploring the impact of environmental chemicals on biological organisms in an ecological context. Basic topics in ecotoxicology, such as source and fate, routes of exposure, bioavailability, dose-response, biomarkers, and risk assessment will be covered from both theoretical and applied perspectives. The processes by which pollutants are tested, regulated, and monitored will be critically examined.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 421Montreal: Environmental History and Sustainability3 credits
This course will focus on the role of place and history in the cities in which we live and in our understanding of sustainability. Each year, students will work to develop a historical reconstruction of the natural environment of Montreal and of its links to the cultural landscape, building on the work of previous cohorts of students.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 422Montreal Urban Sustainability Analysis3 credits
Applied and experience-based learning opportunities are employed to critically assess Montreal as a sustainable city through research, discussion, and field trips. The urban environment is considered through various specific dimensions, ranging from: waste, energy, urban agriculture, green spaces and design, or transportation.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
GEOG 300Human Ecology in Geography3 credits
The course will examine research approaches in human ecology since its inception early in this century. Emphasis will be placed on the theoretical shifts that have led to its emergence as an important social science perspective. The course will also involve case studies to evaluate the methodological utility of the approach.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
GEOG 302Environmental Management 13 credits
An ecological analysis of the physical and biotic components of natural resource systems. Emphasis on scientific, technological and institutional aspects of environmental management. Study of the use of biological resources and of the impact of individual processes.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
GEOG 404Environmental Management 23 credits
Practical application of environmental planning, analysis and management techniques with reference to the needs and problems of developing areas. Special challenges posed by cultural differences and traditional resource systems are discussed. This course involves practical field work in a developing area (Kenya or Panama).
MCGILL complete current official course definition
GEOG 494Urban Field Studies3 credits
Geographical research in urban public and semi-public spaces. Demonstration of techniques of mapping, sampling, measurement, photography, interviewing. Attention to research design.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
NRSC 333Pollution and Bioremediation3 credits
The environmental contaminants which cause pollution; sources, amounts and transport of pollutants in water, air and soil; waste management.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PLNT 460Plant Ecology3 credits
Theory and practice of plant ecology with an emphasis on the interaction between patterns and ecological processes and the dynamics, conservation and management of plant populations and communities over a range of temporal and spatial scales.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
WILD 401Fisheries and Wildlife Management3 credits
Principles of fisheries and wildlife management are considered and current practices of research and management are discussed.
MCGILL complete current official course definition

Environment - Food Production and Environment82 listed

Published required and complementary course choices for the 63-credit Environment Major - Food Production and Environment (B.Sc.(Ag.Env.Sc.)) or (B.Sc.). This is a program within the degree, not the complete degree or a term-by-term timetable. Some requirements specify course levels or subjects rather than naming courses. 63 credits for this program; faculty-wide degree and foundation requirements apply separately.

BIOL 112Cell and Molecular Biology3 credits
The cell: ultrastructure, division, chemical constituents and reactions. Bioenergetics: photosynthesis and respiration. Principles of genetics, the molecular basis of inheritance and biotechnology.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
LSCI 211Biochemistry 13 credits
Biochemistry of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids; enzymes and coenzymes. Introduction to intermediary metabolism.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
CHEM 212Introductory Organic Chemistry 14 credits
A fundamental study of aliphatic compounds and saturated functional groups including modern concepts of bonding, reaction mechanisms, conformational analysis, spectroscopy, and stereochemistry.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
FDSC 230Organic Chemistry4 credits
Atomic and molecular structure, modern concepts of bonding, overview of functional groups, conformational analysis, stereochemistry, mechanisms and reactions of aliphatic compounds.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 200The Global Environment3 credits
A systems approach to study the different components of the environment involved in global climate change: the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. The interactions among these components. Their role in global climate change. The human dimension to global change.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 201Society, Environment and Sustainability3 credits
This course deals with how scientific-technological, socio-economic, political-institutional and behavioural factors mediate society-environment interactions. Issues discussed include population and resources; consumption, impacts and institutions; integrating environmental values in societal decision-making; and the challenges associated with, and strategies for, promoting sustainability. Case studies in various sectors and contexts are used.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 202The Evolving Earth3 credits
Formation of the Earth and the evolution of life. How geological and biological change are the consequence of history, chance, and necessity acting over different scales of space and time. General principles governing the formation of modern landscapes and biotas. Effects of human activities on natural systems.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 203Knowledge, Ethics and Environment3 credits
Introduction to cultural perspectives on the environment: the influence of culture and cognition on perceptions of the natural world; conflicts in orders of knowledge (models, taxonomies, paradigms, theories, cosmologies), ethics (moral values, frameworks, dilemmas), and law (formal and customary, rights and obligations) regarding political dimensions of critical environments, resource use, and technologies.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 301Environmental Research Design3 credits
Techniques used in design and completion of environmental research projects. Problem definition, data sources and use of appropriate strategies and methodologies. Principles underlying research design are emphasized, including critical thinking, recognizing causal relationships, ideologies and bias in research, and when and where to seek expertise.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 400Environmental Thought3 credits
Students work in interdisciplinary seminar groups on challenging philosophical, ethical, scientific and practical issues. They will explore cutting-edge ideas and grapple with the reconciliation of environmental imperatives and social, political and economic pragmatics. Activities include meeting practitioners, attending guest lectures, following directed readings, and organizing, leading and participating in seminars.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
AEBI 427Barbados Interdisciplinary Project6 credits
The planning of projects and research activities related to tropical food, nutrition, or energy at the local, regional, or national scale in Barbados. Projects and activities designed in consultation with university instructors, government, NGO, or private partners, and prepared by teams of 2-3 students working cooperatively with these mentors.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 401Environmental Research3 credits
Students work in an interdisciplinary team on a real-world research project involving problem definition, methodology development, social, ethical and environmental impact assessment, execution of the study, and dissemination of results to the research community and to the people affected. Teams begin defining their projects during the preceding summer.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 451Research in Panama6 credits
Research projects will be developed by instructors in consultation with Panamanian universities, government agencies and non-governmental organizations. Project groups will consist of four to six students working with a Panamanian institution. Topics will be relevant to Panama: e.g., protection of the Canal watershed, economical alternatives to deforestation, etc.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
FSCI 444Barbados Research Project6 credits
A research project that is supervised by McGill academic staff and is conducted in collaboration with local partners. The project topic must relate to the field of sustainability relating to the Caribbean or Barbados specifically.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
AEBI 210Organisms 13 credits
The biology of plants and plant-based systems in managed and natural terrestrial environments. The interactions between autotrophs and soil organisms and selected groups of animals with close ecological and evolutionary connections with plants (e.g., herbivores and pollinators) will be explored in lecture and laboratory.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
AGRI 340Principles of Ecological Agriculture3 credits
Focus on low-input, sustainable, and organic agriculture: the farm as an ecosystem; complex system theory; practical examples of soil management, pest control, integrated crop and livestock production, and marketing systems.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
AEMA 310Statistical Methods 13 credits
Measures of central tendency and dispersion; binomial and Poisson distributions; normal, chi-square, Student's t and Fisher-Snedecor F distributions; estimation and hypothesis testing; simple linear regression and correlation; analysis of variance for simple experimental designs.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 203Principles of Statistics 13 credits
Examples of statistical data and the use of graphical means to summarize the data. Basic distributions arising in the natural and behavioural sciences. The logical meaning of a test of significance and a confidence interval. Tests of significance and confidence intervals in the one and two sample setting (means, variances and proportions).
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ANSC 250Introduction to Livestock Management3 credits
Introduction to the scientific principles underlying animal livestock production as it relates to the consumer food chain. The world- wide demand for animal products, various areas of management (reproduction, nutrition, breeding, health, and welfare) that are used to provide those products by examining both conventional means as well as new and evolving technologies. How these techniques relate to some of the major production systems (dairy, beef, pig, and broiler and egg production) – primarily in a Provincial/Canadian context.
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PLNT 200Introduction to Crop Science3 credits
Application of plant science and soil science to production of agronomic and horticultural crops. Use and sustainability of fertilization, weed control, crop rotation, tillage, drainage and irrigation practices.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 202Basic Genetics3 credits
Introduction to basic principles, and to modern advances, problems and applications in the genetics of higher and lower organisms with examples representative of the biological sciences.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
LSCI 204Genetics3 credits
The course integrates classical, molecular and population genetics of animals, plants, bacteria and viruses. The aim is to understand the flow of genetic information within a cell, within families and in populations. Emphasis will be placed on problem solving based learning. The laboratory exercises will emphasize the interpretation of genetic experimental data.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVB 210The Biophysical Environment3 credits
With reference to the ecosystems in the St Lawrence lowlands, the principles and processes governing climate-landform-water-soil-vegetation systems and their interactions will be examined in lecture and laboratory. Emphasis on the natural environment as an integrated system.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
GEOG 305Soils and Environment3 credits
Discussion of the major properties of soils; soil formation, classification and mapping; land capability assessment; the role and response of soils in natural and disturbed environments (e.g. global change, ecosystem disturbance).
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 308Ecological Dynamics3 credits
Principles of population, community, and ecosystem dynamics: population growth and regulation, species interactions, dynamics of competitive interactions and of predator/prey systems; evolutionary dynamics.
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ENVB 305Population and Community Ecology3 credits
Interactions between organisms and their environment; historical and current perspectives in applied and theoretical population and community ecology. Principles of population dynamics, feedback loops, and population regulation. Development and structure of communities; competition, predation and food web dynamics. Biodiversity science in theory and practice.
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AGEC 200Principles of Microeconomics3 credits
The field of economics as it relates to the activities of individual consumers, firms and organizations. Emphasis is on the application of economic principles and concepts to everyday decision making and to the analysis of current economic issues.
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ECON 208Microeconomic Analysis and Applications3 credits
A university-level introduction to demand and supply, consumer behaviour, production theory, market structures and income distribution theory.
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AGRI 411Global Issues on Development, Food and Agriculture3 credits
International development and world food security and challenges in developing countries. Soil and water management, climate change, demographic issues, plant and animal resources conservation, bio-products and biofuels, economic and environmental issues specially in tropical and sub-tropical regions. Globalization, sustainable development, technology transfer and human resources needs for rural development.
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FDSC 200Introduction to Food Science3 credits
This course enables one to gain an appreciation of the scope of food science as a discipline. Topics include introductions to chemistry, processing, packaging, analysis, microbiology, product development, sensory evaluation and quality control as they relate to food science.
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MICR 331Microbial Ecology3 credits
The ecology of microorganisms, primarily bacteria and archaea, and their roles in biogeochemical cycles. Microbial interactions with the environment, plants, animals and other microbes emphasizing the underlying genetics and physiology. Diversity, evolution (microbial phylogenetics) and the application of molecular biology in microbial ecology.
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NUTR 207Nutrition and Health3 credits
Provides students who have a basic biology/chemistry background with the fundamental information on how macronutrients, vitamins and minerals are metabolized in the body, followed by application to evaluate current issues of maximizing health and disease prevention at different stages of the lifecycle.
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NUTR 501Nutrition in the Majority World3 credits
Current nutrition-related issues in the Majority World, emphasizing young children and other vulnerable groups. The integration of a life science and social science perspective. The multiple causes, consequences, policies, and interventions related to current nutrition.
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NUTR 505Public Health Nutrition3 credits
This course focuses on the nutrition status of populations, communities and groups of people using a public health lens. It identifies and assesses human nutrition issues and problems, their causes, influencing factors and social conditions using a social determinants of health framework. Offers opportunities to design and conduct needs assessments, design and plan programs and plan for their evaluation. The purpose and role of participatory approaches with diverse populations and Indigenous populations in particular will be analyzed. Health systems, public health and political influence in Canada, as related to nutrition will be addressed.
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PARA 410Environment and Infection3 credits
Infectious pathogens of humans and animals and their impact on the global environment are considered. The central tenet is that infectious pathogens are environmental risk factors. The course considers their impact on the human condition and juxtaposes the impact of control and treatment measures and environmental change.
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PHAR 303Principles of Toxicology3 credits
Fundamental mechanisms by which toxic compounds damage a biological system (organelle, cell, organ, organism, ecosystem). Detection and quantification of toxicity and risk/benefit analysis are considered. Selected agents of current risk to human health or the environment are evaluated in depth.
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AEBI 421Tropical Horticultural Ecology3 credits
A comprehensive survey of the major fruit, vegetable, turf, and ornamental crops grown in Barbados. Effect of cultural practices, environment, pests and pathogens, social and touristic activities, and importation of horticultural produce on local horticulture.
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AEBI 425Tropical Energy and Food3 credits
Tropical biofuel crops, conversion processes and final products, particularly energy and greenhouse gas balances and bionutraceuticals. Topics include effects of process extraction during refining on biofuel economics, the food versus fuel debate and impact of biofuels and bioproducts on tropical agricultural economics.
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AGRI 215Agro-Ecosystems Field Course3 credits
Through case studies and field trips, students will examine the problems and constraints within the Canadian agro-ecosystem, including the interrelationships among food production, the environment, agricultural policy and social issues. Research in this field of study will also be introduced.
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AGRI 325Sustainable Agriculture Field Course3 credits
Exposure to a foreign rural and agricultural context, to observe a variety of types of farm operations, cropping systems and techniques. The sustainability of these is discussed within their local social, environmental and economic landscapes.
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AGRI 550Sustained Tropical Agriculture3 credits
Contrast theory and practice in defining agricultural environmental "challenges" in the Neotropics. Indigenous and appropriate technological means of mitigation. Soil management and erosion, water scarcity, water over-abundance, and water quality. Explore agro-ecosystem protection via field trips and project designs. Institutional context of conservation strategies, NGO links, and public participation.
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ENTO 352Biocontrol of Pest Insects3 credits
Modern concepts of integrated control techniques and principles of insect pest management, with emphasis on biological control (use of predators, parasites and pathogens against pest insects), population monitoring, and manipulation of environmental, behavioral and physiological factors in the pest's way of life. Physical, cultural, and genetic controls and an introduction to the use of non-toxic biochemical controls (attractants, repellents, pheromones, antimetabolites).
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PLNT 302Forage Crops and Pastures3 credits
Ecology, management, and physiology of forage crops with emphasis on establishment, growth, maintenance, harvesting, and preservation; value as livestock feed in terms of nutritional composition and role in environmental conservation.
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PLNT 307Agroecology of Vegetables and Fruits3 credits
Application of ecological concepts and principles to the design and management of selected vegetable and fruit agroecosystems. Includes selection of varieties and management from seedling to harvest to storage.
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PLNT 353Plant Structure and Function3 credits
The general anatomy and physiology of vascular plants with emphasis on how physiological processes influence function.
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PLNT 430Pesticides in Agriculture3 credits
Pesticide science concentrating on pesticide discovery, pesticide chemistries, pesticide development, pesticide technologies, mitigation of risks due to pesticides use, national and international pesticide regulations, registrations, and compliances.
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PLNT 434Weed Biology and Control3 credits
A study of the biology of undesirable vegetation as related to the principles of prevention and physical, biological, managerial and chemical control. Emphasis on the environmental impact of the different methods of weed control.
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SOIL 315Soil Nutrient Management3 credits
Plant nutrients in the soil, influence of soil properties on nutrient absorption and plant growth, use of organic and inorganic fertilizers.
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BIOL 343Biodiversity in the Caribean3 credits
Biodiversity loss and the measure of ecological integrity of ecosystems, patterns of diversification and evolution of terrestrial and oceanic biotas in the Caribbean.
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BIOL 465Conservation Biology3 credits
Discussion of relevant theoretical and applied issues in conservation biology. Topics: biodiversity, population viability analysis, community dynamics, biology of rarity, extinction, habitat fragmentation, social issues.
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BIOL 553Neotropical Environments3 credits
Ecology revisited in view of tropical conditions. Exploring species richness. Sampling and measuring biodiversity. Conservation status of ecosystems, communities and species. Indigenous knowledge.
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BREE 217Hydrology and Water Resources3 credits
Introduction to water resources and hydrologic cycle. Precipitation and hydrologic frequency analysis. Soil water processes, infiltration theory and modeling. Evapotranspiration estimation methods and crop water requirements. Surface runoff estimation as a function of land use modifications. Estimation of peak runoff rates. Unit hydrograph. Design of open channels and vegetated waterways.
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BREE 322Management of Organic Residue3 credits
Engineering aspects of handling, storage, and treatment of organic residues in agricultural and municipal contexts. Technologies, design approaches, and management strategies for resource recovery and increasing the circularity of material and energy flows.
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BREE 518Ecological Engineering3 credits
Concepts and practice of ecological engineering: the planned creation or management of a community of organisms, their nonliving surroundings, and technological components to provide services. Survey of applications such as constructed wetlands, aquatic production systems, green infrastructure for urban storm water management, environmental restoration. Taught cooperatively with a parallel course at University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Online collaboration with an interdisciplinary, international team is an important component of the course.
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ENVB 500Advanced Topics in Ecotoxicology3 credits
Exploring the impact of environmental chemicals on biological organisms in an ecological context. Basic topics in ecotoxicology, such as source and fate, routes of exposure, bioavailability, dose-response, biomarkers, and risk assessment will be covered from both theoretical and applied perspectives. The processes by which pollutants are tested, regulated, and monitored will be critically examined.
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GEOG 322Environmental Hydrology3 credits
Quantitative, experimental study of the principles governing the movement of water at or near the Earth's surface and how the research relates to the chemistry and biology of ecosystems.
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NRSC 333Pollution and Bioremediation3 credits
The environmental contaminants which cause pollution; sources, amounts and transport of pollutants in water, air and soil; waste management.
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WILD 401Fisheries and Wildlife Management3 credits
Principles of fisheries and wildlife management are considered and current practices of research and management are discussed.
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WILD 421Wildlife Conservation3 credits
Study of current controversial issues focusing on wildlife conservation. Topics include: animal rights, exotic species, ecotourism, urban wildlife, multi-use of national parks, harvesting of wildlife, biological controls, and endangered species.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
AGEC 320Intermediate Microeconomic Theory3 credits
An intermediate theory course in agricultural economics, dealing with economic concepts as applied to agricultural production and cost functions. Includes theory and application of linear programming as related to production decisions.
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AGEC 333Resource Economics3 credits
The role of resources in the environment, use of resources, and management of economic resources within the firm or organization. Problem-solving, case studies involving private and public decision-making in organizations are utilized.
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AGEC 430Agriculture, Food and Resource Policy3 credits
Examination of North American and international agriculture, food and resource policies, policy instruments, programs and their implications. Economic analysis applied to the principles, procedures and objectives of various policy actions affecting agriculture, and the environment.
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AGEC 442Economics of International Agricultural Development3 credits
The course deals with economic aspects of international development with emphasis on the role of food, agriculture and the resource sector in the economy of developing countries. Topics will include world food analysis, development project analysis and policies for sustainable development. Development case studies will be used.
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ECON 225Economics of the Environment3 credits
A study of the application of economic theory to questions of environmental policy. Particular attention will be given to the measurement and regulation of pollution, congestion and waste and other environmental aspects of specific economies.
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ECON 405Natural Resource Economics3 credits
Topics include: Malthusian and Ricardian Scarcity; optimal depletion of renewable and non-renewable resources; exploration, risk and industry structure, and current resources, rent and taxation. Current public policies applied to the resource industries, particularly those of a regulatory nature.
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ENVR 421Montreal: Environmental History and Sustainability3 credits
This course will focus on the role of place and history in the cities in which we live and in our understanding of sustainability. Each year, students will work to develop a historical reconstruction of the natural environment of Montreal and of its links to the cultural landscape, building on the work of previous cohorts of students.
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GEOG 340Sustainability in the Caribbean3 credits
The local environmental, social, historical, political and economic context of Barbados and the Caribbean. The small island developing States (SIDS), and why those nations are more vulnerable to global environmental challenges. The 17 Sustainability Development Goals of the United Nations, with a focus on the leadership role played by Barbados for the entire Caribbean region.
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GEOG 498Humans in Tropical Environments3 credits
Focus on understanding of inter-relations between humans and neotropical environments represented in Panama. Study of contemporary rural landscapes, their origins, development and change. Impacts of economic growth and inequality, social organization, and politics on natural resource use and environmental degradation. Site visits and field exercises in peasant/colonist, Amerindian, and plantation communities.
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GEOG 510Humid Tropical Environments3 credits
Focus on the environmental and human spatial relationships in tropical rain forest and savanna landscapes. Human adaptation to variations within these landscapes through time and space. Biophysical constraints upon "development" in the modern era.
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HIST 510Environmental History of Latin America (Field)3 credits
Human-nature interactions over different scales of time in Latin America (with an emphasis on neo-tropical environments) and the application of the historical perspective to contemporary environmental issues, including historiography and methodology; cultures of environmental knowledge.
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SOCI 254Development and Underdevelopment3 credits
Competing theories about the causes of underdevelopment in the poor countries. Topics include the impact of geography, the population explosion, culture and national character, economic and sexual inequalities, democracy and dictatorship. Western imperialism and multi-national corporations, reliance on the market, and development through local participation, cooperation, and appropriate technology.
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AEBI 423Sustainable Land Use3 credits
Management, preservation, and utilization of forage crops in sustainable tropical environments; examination of their value as livestock feed in terms of nutritional composition and impact on animal performance; land use issues as it pertains to forage and animal production in insular environments.
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ANTH 418Environment and Development3 credits
Advanced study of the environmental crisis in developing and advanced industrial nations, with emphasis on the social and cultural dimensions of natural resource management and environmental change. Each year, the seminar will focus on a particular set of issues, delineated by type of resource, geographic region, or analytical problem.
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BREE 529GIS for Natural Resource Management3 credits
Applications of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and spatial analysis techniques to the presentation and analysis of ecological information, including sources and capture of spatial data; characterizing, transforming, displaying spatial data; and spatial analysis to solve resource management problems.
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ENVB 437Assessing Environmental Impact3 credits
Principles and practice of Environmental Assessment (EA) in Canada and internationally. Exploration of issues surrounding impact assessment for sustainable development in different sectors, including their limitations.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVB 529GIS for Natural Resource Management3 credits
Applications of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and spatial analysis techniques to the presentation and analysis of ecological information, including sources and capture of spatial data; characterizing, transforming, displaying spatial data; and spatial analysis to solve resource management problems.
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GEOG 201Introductory Geo-Information Science3 credits
An introduction to Geographic Information Systems. The systematic management of spatial data. The use and construction of maps. The use of microcomputers and software for mapping and statistical work. Air photo and topographic map analyses.
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ENVR 422Montreal Urban Sustainability Analysis3 credits
Applied and experience-based learning opportunities are employed to critically assess Montreal as a sustainable city through research, discussion, and field trips. The urban environment is considered through various specific dimensions, ranging from: waste, energy, urban agriculture, green spaces and design, or transportation.
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GEOG 302Environmental Management 13 credits
An ecological analysis of the physical and biotic components of natural resource systems. Emphasis on scientific, technological and institutional aspects of environmental management. Study of the use of biological resources and of the impact of individual processes.
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GEOG 404Environmental Management 23 credits
Practical application of environmental planning, analysis and management techniques with reference to the needs and problems of developing areas. Special challenges posed by cultural differences and traditional resource systems are discussed. This course involves practical field work in a developing area (Kenya or Panama).
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GEOG 530Global Land and Water Resources3 credits
Linkage of physical processes (hydrology and ecosystems) with issues of societal and socio-economic relevance (land, food, and water use appropriation for human well-being). Application of a holistic perspective on land, food and water issues in an international setting, highlighting linkages, feedbacks and trade-offs in an Earth system context.
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MGPO 440Strategies for Sustainability3 credits
This course explores the relationship between economic activity, management, and the natural environment. Using readings, discussions and cases, the course will explore the challenges that the goal of sustainable development poses for our existing notions of economic goals, production and consumption practices and the management of organizations.
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Environment - Land Surface Processes and Environmental Change80 listed

Published required and complementary course choices for the 63-credit Environment Major - Land Surface Processes and Environmental Change (B.Sc.(Ag.Env.Sc.)) or (B.Sc.). This is a program within the degree, not the complete degree or a term-by-term timetable. Some requirements specify course levels or subjects rather than naming courses. 63 credits for this program; faculty-wide degree and foundation requirements apply separately.

ENVR 200The Global Environment3 credits
A systems approach to study the different components of the environment involved in global climate change: the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. The interactions among these components. Their role in global climate change. The human dimension to global change.
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ENVR 201Society, Environment and Sustainability3 credits
This course deals with how scientific-technological, socio-economic, political-institutional and behavioural factors mediate society-environment interactions. Issues discussed include population and resources; consumption, impacts and institutions; integrating environmental values in societal decision-making; and the challenges associated with, and strategies for, promoting sustainability. Case studies in various sectors and contexts are used.
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ENVR 202The Evolving Earth3 credits
Formation of the Earth and the evolution of life. How geological and biological change are the consequence of history, chance, and necessity acting over different scales of space and time. General principles governing the formation of modern landscapes and biotas. Effects of human activities on natural systems.
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ENVR 203Knowledge, Ethics and Environment3 credits
Introduction to cultural perspectives on the environment: the influence of culture and cognition on perceptions of the natural world; conflicts in orders of knowledge (models, taxonomies, paradigms, theories, cosmologies), ethics (moral values, frameworks, dilemmas), and law (formal and customary, rights and obligations) regarding political dimensions of critical environments, resource use, and technologies.
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ENVR 301Environmental Research Design3 credits
Techniques used in design and completion of environmental research projects. Problem definition, data sources and use of appropriate strategies and methodologies. Principles underlying research design are emphasized, including critical thinking, recognizing causal relationships, ideologies and bias in research, and when and where to seek expertise.
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ENVR 400Environmental Thought3 credits
Students work in interdisciplinary seminar groups on challenging philosophical, ethical, scientific and practical issues. They will explore cutting-edge ideas and grapple with the reconciliation of environmental imperatives and social, political and economic pragmatics. Activities include meeting practitioners, attending guest lectures, following directed readings, and organizing, leading and participating in seminars.
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AEBI 427Barbados Interdisciplinary Project6 credits
The planning of projects and research activities related to tropical food, nutrition, or energy at the local, regional, or national scale in Barbados. Projects and activities designed in consultation with university instructors, government, NGO, or private partners, and prepared by teams of 2-3 students working cooperatively with these mentors.
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ENVR 401Environmental Research3 credits
Students work in an interdisciplinary team on a real-world research project involving problem definition, methodology development, social, ethical and environmental impact assessment, execution of the study, and dissemination of results to the research community and to the people affected. Teams begin defining their projects during the preceding summer.
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ENVR 451Research in Panama6 credits
Research projects will be developed by instructors in consultation with Panamanian universities, government agencies and non-governmental organizations. Project groups will consist of four to six students working with a Panamanian institution. Topics will be relevant to Panama: e.g., protection of the Canal watershed, economical alternatives to deforestation, etc.
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FSCI 444Barbados Research Project6 credits
A research project that is supervised by McGill academic staff and is conducted in collaboration with local partners. The project topic must relate to the field of sustainability relating to the Caribbean or Barbados specifically.
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GEOG 451Research in Society and Development in Africa3 credits
Three intersecting components: 1) core development themes including culture change, environmental conservation, water, health, development (urban and rural), governance and conflict resolution, 2) research techniques for topics related to core themes, including ethics, risk, field methods and data analysis, 3) field documentation, scientific recording and communication.
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GEOG 203Environmental Systems3 credits
An introduction to system-level interactions among climate, hydrology, soils and vegetation at the scale of drainage basins, including the study of the global geographical variability in these land-surface systems. The knowledge acquired is used to study the impact on the environment of various human activities such as deforestation and urbanisation.
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AEMA 310Statistical Methods 13 credits
Measures of central tendency and dispersion; binomial and Poisson distributions; normal, chi-square, Student's t and Fisher-Snedecor F distributions; estimation and hypothesis testing; simple linear regression and correlation; analysis of variance for simple experimental designs.
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GEOG 202Statistics and Spatial Analysis3 credits
Exploratory data analysis, univariate descriptive and inferential statistics, non-parametric statistics, correlation and simple regression. Problems associated with analysing spatial data such as the 'modifiable areal unit problem' and spatial autocorrelation. Statistics measuring spatial pattern in point, line and polygon data.
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MATH 203Principles of Statistics 13 credits
Examples of statistical data and the use of graphical means to summarize the data. Basic distributions arising in the natural and behavioural sciences. The logical meaning of a test of significance and a confidence interval. Tests of significance and confidence intervals in the one and two sample setting (means, variances and proportions).
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ENVB 529GIS for Natural Resource Management3 credits
Applications of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and spatial analysis techniques to the presentation and analysis of ecological information, including sources and capture of spatial data; characterizing, transforming, displaying spatial data; and spatial analysis to solve resource management problems.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
GEOG 201Introductory Geo-Information Science3 credits
An introduction to Geographic Information Systems. The systematic management of spatial data. The use and construction of maps. The use of microcomputers and software for mapping and statistical work. Air photo and topographic map analyses.
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ATOC 215Oceans, Weather and Climate3 credits
An introduction to key physical and dynamical processes in the oceans and atmosphere. Topics typically include air-sea-ice interactions, laws of motion, the geostrophic and thermal wind relations, general circulation of the atmosphere and oceans, weather, radiative balance, climate sensitivity and variability, role of the atmosphere and oceans in climate.
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ATOC 341Caribbean Climate and Weather3 credits
The climate system and ongoing global change, ocean and atmosphere circulation and future trends in the tropics; local climate variability and dynamics, extreme weather events in the Caribbean .
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ENVB 301Meteorology3 credits
The physical processes underlying weather. Topics include: the atmosphere - its properties (structure and motion), and thermodynamics (stability, heat and moisture); clouds and precipitation; air masses and fronts; mid-latitude weather systems and severe weather.
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GEOG 321Climatic Environments3 credits
The earth-atmosphere system, radiation and energy balances. Surface-atmosphere exchange of energy, mass and momentum and related atmospheric processes on a local and regional scale. Introduction to measurement theory and practice in micrometeorology.
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GEOG 272Earth's Changing Surface3 credits
Introduction to the study of landforms as products of geomorphic and geologic systems acting at and near the Earth's surface. The process geomorphology approach will be used to demonstrate how landforms of different geomorphic settings represent a dynamic balance between forces acting in the environment and the physical properties of materials present.
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SOIL 300Geosystems3 credits
Interactions between Earth's various geologic systems and how these interactions lead to mineral and rock formation. Geomorphic processes and how various landforms are created by the interactions at the Earth's surface between the various geologic systems.
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ENVB 210The Biophysical Environment3 credits
With reference to the ecosystems in the St Lawrence lowlands, the principles and processes governing climate-landform-water-soil-vegetation systems and their interactions will be examined in lecture and laboratory. Emphasis on the natural environment as an integrated system.
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GEOG 305Soils and Environment3 credits
Discussion of the major properties of soils; soil formation, classification and mapping; land capability assessment; the role and response of soils in natural and disturbed environments (e.g. global change, ecosystem disturbance).
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BREE 217Hydrology and Water Resources3 credits
Introduction to water resources and hydrologic cycle. Precipitation and hydrologic frequency analysis. Soil water processes, infiltration theory and modeling. Evapotranspiration estimation methods and crop water requirements. Surface runoff estimation as a function of land use modifications. Estimation of peak runoff rates. Unit hydrograph. Design of open channels and vegetated waterways.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
GEOG 322Environmental Hydrology3 credits
Quantitative, experimental study of the principles governing the movement of water at or near the Earth's surface and how the research relates to the chemistry and biology of ecosystems.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
AGRI 550Sustained Tropical Agriculture3 credits
Contrast theory and practice in defining agricultural environmental "challenges" in the Neotropics. Indigenous and appropriate technological means of mitigation. Soil management and erosion, water scarcity, water over-abundance, and water quality. Explore agro-ecosystem protection via field trips and project designs. Institutional context of conservation strategies, NGO links, and public participation.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 308Ecological Dynamics3 credits
Principles of population, community, and ecosystem dynamics: population growth and regulation, species interactions, dynamics of competitive interactions and of predator/prey systems; evolutionary dynamics.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 465Conservation Biology3 credits
Discussion of relevant theoretical and applied issues in conservation biology. Topics: biodiversity, population viability analysis, community dynamics, biology of rarity, extinction, habitat fragmentation, social issues.
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CIVE 225Environmental Engineering4 credits
Introduction to environmental engineering; mass balance analyses in engineered and natural systems; foundations of environmental chemistry and microbiology; water, soil, air pollution characterization, transport, and control; water quality parameters; drinking water and wastewater treatment technologies; environmental risk assessment; waste management; applicable sustainable practices; experimental errors; instrumentation principles.
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ENVB 305Population and Community Ecology3 credits
Interactions between organisms and their environment; historical and current perspectives in applied and theoretical population and community ecology. Principles of population dynamics, feedback loops, and population regulation. Development and structure of communities; competition, predation and food web dynamics. Biodiversity science in theory and practice.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVB 437Assessing Environmental Impact3 credits
Principles and practice of Environmental Assessment (EA) in Canada and internationally. Exploration of issues surrounding impact assessment for sustainable development in different sectors, including their limitations.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVB 530Advanced GIS for Natural Resource Management3 credits
An advanced spatial analysis course that uses rapidly developing techniques in GIS and remote sensing to solve problems in natural resource management. Focuses on controlling spatial operations through programming.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 422Montreal Urban Sustainability Analysis3 credits
Applied and experience-based learning opportunities are employed to critically assess Montreal as a sustainable city through research, discussion, and field trips. The urban environment is considered through various specific dimensions, ranging from: waste, energy, urban agriculture, green spaces and design, or transportation.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ESYS 301Earth System Modelling3 credits
Introduction to principal concepts of systems modelling related to Earth system science and environmental science, including simple numerical models, conservation laws of mass, energy, and momentum, discretization of governing differential equations, the stability of numerical schemes, and exploration of the ideas of equilibria, feedbacks, and complexity.
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GEOG 302Environmental Management 13 credits
An ecological analysis of the physical and biotic components of natural resource systems. Emphasis on scientific, technological and institutional aspects of environmental management. Study of the use of biological resources and of the impact of individual processes.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
GEOG 308Remote Sensing for Earth Observation3 credits
A conceptual view of remote sensing and the underlying physical principles. Covers ground-based, aerial, satellite systems, and the electromagnetic spectrum, from visible to microwave. Emphasis on application of remotely sensed data in geography including land cover change and ecological processes.
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GEOG 340Sustainability in the Caribbean3 credits
The local environmental, social, historical, political and economic context of Barbados and the Caribbean. The small island developing States (SIDS), and why those nations are more vulnerable to global environmental challenges. The 17 Sustainability Development Goals of the United Nations, with a focus on the leadership role played by Barbados for the entire Caribbean region.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
GEOG 404Environmental Management 23 credits
Practical application of environmental planning, analysis and management techniques with reference to the needs and problems of developing areas. Special challenges posed by cultural differences and traditional resource systems are discussed. This course involves practical field work in a developing area (Kenya or Panama).
MCGILL complete current official course definition
GEOG 506Advanced Geographic Information Science3 credits
Critically analyse major themes in geographic information science and draw out the practical ramifications for spatial technologies and research. Topics such as spatial interoperability, data quality, scale, visualization, location based services and ontologies are covered.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
GEOG 530Global Land and Water Resources3 credits
Linkage of physical processes (hydrology and ecosystems) with issues of societal and socio-economic relevance (land, food, and water use appropriation for human well-being). Application of a holistic perspective on land, food and water issues in an international setting, highlighting linkages, feedbacks and trade-offs in an Earth system context.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
SOIL 315Soil Nutrient Management3 credits
Plant nutrients in the soil, influence of soil properties on nutrient absorption and plant growth, use of organic and inorganic fertilizers.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
WILD 421Wildlife Conservation3 credits
Study of current controversial issues focusing on wildlife conservation. Topics include: animal rights, exotic species, ecotourism, urban wildlife, multi-use of national parks, harvesting of wildlife, biological controls, and endangered species.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
WOOD 441Integrated Forest Management3 credits
The study of silviculture and silvics and their application to forest management to sustain the production of wood and other ecological goods and services such as wildlife, water and landscape in natural forests and rural environments (agroforestry). Acquisition of practical skills in forest surveying and computer simulation of forest growth.
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ATOC 333Tropical Weather and Climate Field Course3 credits
Observing weather, climate and environmental chemistry in tropical Barbados. Emphasis on experiential learning. Field observations typically cover measurements of sea surface temperature, meteorological variables, and environmental chemical characteristics.
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BIOL 343Biodiversity in the Caribean3 credits
Biodiversity loss and the measure of ecological integrity of ecosystems, patterns of diversification and evolution of terrestrial and oceanic biotas in the Caribbean.
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BIOL 553Neotropical Environments3 credits
Ecology revisited in view of tropical conditions. Exploring species richness. Sampling and measuring biodiversity. Conservation status of ecosystems, communities and species. Indigenous knowledge.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
GEOG 495Field Studies - Physical Geography3 credits
Field research projects in physical geography. Held locally in Monteregian or Eastern Township regions. The course is organised around field projects designed to formulate and test scientific hypotheses in a physical geography discipline. May Summer session.
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GEOG 496Geographical Excursion3 credits
Lecture course on the geography of a region and excursion through the selected country or region including landscape interpretation and field study projects.
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WILD 475Desert Ecology3 credits
A three week field course exploring relationships between climate, geology, landforms, biodiversity, biotic adaptations and ecosystem conditions in the arid regions of Arizona and southern California. Focus is on the Sonoran and Mojave deserts but includes the transitions to adjacent grassland and forest biomes of the Sky Islands and Colorado Plateau. Exploration of issues arising from human use of land and water, and conservation in arid environments. Experiential learning involving team and individual projects and assignments before and during the field trip.
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AGEC 333Resource Economics3 credits
The role of resources in the environment, use of resources, and management of economic resources within the firm or organization. Problem-solving, case studies involving private and public decision-making in organizations are utilized.
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ANTH 339Ecological Anthropology3 credits
Intensive study of theories and cases in ecological anthropology. Theories are examined and tested through comparative case-study analysis. Cultural constructions of "nature" and "environment" are compared and analyzed. Systems of resource management and conflicts over the use of resources are studied in depth.
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ECON 225Economics of the Environment3 credits
A study of the application of economic theory to questions of environmental policy. Particular attention will be given to the measurement and regulation of pollution, congestion and waste and other environmental aspects of specific economies.
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ECON 326Ecological Economics3 credits
Macroeconomic and structural aspects of the ecological crisis. A course in which subjects discussed include the conflict between economic growth and the laws of thermodynamics; the search for alternative economic indicators; the fossil fuels crisis; and "green'' fiscal policy.
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ECON 405Natural Resource Economics3 credits
Topics include: Malthusian and Ricardian Scarcity; optimal depletion of renewable and non-renewable resources; exploration, risk and industry structure, and current resources, rent and taxation. Current public policies applied to the resource industries, particularly those of a regulatory nature.
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ENVR 421Montreal: Environmental History and Sustainability3 credits
This course will focus on the role of place and history in the cities in which we live and in our understanding of sustainability. Each year, students will work to develop a historical reconstruction of the natural environment of Montreal and of its links to the cultural landscape, building on the work of previous cohorts of students.
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GEOG 221Environment and Health3 credits
Key chemical, physical, and social stressors in the environment, and how these affect the health of people and ecosystems. Hazards in air, water, food, and work environments. Historic, current, and future need for environmental health science, from scientific, personal, and practical perspectives.
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GEOG 408Geography of Development3 credits
Examines the geographical dimensions of development policy, specifically the relationships between the process of development and human-induced environmental change. Focuses on environmental sustainability, struggles over resource control, population and poverty, and levels of governance (the role of the state, non-governmental organizations, and local communities).
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GEOG 498Humans in Tropical Environments3 credits
Focus on understanding of inter-relations between humans and neotropical environments represented in Panama. Study of contemporary rural landscapes, their origins, development and change. Impacts of economic growth and inequality, social organization, and politics on natural resource use and environmental degradation. Site visits and field exercises in peasant/colonist, Amerindian, and plantation communities.
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HIST 510Environmental History of Latin America (Field)3 credits
Human-nature interactions over different scales of time in Latin America (with an emphasis on neo-tropical environments) and the application of the historical perspective to contemporary environmental issues, including historiography and methodology; cultures of environmental knowledge.
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NRSC 221Environment and Health3 credits
Key chemical, physical, and social stressors in the environment, and how these affect the health of people and ecosystems. Hazards in air, water, food, and work environments. Historic, current, and future need for environmental health science, from scientific, personal, and practical perspectives.
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POLI 350Global Environmental Politics3 credits
Environmental problems like climate change, deforestation, biodiversity loss, and ocean acidification transcend national borders. Solving these problems will require global cooperation on an unprecedented level. This course will explore the challenges of contemporary global environmental governance and the innovative solutions being advanced at the community, municipal, provincial, national, and international levels.
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WCOM 314Communicating Science3 credits
Production of written and oral assignments (in English) designed to communicate scientific problems and findings to varied audiences Analysis of the disciplinary conventions of scientific discourse in terms of audience, purpose, organization, and style; comparative rhetorical analysis of academic and popular genres, including abstracts, lab reports, research papers, print and online journalism.
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BIOL 432Limnology3 credits
A study of the physical, chemical and biological properties of lakes and other inland waters, with emphasis on their functioning as systems.
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ENVB 410Ecosystem Ecology3 credits
Biotic and abiotic processes that control the flows of energy, nutrients and water through ecosystems; emergent system properties; approaches to analyzing complex systems. Labs include collection and multivariate analysis of field data.
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GEOG 372Running Water Environments3 credits
The course focuses on the physical habitat conditions found in streams, rivers, estuaries and deltas. Based on the laws governing flow of water and sediment transport, it emphasizes differences among these environments, in terms of channel form, flow patterns, substrate composition and mode of evolution. Flooding, damming, channelisation, forestry impacts.
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GEOG 470Wetlands3 credits
An examination of the structure, function and utility of wetlands. Topics include the fluxes of energy and water, wetland biogeochemistry, plant ecology in freshwater and coastal wetlands and wetlands use, conservation and restoration. Field trip(s) are envisaged to illustrate issues covered in class.
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GEOG 550Historical Ecology Techniques3 credits
Principles and methods of Quaternary paleoecology and vegetation reconstruction. Examination of ecosystem response to human disturbance and environmental change.
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PLNT 358Flowering Plant Diversity3 credits
Principles of classification and identification of flowering plants and ferns, with emphasis on 35 major families of flowering plants and the habitats in which they grow.
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PLNT 460Plant Ecology3 credits
Theory and practice of plant ecology with an emphasis on the interaction between patterns and ecological processes and the dynamics, conservation and management of plant populations and communities over a range of temporal and spatial scales.
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ATOC 315Thermodynamics and Convection3 credits
Buoyancy, stability, and vertical oscillations. Dry and moist adiabatic processes. Resulting dry and precipitating convective circulations from the small scale to the global scale. Mesoscale precipitation systems from the cell to convective complexes. Severe convection, downbursts, mesocyclones.
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BREE 509Hydrologic Systems and Modelling3 credits
Hydrologic cycle in the nature and how to quantitatively describe those processes using models. The fundamentals of hydrology including basic concepts, precipitation, snow and snowmelt, evapotranspiration, subsurface flow, infiltration and soil water movement, and runoff and streamflow. Equivalent attention to theories and hands-on practices on model application. How to set up and execute weather data driven physical based models, both at a point-scale and a watershed scale, to predict snowmelt, evapotranspiration, infiltration, soil water redistribution, subsurface drainage, runoff, and stream flow in hydrologic systems.
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EPSC 325Environmental Geochemistry3 credits
The basic concepts and calculations needed to quantitatively understand the geochemical processes occurring between minerals and waters in Earth’s near-surface environment. The important concepts of thermodynamics and kinetics will be exemplified using examples that concentrate on reactions between minerals and water and their impact on the environment.
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EPSC 549Hydrogeology3 credits
Introduction to groundwater flow through porous media. Notions of fluid potential and hydraulic head. Darcy flux and Darcy's Law. Physical properties of porous media and their measurement. Equation of groundwater flow. Flow systems. Hydraulics of pumping and recharging wells. Notions of hydrology. Groundwater quality and contamination. Physical processes of contaminant transport.
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GEOG 401Socio-Environmental Systems: Theory and Simulation3 credits
Conceptual and simulation models of key case studies for developing system thinking, including system stability, threshold dynamics in regime shifts, resilience, and adaptive environmental management.
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GEOG 505Global Biogeochemistry3 credits
An examination of the storage, transfers and cycling of major elements and substances, with an emphasis on the global scale and the linkages between the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere.
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MICR 331Microbial Ecology3 credits
The ecology of microorganisms, primarily bacteria and archaea, and their roles in biogeochemical cycles. Microbial interactions with the environment, plants, animals and other microbes emphasizing the underlying genetics and physiology. Diversity, evolution (microbial phylogenetics) and the application of molecular biology in microbial ecology.
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NRSC 333Pollution and Bioremediation3 credits
The environmental contaminants which cause pollution; sources, amounts and transport of pollutants in water, air and soil; waste management.
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SOIL 535Soil Ecology3 credits
Exploration of the unique soil habitat for organisms with a focus on the variables that affect the abundance, diversity and interactions of soil biota and, in turn, their influence on soil physicochemical properties, biogeochemical cycles and other factors impacting ecosystem sustainability. Topics include survey of soil fauna, soil food webs, microbial ecology, biological carbon and nitrogen cycling, plant-soil interactions, and the effects of human activities and management on soil ecology, including synthesizing concepts and a critical analysis and interpretation of primary scientific literature in soil ecology.
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Environment - Renewable Resource Management55 listed

Published required and complementary course choices for the 63-credit Environment Major - Renewable Resource Management (B.Sc.(Ag.Env.Sc.)) or (B.Sc.). This is a program within the degree, not the complete degree or a term-by-term timetable. Some requirements specify course levels or subjects rather than naming courses. 63 credits for this program; faculty-wide degree and foundation requirements apply separately.

BIOL 112Cell and Molecular Biology3 credits
The cell: ultrastructure, division, chemical constituents and reactions. Bioenergetics: photosynthesis and respiration. Principles of genetics, the molecular basis of inheritance and biotechnology.
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LSCI 211Biochemistry 13 credits
Biochemistry of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, nucleic acids; enzymes and coenzymes. Introduction to intermediary metabolism.
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CHEM 212Introductory Organic Chemistry 14 credits
A fundamental study of aliphatic compounds and saturated functional groups including modern concepts of bonding, reaction mechanisms, conformational analysis, spectroscopy, and stereochemistry.
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FDSC 230Organic Chemistry4 credits
Atomic and molecular structure, modern concepts of bonding, overview of functional groups, conformational analysis, stereochemistry, mechanisms and reactions of aliphatic compounds.
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ENVR 200The Global Environment3 credits
A systems approach to study the different components of the environment involved in global climate change: the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. The interactions among these components. Their role in global climate change. The human dimension to global change.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 201Society, Environment and Sustainability3 credits
This course deals with how scientific-technological, socio-economic, political-institutional and behavioural factors mediate society-environment interactions. Issues discussed include population and resources; consumption, impacts and institutions; integrating environmental values in societal decision-making; and the challenges associated with, and strategies for, promoting sustainability. Case studies in various sectors and contexts are used.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 202The Evolving Earth3 credits
Formation of the Earth and the evolution of life. How geological and biological change are the consequence of history, chance, and necessity acting over different scales of space and time. General principles governing the formation of modern landscapes and biotas. Effects of human activities on natural systems.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 203Knowledge, Ethics and Environment3 credits
Introduction to cultural perspectives on the environment: the influence of culture and cognition on perceptions of the natural world; conflicts in orders of knowledge (models, taxonomies, paradigms, theories, cosmologies), ethics (moral values, frameworks, dilemmas), and law (formal and customary, rights and obligations) regarding political dimensions of critical environments, resource use, and technologies.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 301Environmental Research Design3 credits
Techniques used in design and completion of environmental research projects. Problem definition, data sources and use of appropriate strategies and methodologies. Principles underlying research design are emphasized, including critical thinking, recognizing causal relationships, ideologies and bias in research, and when and where to seek expertise.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 400Environmental Thought3 credits
Students work in interdisciplinary seminar groups on challenging philosophical, ethical, scientific and practical issues. They will explore cutting-edge ideas and grapple with the reconciliation of environmental imperatives and social, political and economic pragmatics. Activities include meeting practitioners, attending guest lectures, following directed readings, and organizing, leading and participating in seminars.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 401Environmental Research3 credits
Students work in an interdisciplinary team on a real-world research project involving problem definition, methodology development, social, ethical and environmental impact assessment, execution of the study, and dissemination of results to the research community and to the people affected. Teams begin defining their projects during the preceding summer.
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ENVR 451Research in Panama6 credits
Research projects will be developed by instructors in consultation with Panamanian universities, government agencies and non-governmental organizations. Project groups will consist of four to six students working with a Panamanian institution. Topics will be relevant to Panama: e.g., protection of the Canal watershed, economical alternatives to deforestation, etc.
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FSCI 444Barbados Research Project6 credits
A research project that is supervised by McGill academic staff and is conducted in collaboration with local partners. The project topic must relate to the field of sustainability relating to the Caribbean or Barbados specifically.
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AEBI 210Organisms 13 credits
The biology of plants and plant-based systems in managed and natural terrestrial environments. The interactions between autotrophs and soil organisms and selected groups of animals with close ecological and evolutionary connections with plants (e.g., herbivores and pollinators) will be explored in lecture and laboratory.
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AEBI 211Organisms 23 credits
Introduction to the biology of heterotrophs, focusing on animal diversity from the perspectives of phylogenetics, physiology, and ecology. Introduction to major animal taxa, comparing and contrasting these taxa, and exploration of the relationships among them.
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BIOL 305Animal Diversity3 credits
The characteristics of the major groups of animals, their ancestry, history and relationship to one another. The processes of speciation, adaptive radiation and extinction responsible for diversity. Methods for constructing of phylogenies, for comparing phenotypes, and for estimating and analyzing diversity.
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BIOL 308Ecological Dynamics3 credits
Principles of population, community, and ecosystem dynamics: population growth and regulation, species interactions, dynamics of competitive interactions and of predator/prey systems; evolutionary dynamics.
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ENVB 305Population and Community Ecology3 credits
Interactions between organisms and their environment; historical and current perspectives in applied and theoretical population and community ecology. Principles of population dynamics, feedback loops, and population regulation. Development and structure of communities; competition, predation and food web dynamics. Biodiversity science in theory and practice.
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ENVB 210The Biophysical Environment3 credits
With reference to the ecosystems in the St Lawrence lowlands, the principles and processes governing climate-landform-water-soil-vegetation systems and their interactions will be examined in lecture and laboratory. Emphasis on the natural environment as an integrated system.
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GEOG 305Soils and Environment3 credits
Discussion of the major properties of soils; soil formation, classification and mapping; land capability assessment; the role and response of soils in natural and disturbed environments (e.g. global change, ecosystem disturbance).
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AEMA 310Statistical Methods 13 credits
Measures of central tendency and dispersion; binomial and Poisson distributions; normal, chi-square, Student's t and Fisher-Snedecor F distributions; estimation and hypothesis testing; simple linear regression and correlation; analysis of variance for simple experimental designs.
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BIOL 373Biometry3 credits
Elementary statistical methods in biology. Introduction to the analysis of biological data with emphasis on the assumptions behind statistical tests and models. Use of statistical techniques typically available on computer packages.
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ENVB 529GIS for Natural Resource Management3 credits
Applications of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and spatial analysis techniques to the presentation and analysis of ecological information, including sources and capture of spatial data; characterizing, transforming, displaying spatial data; and spatial analysis to solve resource management problems.
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GEOG 201Introductory Geo-Information Science3 credits
An introduction to Geographic Information Systems. The systematic management of spatial data. The use and construction of maps. The use of microcomputers and software for mapping and statistical work. Air photo and topographic map analyses.
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BIOL 553Neotropical Environments3 credits
Ecology revisited in view of tropical conditions. Exploring species richness. Sampling and measuring biodiversity. Conservation status of ecosystems, communities and species. Indigenous knowledge.
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GEOG 372Running Water Environments3 credits
The course focuses on the physical habitat conditions found in streams, rivers, estuaries and deltas. Based on the laws governing flow of water and sediment transport, it emphasizes differences among these environments, in terms of channel form, flow patterns, substrate composition and mode of evolution. Flooding, damming, channelisation, forestry impacts.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PLNT 358Flowering Plant Diversity3 credits
Principles of classification and identification of flowering plants and ferns, with emphasis on 35 major families of flowering plants and the habitats in which they grow.
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SOIL 326Soils in a Changing Environment3 credits
Soil processes responsible for soil formation will be studied and the impact of changes to the physical and chemical environment will be discussed.
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WILD 307Natural History of Vertebrates3 credits
The diversity and natural history of Canadian vertebrates illustrated with trophic, phylogenetic, and macroecological approaches.
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BIOL 343Biodiversity in the Caribean3 credits
Biodiversity loss and the measure of ecological integrity of ecosystems, patterns of diversification and evolution of terrestrial and oceanic biotas in the Caribbean.
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BIOL 432Limnology3 credits
A study of the physical, chemical and biological properties of lakes and other inland waters, with emphasis on their functioning as systems.
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BIOL 465Conservation Biology3 credits
Discussion of relevant theoretical and applied issues in conservation biology. Topics: biodiversity, population viability analysis, community dynamics, biology of rarity, extinction, habitat fragmentation, social issues.
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BREE 217Hydrology and Water Resources3 credits
Introduction to water resources and hydrologic cycle. Precipitation and hydrologic frequency analysis. Soil water processes, infiltration theory and modeling. Evapotranspiration estimation methods and crop water requirements. Surface runoff estimation as a function of land use modifications. Estimation of peak runoff rates. Unit hydrograph. Design of open channels and vegetated waterways.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVB 410Ecosystem Ecology3 credits
Biotic and abiotic processes that control the flows of energy, nutrients and water through ecosystems; emergent system properties; approaches to analyzing complex systems. Labs include collection and multivariate analysis of field data.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVB 500Advanced Topics in Ecotoxicology3 credits
Exploring the impact of environmental chemicals on biological organisms in an ecological context. Basic topics in ecotoxicology, such as source and fate, routes of exposure, bioavailability, dose-response, biomarkers, and risk assessment will be covered from both theoretical and applied perspectives. The processes by which pollutants are tested, regulated, and monitored will be critically examined.
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GEOG 322Environmental Hydrology3 credits
Quantitative, experimental study of the principles governing the movement of water at or near the Earth's surface and how the research relates to the chemistry and biology of ecosystems.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MICR 331Microbial Ecology3 credits
The ecology of microorganisms, primarily bacteria and archaea, and their roles in biogeochemical cycles. Microbial interactions with the environment, plants, animals and other microbes emphasizing the underlying genetics and physiology. Diversity, evolution (microbial phylogenetics) and the application of molecular biology in microbial ecology.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
NRSC 333Pollution and Bioremediation3 credits
The environmental contaminants which cause pollution; sources, amounts and transport of pollutants in water, air and soil; waste management.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
PLNT 460Plant Ecology3 credits
Theory and practice of plant ecology with an emphasis on the interaction between patterns and ecological processes and the dynamics, conservation and management of plant populations and communities over a range of temporal and spatial scales.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
AGEC 333Resource Economics3 credits
The role of resources in the environment, use of resources, and management of economic resources within the firm or organization. Problem-solving, case studies involving private and public decision-making in organizations are utilized.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ANTH 339Ecological Anthropology3 credits
Intensive study of theories and cases in ecological anthropology. Theories are examined and tested through comparative case-study analysis. Cultural constructions of "nature" and "environment" are compared and analyzed. Systems of resource management and conflicts over the use of resources are studied in depth.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ECON 405Natural Resource Economics3 credits
Topics include: Malthusian and Ricardian Scarcity; optimal depletion of renewable and non-renewable resources; exploration, risk and industry structure, and current resources, rent and taxation. Current public policies applied to the resource industries, particularly those of a regulatory nature.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 421Montreal: Environmental History and Sustainability3 credits
This course will focus on the role of place and history in the cities in which we live and in our understanding of sustainability. Each year, students will work to develop a historical reconstruction of the natural environment of Montreal and of its links to the cultural landscape, building on the work of previous cohorts of students.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
GEOG 340Sustainability in the Caribbean3 credits
The local environmental, social, historical, political and economic context of Barbados and the Caribbean. The small island developing States (SIDS), and why those nations are more vulnerable to global environmental challenges. The 17 Sustainability Development Goals of the United Nations, with a focus on the leadership role played by Barbados for the entire Caribbean region.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
GEOG 498Humans in Tropical Environments3 credits
Focus on understanding of inter-relations between humans and neotropical environments represented in Panama. Study of contemporary rural landscapes, their origins, development and change. Impacts of economic growth and inequality, social organization, and politics on natural resource use and environmental degradation. Site visits and field exercises in peasant/colonist, Amerindian, and plantation communities.
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RELG 270Religious Ethics and the Environment3 credits
Environmental potential of various religious traditions and secular perspectives, including animal rights, ecofeminism, and deep ecology.
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AGRI 452Water Resources in Barbados3 credits
Physical environment challenges, centered on water, being faced by an island nation. Guest speakers, field study tours and laboratory tests. Private, government and NGO institutional context of conservation strategies, and water quantity and quality analyses for water management specific to Barbados.
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AGRI 550Sustained Tropical Agriculture3 credits
Contrast theory and practice in defining agricultural environmental "challenges" in the Neotropics. Indigenous and appropriate technological means of mitigation. Soil management and erosion, water scarcity, water over-abundance, and water quality. Explore agro-ecosystem protection via field trips and project designs. Institutional context of conservation strategies, NGO links, and public participation.
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ENVB 437Assessing Environmental Impact3 credits
Principles and practice of Environmental Assessment (EA) in Canada and internationally. Exploration of issues surrounding impact assessment for sustainable development in different sectors, including their limitations.
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ENVR 422Montreal Urban Sustainability Analysis3 credits
Applied and experience-based learning opportunities are employed to critically assess Montreal as a sustainable city through research, discussion, and field trips. The urban environment is considered through various specific dimensions, ranging from: waste, energy, urban agriculture, green spaces and design, or transportation.
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GEOG 302Environmental Management 13 credits
An ecological analysis of the physical and biotic components of natural resource systems. Emphasis on scientific, technological and institutional aspects of environmental management. Study of the use of biological resources and of the impact of individual processes.
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GEOG 404Environmental Management 23 credits
Practical application of environmental planning, analysis and management techniques with reference to the needs and problems of developing areas. Special challenges posed by cultural differences and traditional resource systems are discussed. This course involves practical field work in a developing area (Kenya or Panama).
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PLNT 200Introduction to Crop Science3 credits
Application of plant science and soil science to production of agronomic and horticultural crops. Use and sustainability of fertilization, weed control, crop rotation, tillage, drainage and irrigation practices.
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WILD 401Fisheries and Wildlife Management3 credits
Principles of fisheries and wildlife management are considered and current practices of research and management are discussed.
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WOOD 441Integrated Forest Management3 credits
The study of silviculture and silvics and their application to forest management to sustain the production of wood and other ecological goods and services such as wildlife, water and landscape in natural forests and rural environments (agroforestry). Acquisition of practical skills in forest surveying and computer simulation of forest growth.
MCGILL complete current official course definition

Environment - Water Environments and Ecosystems98 listed

Published required and complementary course choices for the 63-credit Environment Major - Water Environments and Ecosystems (B.Sc.(Ag.Env.Sc.)) or (B.Sc.). This is a program within the degree, not the complete degree or a term-by-term timetable. Some requirements specify course levels or subjects rather than naming courses. 63 credits for this program; faculty-wide degree and foundation requirements apply separately.

ATOC 215Oceans, Weather and Climate3 credits
An introduction to key physical and dynamical processes in the oceans and atmosphere. Topics typically include air-sea-ice interactions, laws of motion, the geostrophic and thermal wind relations, general circulation of the atmosphere and oceans, weather, radiative balance, climate sensitivity and variability, role of the atmosphere and oceans in climate.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 200The Global Environment3 credits
A systems approach to study the different components of the environment involved in global climate change: the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. The interactions among these components. Their role in global climate change. The human dimension to global change.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 201Society, Environment and Sustainability3 credits
This course deals with how scientific-technological, socio-economic, political-institutional and behavioural factors mediate society-environment interactions. Issues discussed include population and resources; consumption, impacts and institutions; integrating environmental values in societal decision-making; and the challenges associated with, and strategies for, promoting sustainability. Case studies in various sectors and contexts are used.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 202The Evolving Earth3 credits
Formation of the Earth and the evolution of life. How geological and biological change are the consequence of history, chance, and necessity acting over different scales of space and time. General principles governing the formation of modern landscapes and biotas. Effects of human activities on natural systems.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 203Knowledge, Ethics and Environment3 credits
Introduction to cultural perspectives on the environment: the influence of culture and cognition on perceptions of the natural world; conflicts in orders of knowledge (models, taxonomies, paradigms, theories, cosmologies), ethics (moral values, frameworks, dilemmas), and law (formal and customary, rights and obligations) regarding political dimensions of critical environments, resource use, and technologies.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 301Environmental Research Design3 credits
Techniques used in design and completion of environmental research projects. Problem definition, data sources and use of appropriate strategies and methodologies. Principles underlying research design are emphasized, including critical thinking, recognizing causal relationships, ideologies and bias in research, and when and where to seek expertise.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 400Environmental Thought3 credits
Students work in interdisciplinary seminar groups on challenging philosophical, ethical, scientific and practical issues. They will explore cutting-edge ideas and grapple with the reconciliation of environmental imperatives and social, political and economic pragmatics. Activities include meeting practitioners, attending guest lectures, following directed readings, and organizing, leading and participating in seminars.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
AEBI 427Barbados Interdisciplinary Project6 credits
The planning of projects and research activities related to tropical food, nutrition, or energy at the local, regional, or national scale in Barbados. Projects and activities designed in consultation with university instructors, government, NGO, or private partners, and prepared by teams of 2-3 students working cooperatively with these mentors.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 401Environmental Research3 credits
Students work in an interdisciplinary team on a real-world research project involving problem definition, methodology development, social, ethical and environmental impact assessment, execution of the study, and dissemination of results to the research community and to the people affected. Teams begin defining their projects during the preceding summer.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVR 451Research in Panama6 credits
Research projects will be developed by instructors in consultation with Panamanian universities, government agencies and non-governmental organizations. Project groups will consist of four to six students working with a Panamanian institution. Topics will be relevant to Panama: e.g., protection of the Canal watershed, economical alternatives to deforestation, etc.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
FSCI 444Barbados Research Project6 credits
A research project that is supervised by McGill academic staff and is conducted in collaboration with local partners. The project topic must relate to the field of sustainability relating to the Caribbean or Barbados specifically.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
GEOG 451Research in Society and Development in Africa3 credits
Three intersecting components: 1) core development themes including culture change, environmental conservation, water, health, development (urban and rural), governance and conflict resolution, 2) research techniques for topics related to core themes, including ethics, risk, field methods and data analysis, 3) field documentation, scientific recording and communication.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BREE 217Hydrology and Water Resources3 credits
Introduction to water resources and hydrologic cycle. Precipitation and hydrologic frequency analysis. Soil water processes, infiltration theory and modeling. Evapotranspiration estimation methods and crop water requirements. Surface runoff estimation as a function of land use modifications. Estimation of peak runoff rates. Unit hydrograph. Design of open channels and vegetated waterways.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
GEOG 322Environmental Hydrology3 credits
Quantitative, experimental study of the principles governing the movement of water at or near the Earth's surface and how the research relates to the chemistry and biology of ecosystems.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
BIOL 308Ecological Dynamics3 credits
Principles of population, community, and ecosystem dynamics: population growth and regulation, species interactions, dynamics of competitive interactions and of predator/prey systems; evolutionary dynamics.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ENVB 305Population and Community Ecology3 credits
Interactions between organisms and their environment; historical and current perspectives in applied and theoretical population and community ecology. Principles of population dynamics, feedback loops, and population regulation. Development and structure of communities; competition, predation and food web dynamics. Biodiversity science in theory and practice.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
AEMA 310Statistical Methods 13 credits
Measures of central tendency and dispersion; binomial and Poisson distributions; normal, chi-square, Student's t and Fisher-Snedecor F distributions; estimation and hypothesis testing; simple linear regression and correlation; analysis of variance for simple experimental designs.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
GEOG 202Statistics and Spatial Analysis3 credits
Exploratory data analysis, univariate descriptive and inferential statistics, non-parametric statistics, correlation and simple regression. Problems associated with analysing spatial data such as the 'modifiable areal unit problem' and spatial autocorrelation. Statistics measuring spatial pattern in point, line and polygon data.
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MATH 203Principles of Statistics 13 credits
Examples of statistical data and the use of graphical means to summarize the data. Basic distributions arising in the natural and behavioural sciences. The logical meaning of a test of significance and a confidence interval. Tests of significance and confidence intervals in the one and two sample setting (means, variances and proportions).
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BIOL 331Ecology/Behaviour Field Course3 credits
Methods of sampling natural populations. Testing hypotheses in nature.
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BIOL 334D1Applied Tropical Ecology1.5 credits
Relevant to agriculture, forestry, fisheries and conservation of natural resources. Field component taught at the University's Bellairs Research Institute in Barbados, for two weeks in early May. The course is organized in a series of small-group field projects of 2-3 days each. Interested students should check the course website, attend the full information session and fill out an application form.
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BIOL 334D2Applied Tropical Ecology1.5 credits
See BIOL 334D1 for course description.
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BIOL 335Marine Mammals3 credits
Biology of marine mammals with special emphasis on seals and whales of the Bay of Fundy. Taught at the Huntsman Marine Science Centre, St. Andrews, N.B., for two weeks in August. The course combines lectures, laboratory exercises, field trips, and individual projects.
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BIOL 343Biodiversity in the Caribean3 credits
Biodiversity loss and the measure of ecological integrity of ecosystems, patterns of diversification and evolution of terrestrial and oceanic biotas in the Caribbean.
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GEOG 495Field Studies - Physical Geography3 credits
Field research projects in physical geography. Held locally in Monteregian or Eastern Township regions. The course is organised around field projects designed to formulate and test scientific hypotheses in a physical geography discipline. May Summer session.
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WILD 401Fisheries and Wildlife Management3 credits
Principles of fisheries and wildlife management are considered and current practices of research and management are discussed.
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AGEC 333Resource Economics3 credits
The role of resources in the environment, use of resources, and management of economic resources within the firm or organization. Problem-solving, case studies involving private and public decision-making in organizations are utilized.
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ANSC 555The Use and Welfare of Animals3 credits
Understanding the roles in which animals are used by Society, especially in food production, companionship, research, and recreation; application of the scientific approaches that are used in assessing and improving animal welfare; and use of ethical approaches that are invoked in the use of animals, often in controversial contexts. An interdisciplinary course, based on active participation and discussion-method learning.
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ANTH 339Ecological Anthropology3 credits
Intensive study of theories and cases in ecological anthropology. Theories are examined and tested through comparative case-study analysis. Cultural constructions of "nature" and "environment" are compared and analyzed. Systems of resource management and conflicts over the use of resources are studied in depth.
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ANTH 418Environment and Development3 credits
Advanced study of the environmental crisis in developing and advanced industrial nations, with emphasis on the social and cultural dimensions of natural resource management and environmental change. Each year, the seminar will focus on a particular set of issues, delineated by type of resource, geographic region, or analytical problem.
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COMS 360Environmental Communication3 credits
A survey of contemporary approaches to communication, media and environment in the field of communication studies. Focus on critical attention on media, communication and knowledge practices concerning environmental information, issues and controversies, as well as the environmental impacts of media technologies, infrastructures and practices. Topics include public communication of science and environmental information (journalism, governments; social movements), climate change communication, media materialities and toxicities (energy, pollution, waste), environmental racism and environmental justice, environment and disability,
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ECON 225Economics of the Environment3 credits
A study of the application of economic theory to questions of environmental policy. Particular attention will be given to the measurement and regulation of pollution, congestion and waste and other environmental aspects of specific economies.
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ECON 326Ecological Economics3 credits
Macroeconomic and structural aspects of the ecological crisis. A course in which subjects discussed include the conflict between economic growth and the laws of thermodynamics; the search for alternative economic indicators; the fossil fuels crisis; and "green'' fiscal policy.
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ENVR 421Montreal: Environmental History and Sustainability3 credits
This course will focus on the role of place and history in the cities in which we live and in our understanding of sustainability. Each year, students will work to develop a historical reconstruction of the natural environment of Montreal and of its links to the cultural landscape, building on the work of previous cohorts of students.
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ENVB 437Assessing Environmental Impact3 credits
Principles and practice of Environmental Assessment (EA) in Canada and internationally. Exploration of issues surrounding impact assessment for sustainable development in different sectors, including their limitations.
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ENVR 422Montreal Urban Sustainability Analysis3 credits
Applied and experience-based learning opportunities are employed to critically assess Montreal as a sustainable city through research, discussion, and field trips. The urban environment is considered through various specific dimensions, ranging from: waste, energy, urban agriculture, green spaces and design, or transportation.
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GEOG 302Environmental Management 13 credits
An ecological analysis of the physical and biotic components of natural resource systems. Emphasis on scientific, technological and institutional aspects of environmental management. Study of the use of biological resources and of the impact of individual processes.
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GEOG 340Sustainability in the Caribbean3 credits
The local environmental, social, historical, political and economic context of Barbados and the Caribbean. The small island developing States (SIDS), and why those nations are more vulnerable to global environmental challenges. The 17 Sustainability Development Goals of the United Nations, with a focus on the leadership role played by Barbados for the entire Caribbean region.
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GEOG 404Environmental Management 23 credits
Practical application of environmental planning, analysis and management techniques with reference to the needs and problems of developing areas. Special challenges posed by cultural differences and traditional resource systems are discussed. This course involves practical field work in a developing area (Kenya or Panama).
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GEOG 498Humans in Tropical Environments3 credits
Focus on understanding of inter-relations between humans and neotropical environments represented in Panama. Study of contemporary rural landscapes, their origins, development and change. Impacts of economic growth and inequality, social organization, and politics on natural resource use and environmental degradation. Site visits and field exercises in peasant/colonist, Amerindian, and plantation communities.
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GEOG 530Global Land and Water Resources3 credits
Linkage of physical processes (hydrology and ecosystems) with issues of societal and socio-economic relevance (land, food, and water use appropriation for human well-being). Application of a holistic perspective on land, food and water issues in an international setting, highlighting linkages, feedbacks and trade-offs in an Earth system context.
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HIST 510Environmental History of Latin America (Field)3 credits
Human-nature interactions over different scales of time in Latin America (with an emphasis on neo-tropical environments) and the application of the historical perspective to contemporary environmental issues, including historiography and methodology; cultures of environmental knowledge.
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POLI 345International Organizations3 credits
The politics and processes of global governance in the 21st century, with a special emphasis on the United Nations system.
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POLI 350Global Environmental Politics3 credits
Environmental problems like climate change, deforestation, biodiversity loss, and ocean acidification transcend national borders. Solving these problems will require global cooperation on an unprecedented level. This course will explore the challenges of contemporary global environmental governance and the innovative solutions being advanced at the community, municipal, provincial, national, and international levels.
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WCOM 314Communicating Science3 credits
Production of written and oral assignments (in English) designed to communicate scientific problems and findings to varied audiences Analysis of the disciplinary conventions of scientific discourse in terms of audience, purpose, organization, and style; comparative rhetorical analysis of academic and popular genres, including abstracts, lab reports, research papers, print and online journalism.
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WILD 421Wildlife Conservation3 credits
Study of current controversial issues focusing on wildlife conservation. Topics include: animal rights, exotic species, ecotourism, urban wildlife, multi-use of national parks, harvesting of wildlife, biological controls, and endangered species.
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BIOL 310Biodiversity and Ecosystems3 credits
Ecological bases of the natural causes and consequences of current global environmental changes, including how biodiversity and ecosystem processes are defined and measured, how they vary in space and time, how they are affected by physical and biological factors, and how they affect each other and human societies.
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BIOL 342Global Change Biology of Aquatic Ecosystems3 credits
An introduction to freshwater and marine biology. Topics include the structure and functioning of the major aquatic ecosystems and how these aspects are affected by global change drivers.
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BIOL 432Limnology3 credits
A study of the physical, chemical and biological properties of lakes and other inland waters, with emphasis on their functioning as systems.
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BIOL 441Biological Oceanography3 credits
An introduction to how the ocean functions biologically: biology and ecology of marine plankton; regulation, extent and fate of production in the sea.
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BIOL 465Conservation Biology3 credits
Discussion of relevant theoretical and applied issues in conservation biology. Topics: biodiversity, population viability analysis, community dynamics, biology of rarity, extinction, habitat fragmentation, social issues.
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BIOL 540Ecology of Species Invasions3 credits
Causes and consequences of biological invasion, as well as risk assessment methods and management strategies for dealing with invasive species.
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BIOL 553Neotropical Environments3 credits
Ecology revisited in view of tropical conditions. Exploring species richness. Sampling and measuring biodiversity. Conservation status of ecosystems, communities and species. Indigenous knowledge.
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BREE 533Water Quality Management3 credits
The water phases of terrestrial ecological systems and the processes that link them. Physical, chemical, and biological properties of water, and water quality standards. The fate and transport of pollutants in rivers and streams, lakes, and wetlands. Methods to quantify soil carbon and nitrogen cycle to predict nutrient leaching. Impacts of human activities (e.g., agricultural drainage) on water quality and measures to improve drainage water quality. Assess the effectiveness of proposed engineering measures or management practices in improving or maintaining water quality of a real site/water body using numerical methods or a computer modelling approach.
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ENVB 210The Biophysical Environment3 credits
With reference to the ecosystems in the St Lawrence lowlands, the principles and processes governing climate-landform-water-soil-vegetation systems and their interactions will be examined in lecture and laboratory. Emphasis on the natural environment as an integrated system.
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ENVB 410Ecosystem Ecology3 credits
Biotic and abiotic processes that control the flows of energy, nutrients and water through ecosystems; emergent system properties; approaches to analyzing complex systems. Labs include collection and multivariate analysis of field data.
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ENVB 500Advanced Topics in Ecotoxicology3 credits
Exploring the impact of environmental chemicals on biological organisms in an ecological context. Basic topics in ecotoxicology, such as source and fate, routes of exposure, bioavailability, dose-response, biomarkers, and risk assessment will be covered from both theoretical and applied perspectives. The processes by which pollutants are tested, regulated, and monitored will be critically examined.
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ENVR 540Ecology of Species Invasions3 credits
Causes and consequences of biological invasion, as well as risk assessment methods and management strategies for dealing with invasive species.
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GEOG 470Wetlands3 credits
An examination of the structure, function and utility of wetlands. Topics include the fluxes of energy and water, wetland biogeochemistry, plant ecology in freshwater and coastal wetlands and wetlands use, conservation and restoration. Field trip(s) are envisaged to illustrate issues covered in class.
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GEOG 305Soils and Environment3 credits
Discussion of the major properties of soils; soil formation, classification and mapping; land capability assessment; the role and response of soils in natural and disturbed environments (e.g. global change, ecosystem disturbance).
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MICR 331Microbial Ecology3 credits
The ecology of microorganisms, primarily bacteria and archaea, and their roles in biogeochemical cycles. Microbial interactions with the environment, plants, animals and other microbes emphasizing the underlying genetics and physiology. Diversity, evolution (microbial phylogenetics) and the application of molecular biology in microbial ecology.
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NRSC 333Pollution and Bioremediation3 credits
The environmental contaminants which cause pollution; sources, amounts and transport of pollutants in water, air and soil; waste management.
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PARA 410Environment and Infection3 credits
Infectious pathogens of humans and animals and their impact on the global environment are considered. The central tenet is that infectious pathogens are environmental risk factors. The course considers their impact on the human condition and juxtaposes the impact of control and treatment measures and environmental change.
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SOIL 535Soil Ecology3 credits
Exploration of the unique soil habitat for organisms with a focus on the variables that affect the abundance, diversity and interactions of soil biota and, in turn, their influence on soil physicochemical properties, biogeochemical cycles and other factors impacting ecosystem sustainability. Topics include survey of soil fauna, soil food webs, microbial ecology, biological carbon and nitrogen cycling, plant-soil interactions, and the effects of human activities and management on soil ecology, including synthesizing concepts and a critical analysis and interpretation of primary scientific literature in soil ecology.
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WILD 302Fish Ecology3 credits
Introduction to the biology and ecology of freshwater and marine fishes. Topics include taxonomy, physiology, biogeography, competition, predation, fishing, and conservation. Lab exercises and field trips emphasize familiarity with local fishes and their ecological interactions.
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ATOC 214Introduction: Physics of the Atmosphere3 credits
An introduction to key physical processes operating in the atmosphere, designed for students in science and engineering. Topics typically include: composition of the atmosphere; vertical structure; heat transfer; solar and terrestrial radiation and Earth's energy balance; seasonal and daily temperature changes; humidity and the formation of clouds and precipitation; stability of tropospheric air layers; applications of adiabatic charts.
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ATOC 219Introduction to Atmospheric Chemistry3 credits
An introduction to the basic topics in atmospheric chemistry. The fundamentals of the chemical composition of the atmosphere and its chemical reactions. Selected topics such as smog chamber, acid rain, and ozone hole will be examined.
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ATOC 341Caribbean Climate and Weather3 credits
The climate system and ongoing global change, ocean and atmosphere circulation and future trends in the tropics; local climate variability and dynamics, extreme weather events in the Caribbean .
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BIOL 515Advances in Aquatic Ecology3 credits
Aquatic ecology and the major issues challenging the field.
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BREE 509Hydrologic Systems and Modelling3 credits
Hydrologic cycle in the nature and how to quantitatively describe those processes using models. The fundamentals of hydrology including basic concepts, precipitation, snow and snowmelt, evapotranspiration, subsurface flow, infiltration and soil water movement, and runoff and streamflow. Equivalent attention to theories and hands-on practices on model application. How to set up and execute weather data driven physical based models, both at a point-scale and a watershed scale, to predict snowmelt, evapotranspiration, infiltration, soil water redistribution, subsurface drainage, runoff, and stream flow in hydrologic systems.
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CHEM 219Introduction to Atmospheric Chemistry3 credits
An introduction to the basic topics in atmospheric chemistry. The fundamentals of the chemical composition of the atmosphere and its chemical reactions. Selected topics such as; a smog chamber, acid rain, and the ozone hole, will be examined.
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CHEM 267Introductory Chemical Analysis3 credits
Qualitative and quantitative analysis. A survey of methods of analysis including theory and practice of semimicro qualitative analysis and representative gravimetric, volumetric and instrumental methods. The laboratory component includes introductory experiments in analytical chemistry emphasizing classical and instrumental methods of quantitative analysis.
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ENVB 529GIS for Natural Resource Management3 credits
Applications of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and spatial analysis techniques to the presentation and analysis of ecological information, including sources and capture of spatial data; characterizing, transforming, displaying spatial data; and spatial analysis to solve resource management problems.
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ENVB 530Advanced GIS for Natural Resource Management3 credits
An advanced spatial analysis course that uses rapidly developing techniques in GIS and remote sensing to solve problems in natural resource management. Focuses on controlling spatial operations through programming.
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EPSC 220Principles of Geochemistry3 credits
Basic concepts in geochemistry and the quantitative application of principles of chemistry to geological subdisciplines using simple scripts in Matlab. Particular emphasis on the thermodynamics and kinetics of reactions on Earth and other planets, controls on elemental distribution, stable and radiogenic isotopes, and water chemistry. Application of phase diagrams to geology.
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EPSC 325Environmental Geochemistry3 credits
The basic concepts and calculations needed to quantitatively understand the geochemical processes occurring between minerals and waters in Earth’s near-surface environment. The important concepts of thermodynamics and kinetics will be exemplified using examples that concentrate on reactions between minerals and water and their impact on the environment.
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EPSC 519Isotopes in Earth and Environmental Science3 credits
The theory and application of stable and radioactive isotope measurements in the Earth and environmental sciences, including applications in geology, hydrology, climatology, biogeochemistry, and ecology.
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EPSC 522Advanced Environmental Hydrology3 credits
Traditional and emerging theories of dominant runoff generation processes. Streamflow generation. Surface and near-surface solute and contaminant transport. Concentration-discharge relationships. Geochemical mixing models. Dyes and biological tracers of water. Isotope ecohydrology. Water source and water age estimation approaches. Development, execution, and evaluation of process-based watershed models. Case studies from forested, agricultural and periurban watersheds.
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GEOG 201Introductory Geo-Information Science3 credits
An introduction to Geographic Information Systems. The systematic management of spatial data. The use and construction of maps. The use of microcomputers and software for mapping and statistical work. Air photo and topographic map analyses.
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GEOG 308Remote Sensing for Earth Observation3 credits
A conceptual view of remote sensing and the underlying physical principles. Covers ground-based, aerial, satellite systems, and the electromagnetic spectrum, from visible to microwave. Emphasis on application of remotely sensed data in geography including land cover change and ecological processes.
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GEOG 505Global Biogeochemistry3 credits
An examination of the storage, transfers and cycling of major elements and substances, with an emphasis on the global scale and the linkages between the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere.
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GEOG 506Advanced Geographic Information Science3 credits
Critically analyse major themes in geographic information science and draw out the practical ramifications for spatial technologies and research. Topics such as spatial interoperability, data quality, scale, visualization, location based services and ontologies are covered.
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GEOG 522Advanced Environmental Hydrology3 credits
Traditional and emerging theories of dominant runoff generation processes. Streamflow generation. Surface and near-surface solute and contaminant transport. Concentration-discharge relationships. Geochemical mixing models. Dyes and biological tracers of water. Isotope ecohydrology. Water source and water age estimation approaches. Development, execution, and evaluation of process-based watershed models. Case studies from forested, agricultural and periurban watersheds.
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GEOG 550Historical Ecology Techniques3 credits
Principles and methods of Quaternary paleoecology and vegetation reconstruction. Examination of ecosystem response to human disturbance and environmental change.
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ATOC 315Thermodynamics and Convection3 credits
Buoyancy, stability, and vertical oscillations. Dry and moist adiabatic processes. Resulting dry and precipitating convective circulations from the small scale to the global scale. Mesoscale precipitation systems from the cell to convective complexes. Severe convection, downbursts, mesocyclones.
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EPSC 549Hydrogeology3 credits
Introduction to groundwater flow through porous media. Notions of fluid potential and hydraulic head. Darcy flux and Darcy's Law. Physical properties of porous media and their measurement. Equation of groundwater flow. Flow systems. Hydraulics of pumping and recharging wells. Notions of hydrology. Groundwater quality and contamination. Physical processes of contaminant transport.
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AEMA 202Intermediate Calculus3 credits
Methods of differential and integral calculus forthe study of multivariable functions. Calculus of parametric and polar curves, vectors and geometry of space, vector functions, partial derivatives, multiple integrals, and their applications.
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MATH 222Calculus 33 credits
Taylor series, Taylor's theorem in one and several variables. Review of vector geometry. Partial differentiation, directional derivative. Extreme of functions of 2 or 3 variables. Parametric curves and arc length. Polar and spherical coordinates. Multiple integrals.
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AEMA 305Differential Equations3 credits
First and second order differential equations, Laplace transforms, numerical solutions, systems of differential equations, series solutions, applications to biological, chemical and engineering systems, use of computer-based mathematical tools.
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ATOC 309Weather Radars and Satellites3 credits
Basic notions of radiative transfer and applications of satellite and radar data to mesoscale and synoptic-scale systems are discussed. Emphasis will be put on the contribution of remote sensing to atmospheric and oceanic sciences.
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BREE 416Engineering for Land Development3 credits
BREE 420Engineering for Sustainability3 credits
Principles and practices of engineering for sustainability. Emphasis on environmental, economic, social, management and policy factors that should be incorporated into sustainable approaches to engineering and design. Topics will include: sustainability metrics, systems thinking, stakeholder engagement, and leading change for sustainability within companies.
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BREE 506Advances in Drainage Management3 credits
Land drainage in relation to soils and crops. Design of regional drainage systems, stability of ditches, ice problems. Design of subsurface drainage systems. Theories of flow into drain tubes. Hydraulics of wells. Drainage of irrigated lands. Water table control.
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BREE 510Watershed Systems Management3 credits
A holistic examination of methods in watershed management with a focus on integrated water resources management (IWRM). Topics include: integration, participatory management, water resources assessment, modeling, planning, adaptive management, transboundary management, and transition management.
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CIVE 323Hydrology and Water Resources3 credits
Precipitation, evaporation and transpiration. Streamflow, storage reservoirs, flood routing. Groundwater hydrology. Ecohydrology. Statistical analysis in hydrology, stochastic modelling. Simulations using hydrologic models. Case studies in flood damage mitigation, surface and ground water management, and water-energy-food nexus.
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GEOG 314Geospatial Analysis3 credits
Overview of both the theoretical and applied aspects of geographic information science and systems. Topics will include spatial analysis techniques, geographic models as abstractions of the real world, spatial data manipulation and management, and conceptual issues related to geographic data and technology. Introduction to a number of leading commercial software including ESRI’s ArcGIS Pro.
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MATH 315Ordinary Differential Equations3 credits
First order ordinary differential equations including elementary numerical methods. Linear differential equations. Laplace transforms. Series solutions.
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SOIL 315Soil Nutrient Management3 credits
Plant nutrients in the soil, influence of soil properties on nutrient absorption and plant growth, use of organic and inorganic fertilizers.
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Environment - Atmospheric Environment and Air Quality48 listed

Published required and complementary course choices for the 60-credit Environment Major - Atmospheric Environment and Air Quality (B.Sc.). This is a program within the degree, not the complete degree or a term-by-term timetable. Some requirements specify course levels or subjects rather than naming courses. 60 credits for this program; faculty-wide degree and foundation requirements apply separately.

ENVR 200The Global Environment3 credits
A systems approach to study the different components of the environment involved in global climate change: the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. The interactions among these components. Their role in global climate change. The human dimension to global change.
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ENVR 201Society, Environment and Sustainability3 credits
This course deals with how scientific-technological, socio-economic, political-institutional and behavioural factors mediate society-environment interactions. Issues discussed include population and resources; consumption, impacts and institutions; integrating environmental values in societal decision-making; and the challenges associated with, and strategies for, promoting sustainability. Case studies in various sectors and contexts are used.
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ENVR 202The Evolving Earth3 credits
Formation of the Earth and the evolution of life. How geological and biological change are the consequence of history, chance, and necessity acting over different scales of space and time. General principles governing the formation of modern landscapes and biotas. Effects of human activities on natural systems.
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ENVR 203Knowledge, Ethics and Environment3 credits
Introduction to cultural perspectives on the environment: the influence of culture and cognition on perceptions of the natural world; conflicts in orders of knowledge (models, taxonomies, paradigms, theories, cosmologies), ethics (moral values, frameworks, dilemmas), and law (formal and customary, rights and obligations) regarding political dimensions of critical environments, resource use, and technologies.
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ENVR 301Environmental Research Design3 credits
Techniques used in design and completion of environmental research projects. Problem definition, data sources and use of appropriate strategies and methodologies. Principles underlying research design are emphasized, including critical thinking, recognizing causal relationships, ideologies and bias in research, and when and where to seek expertise.
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ENVR 400Environmental Thought3 credits
Students work in interdisciplinary seminar groups on challenging philosophical, ethical, scientific and practical issues. They will explore cutting-edge ideas and grapple with the reconciliation of environmental imperatives and social, political and economic pragmatics. Activities include meeting practitioners, attending guest lectures, following directed readings, and organizing, leading and participating in seminars.
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ENVR 401Environmental Research3 credits
Students work in an interdisciplinary team on a real-world research project involving problem definition, methodology development, social, ethical and environmental impact assessment, execution of the study, and dissemination of results to the research community and to the people affected. Teams begin defining their projects during the preceding summer.
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ENVR 451Research in Panama6 credits
Research projects will be developed by instructors in consultation with Panamanian universities, government agencies and non-governmental organizations. Project groups will consist of four to six students working with a Panamanian institution. Topics will be relevant to Panama: e.g., protection of the Canal watershed, economical alternatives to deforestation, etc.
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FSCI 444Barbados Research Project6 credits
A research project that is supervised by McGill academic staff and is conducted in collaboration with local partners. The project topic must relate to the field of sustainability relating to the Caribbean or Barbados specifically.
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ATOC 214Introduction: Physics of the Atmosphere3 credits
An introduction to key physical processes operating in the atmosphere, designed for students in science and engineering. Topics typically include: composition of the atmosphere; vertical structure; heat transfer; solar and terrestrial radiation and Earth's energy balance; seasonal and daily temperature changes; humidity and the formation of clouds and precipitation; stability of tropospheric air layers; applications of adiabatic charts.
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ATOC 215Oceans, Weather and Climate3 credits
An introduction to key physical and dynamical processes in the oceans and atmosphere. Topics typically include air-sea-ice interactions, laws of motion, the geostrophic and thermal wind relations, general circulation of the atmosphere and oceans, weather, radiative balance, climate sensitivity and variability, role of the atmosphere and oceans in climate.
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ATOC 219Introduction to Atmospheric Chemistry3 credits
An introduction to the basic topics in atmospheric chemistry. The fundamentals of the chemical composition of the atmosphere and its chemical reactions. Selected topics such as smog chamber, acid rain, and ozone hole will be examined.
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ATOC 315Thermodynamics and Convection3 credits
Buoyancy, stability, and vertical oscillations. Dry and moist adiabatic processes. Resulting dry and precipitating convective circulations from the small scale to the global scale. Mesoscale precipitation systems from the cell to convective complexes. Severe convection, downbursts, mesocyclones.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
CHEM 219Introduction to Atmospheric Chemistry3 credits
An introduction to the basic topics in atmospheric chemistry. The fundamentals of the chemical composition of the atmosphere and its chemical reactions. Selected topics such as; a smog chamber, acid rain, and the ozone hole, will be examined.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
GEOG 308Remote Sensing for Earth Observation3 credits
A conceptual view of remote sensing and the underlying physical principles. Covers ground-based, aerial, satellite systems, and the electromagnetic spectrum, from visible to microwave. Emphasis on application of remotely sensed data in geography including land cover change and ecological processes.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
AEMA 202Intermediate Calculus3 credits
Methods of differential and integral calculus forthe study of multivariable functions. Calculus of parametric and polar curves, vectors and geometry of space, vector functions, partial derivatives, multiple integrals, and their applications.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
MATH 222Calculus 33 credits
Taylor series, Taylor's theorem in one and several variables. Review of vector geometry. Partial differentiation, directional derivative. Extreme of functions of 2 or 3 variables. Parametric curves and arc length. Polar and spherical coordinates. Multiple integrals.
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CHEM 267Introductory Chemical Analysis3 credits
Qualitative and quantitative analysis. A survey of methods of analysis including theory and practice of semimicro qualitative analysis and representative gravimetric, volumetric and instrumental methods. The laboratory component includes introductory experiments in analytical chemistry emphasizing classical and instrumental methods of quantitative analysis.
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FDSC 213Analytical Chemistry 13 credits
Theoretical aspects of wet chemical techniques including gravimetric and volumetric analyses, redoximetry, and separation techniques.
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AEMA 310Statistical Methods 13 credits
Measures of central tendency and dispersion; binomial and Poisson distributions; normal, chi-square, Student's t and Fisher-Snedecor F distributions; estimation and hypothesis testing; simple linear regression and correlation; analysis of variance for simple experimental designs.
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MATH 203Principles of Statistics 13 credits
Examples of statistical data and the use of graphical means to summarize the data. Basic distributions arising in the natural and behavioural sciences. The logical meaning of a test of significance and a confidence interval. Tests of significance and confidence intervals in the one and two sample setting (means, variances and proportions).
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AEMA 305Differential Equations3 credits
First and second order differential equations, Laplace transforms, numerical solutions, systems of differential equations, series solutions, applications to biological, chemical and engineering systems, use of computer-based mathematical tools.
MCGILL complete current official course definition
ATOC 309Weather Radars and Satellites3 credits
Basic notions of radiative transfer and applications of satellite and radar data to mesoscale and synoptic-scale systems are discussed. Emphasis will be put on the contribution of remote sensing to atmospheric and oceanic sciences.
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ATOC 519Advances in Chemistry of Atmosphere3 credits
Exploration of the field of atmospheric chemistry that is identified as the significant driver of climate change and the cause of millions of premature death every year. Discussion of cutting-edge novel technologies for observing and quantifying pollutants (from ground to satellite) using artificial intelligence, the fate of emerging contaminants (e.g., nano/microplastics, trace metals, persistent organic), and modelling of atmospheric and interfacial processes. Examination of topics like atmospheric gaseous and multiphase components like bioaerosols. Study of photochemical, photophysical, and aerosol nucleation processes that affect air quality, climate change, and ecosystem health.
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ATOC 540Synoptic Meteorology 13 credits
Analysis of current meteorological data. Description of a geostrophic, hydrostatic atmosphere. Ageostrophic circulations and hydrostatic instabilities. Kinematic and thermodynamic methods of computing vertical motions. Tropical and extratropical condensation rates. Barotropic and equivalent barotropic atmospheres.
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CHEM 273Introductory Physical Chemistry 2: Kinetics and Methods3 credits
Kinetics: Transition State Theory, complex reactions, free-radical reactions, chain reactions, catalysis, reactions at surfaces, ionic effects of reactions in solution, photochemistry. Methods: physical chemistry laboratory, differential equations and linear algebra applied to physical chemistry, computation methods for data analysis and modeling
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CHEM 377Instrumental Analysis 23 credits
Spectroscopic methods of analysis will be studied with respect to fundamentals, operational aspects and instrument design. Topics will range from UV-visible to x-ray spectrometry. Methodologies will be evaluated with respect to their application in spectrometric systems. Laboratory automation will be studied and applied in the laboratory.
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CHEM 519Advances in Chemistry of Atmosphere3 credits
Exploration of the field of atmospheric chemistry that is identified as the significant driver of climate change and the cause of millions of premature death every year. Discussion of cutting-edge novel technologies for observing and quantifying pollutants (from ground to satellite) using artificial intelligence, the fate of emerging contaminants (e.g., nano/microplastics, trace metals, persistent organic), and modelling of atmospheric and interfacial processes. Examination of topics like atmospheric gaseous and multiphase components like bioaerosols. Study of photochemical, photophysical, and aerosol nucleation processes that affect air quality, climate change, and ecosystem health.
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CIVE 225Environmental Engineering4 credits
Introduction to environmental engineering; mass balance analyses in engineered and natural systems; foundations of environmental chemistry and microbiology; water, soil, air pollution characterization, transport, and control; water quality parameters; drinking water and wastewater treatment technologies; environmental risk assessment; waste management; applicable sustainable practices; experimental errors; instrumentation principles.
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CIVE 561Greenhouse Gas Emissions3 credits
Greenhouse gas inventories at various scales from national to institutional. Emission estimation methods including field measurements and engineering calculations for anthropogenic sources including fossil fuel combustion from transportation and energy production, cement production, hydroelectric reservoirs, oil and gas systems, landfills, wastewater treatment and sewer systems, and agriculture. Technical and policy options for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Group project.
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COMP 208Computer Programming for Physical Sciences and Engineering 3 credits
Programming and problem solving in a high level computer language: variables, expressions, types, functions, conditionals, loops, objects and classes. Introduction to algorithms such as searching and sorting. Modular software design, libraries, file input and output, debugging. Emphasis on applications in Physical Sciences and Engineering, such as root finding, numerical integration, diffusion, Monte Carlo methods.
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GEOG 505Global Biogeochemistry3 credits
An examination of the storage, transfers and cycling of major elements and substances, with an emphasis on the global scale and the linkages between the atmosphere, hydrosphere, lithosphere and biosphere.
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MATH 223Linear Algebra3 credits
Review of matrix algebra, determinants and systems of linear equations. Vector spaces, linear operators and their matrix representations, orthogonality. Eigenvalues and eigenvectors, diagonalization of Hermitian matrices. Applications.
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MATH 315Ordinary Differential Equations3 credits
First order ordinary differential equations including elementary numerical methods. Linear differential equations. Laplace transforms. Series solutions.
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NRSC 333Pollution and Bioremediation3 credits
The environmental contaminants which cause pollution; sources, amounts and transport of pollutants in water, air and soil; waste management.
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ANTH 206Environment and Culture3 credits
Introduction to ecological anthropology, focusing on social and cultural adaptations to different environments, human impact on the environment, cultural constructions of the environment, management of common resources, and conflict over the use of resources.
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ANTH 418Environment and Development3 credits
Advanced study of the environmental crisis in developing and advanced industrial nations, with emphasis on the social and cultural dimensions of natural resource management and environmental change. Each year, the seminar will focus on a particular set of issues, delineated by type of resource, geographic region, or analytical problem.
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ECON 225Economics of the Environment3 credits
A study of the application of economic theory to questions of environmental policy. Particular attention will be given to the measurement and regulation of pollution, congestion and waste and other environmental aspects of specific economies.
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ECON 347Economics of Climate Change3 credits
The course focuses on the economic implications of, and problems posed by, predictions of global warming due to anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases. Attention is given to economic policies such as carbon taxes and tradeable emission permits and to the problems of displacing fossil fuels with new energy technologies.
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ENVR 422Montreal Urban Sustainability Analysis3 credits
Applied and experience-based learning opportunities are employed to critically assess Montreal as a sustainable city through research, discussion, and field trips. The urban environment is considered through various specific dimensions, ranging from: waste, energy, urban agriculture, green spaces and design, or transportation.
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GEOG 221Environment and Health3 credits
Key chemical, physical, and social stressors in the environment, and how these affect the health of people and ecosystems. Hazards in air, water, food, and work environments. Historic, current, and future need for environmental health science, from scientific, personal, and practical perspectives.
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GEOG 302Environmental Management 13 credits
An ecological analysis of the physical and biotic components of natural resource systems. Emphasis on scientific, technological and institutional aspects of environmental management. Study of the use of biological resources and of the impact of individual processes.
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GEOG 303Health Geography3 credits
Discussion of the research questions and methods of health geography. Particular emphasis on health inequalities at multiple geographic scales and the theoretical links between characteristics of places and the health of people.
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GEOG 340Sustainability in the Caribbean3 credits
The local environmental, social, historical, political and economic context of Barbados and the Caribbean. The small island developing States (SIDS), and why those nations are more vulnerable to global environmental challenges. The 17 Sustainability Development Goals of the United Nations, with a focus on the leadership role played by Barbados for the entire Caribbean region.
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GEOG 403Global Health and Environmental Change3 credits
Major themes and contemporary case studies in global health and environmental change. Focus on understanding global trends in emerging infectious disease from social, biophysical, and geographical perspectives, and critically assessing the health implications of environmental change in different international contexts.
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GEOG 404Environmental Management 23 credits
Practical application of environmental planning, analysis and management techniques with reference to the needs and problems of developing areas. Special challenges posed by cultural differences and traditional resource systems are discussed. This course involves practical field work in a developing area (Kenya or Panama).
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GEOG 498Humans in Tropical Environments3 credits
Focus on understanding of inter-relations between humans and neotropical environments represented in Panama. Study of contemporary rural landscapes, their origins, development and change. Impacts of economic growth and inequality, social organization, and politics on natural resource use and environmental degradation. Site visits and field exercises in peasant/colonist, Amerindian, and plantation communities.
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RELG 270Religious Ethics and the Environment3 credits
Environmental potential of various religious traditions and secular perspectives, including animal rights, ecofeminism, and deep ecology.
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Environment - Earth Sciences and Economics61 listed

Published required and complementary course choices for the 66-credit Environment Major - Earth Sciences and Economics (B.Sc.). This is a program within the degree, not the complete degree or a term-by-term timetable. Some requirements specify course levels or subjects rather than naming courses. 66 credits for this program; faculty-wide degree and foundation requirements apply separately.

ENVR 200The Global Environment3 credits
A systems approach to study the different components of the environment involved in global climate change: the atmosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and lithosphere. The interactions among these components. Their role in global climate change. The human dimension to global change.
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ENVR 201Society, Environment and Sustainability3 credits
This course deals with how scientific-technological, socio-economic, political-institutional and behavioural factors mediate society-environment interactions. Issues discussed include population and resources; consumption, impacts and institutions; integrating environmental values in societal decision-making; and the challenges associated with, and strategies for, promoting sustainability. Case studies in various sectors and contexts are used.
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ENVR 202The Evolving Earth3 credits
Formation of the Earth and the evolution of life. How geological and biological change are the consequence of history, chance, and necessity acting over different scales of space and time. General principles governing the formation of modern landscapes and biotas. Effects of human activities on natural systems.
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ENVR 203Knowledge, Ethics and Environment3 credits
Introduction to cultural perspectives on the environment: the influence of culture and cognition on perceptions of the natural world; conflicts in orders of knowledge (models, taxonomies, paradigms, theories, cosmologies), ethics (moral values, frameworks, dilemmas), and law (formal and customary, rights and obligations) regarding political dimensions of critical environments, resource use, and technologies.
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ENVR 301Environmental Research Design3 credits
Techniques used in design and completion of environmental research projects. Problem definition, data sources and use of appropriate strategies and methodologies. Principles underlying research design are emphasized, including critical thinking, recognizing causal relationships, ideologies and bias in research, and when and where to seek expertise.
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ENVR 400Environmental Thought3 credits
Students work in interdisciplinary seminar groups on challenging philosophical, ethical, scientific and practical issues. They will explore cutting-edge ideas and grapple with the reconciliation of environmental imperatives and social, political and economic pragmatics. Activities include meeting practitioners, attending guest lectures, following directed readings, and organizing, leading and participating in seminars.
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ENVR 401Environmental Research3 credits
Students work in an interdisciplinary team on a real-world research project involving problem definition, methodology development, social, ethical and environmental impact assessment, execution of the study, and dissemination of results to the research community and to the people affected. Teams begin defining their projects during the preceding summer.
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ENVR 451Research in Panama6 credits
Research projects will be developed by instructors in consultation with Panamanian universities, government agencies and non-governmental organizations. Project groups will consist of four to six students working with a Panamanian institution. Topics will be relevant to Panama: e.g., protection of the Canal watershed, economical alternatives to deforestation, etc.
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FSCI 444Barbados Research Project6 credits
A research project that is supervised by McGill academic staff and is conducted in collaboration with local partners. The project topic must relate to the field of sustainability relating to the Caribbean or Barbados specifically.
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ECON 230D1Microeconomic Theory3 credits
The introductory course for Economics Major students in microeconomic theory. In depth and critical presentation of the theory of consumer behaviour, theory of production and cost curves, theory of the firm, theory of distribution, welfare economics and the theory of general equilibrium.
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ECON 230D2Microeconomic Theory3 credits
See ECON 230D1 for course description.
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ECON 405Natural Resource Economics3 credits
Topics include: Malthusian and Ricardian Scarcity; optimal depletion of renewable and non-renewable resources; exploration, risk and industry structure, and current resources, rent and taxation. Current public policies applied to the resource industries, particularly those of a regulatory nature.
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EPSC 210Introductory Mineralogy3 credits
Elementary crystallography, chemistry and identification of the principal rock-forming and ore minerals, in hand specimens and using optical microscopy. Demonstrations of other techniques applied to the identification of minerals and to the analysis of their composition and structure. Optional 2-day field trip.
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EPSC 212Introductory Petrology3 credits
A survey of igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic rocks and the processes responsible for their formation. The laboratory will emphasize the recognition of rocks in both hand-specimen and thin section using optical microscopes.
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EPSC 220Principles of Geochemistry3 credits
Basic concepts in geochemistry and the quantitative application of principles of chemistry to geological subdisciplines using simple scripts in Matlab. Particular emphasis on the thermodynamics and kinetics of reactions on Earth and other planets, controls on elemental distribution, stable and radiogenic isotopes, and water chemistry. Application of phase diagrams to geology.
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EPSC 240Geology in the Field3 credits
Lectures and field-based exercises, held locally on campus and in the Montreal area, introduce students to the reading and interpretation of a topographic map, the basic description of a stratigraphic section and the inference of its depositional environment, the nature of intrusive contacts, and the field measurement of some structural features and geophysical properties. Students plot geological information on a map, identify landforms in aerial views and learn the tectonic features diagnostic of plate margins. By the end of the course, the students relate a geological map to the geological history of Quebec.
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AEMA 310Statistical Methods 13 credits
Measures of central tendency and dispersion; binomial and Poisson distributions; normal, chi-square, Student's t and Fisher-Snedecor F distributions; estimation and hypothesis testing; simple linear regression and correlation; analysis of variance for simple experimental designs.
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GEOG 202Statistics and Spatial Analysis3 credits
Exploratory data analysis, univariate descriptive and inferential statistics, non-parametric statistics, correlation and simple regression. Problems associated with analysing spatial data such as the 'modifiable areal unit problem' and spatial autocorrelation. Statistics measuring spatial pattern in point, line and polygon data.
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MATH 203Principles of Statistics 13 credits
Examples of statistical data and the use of graphical means to summarize the data. Basic distributions arising in the natural and behavioural sciences. The logical meaning of a test of significance and a confidence interval. Tests of significance and confidence intervals in the one and two sample setting (means, variances and proportions).
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AGEC 333Resource Economics3 credits
The role of resources in the environment, use of resources, and management of economic resources within the firm or organization. Problem-solving, case studies involving private and public decision-making in organizations are utilized.
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ECON 209Macroeconomic Analysis and Applications3 credits
A university-level introduction to national income determination, money and banking, inflation, unemployment and economic policy.
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ECON 305Industrial Organization3 credits
The course analyzes the structure, conduct, and performance of industries, particularly but not exclusively in Canada. Topics include effects of mergers, barriers to entry, product line and promotion policies, vertical integration, and R & D policies of firms.
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ECON 313Economic Development 13 credits
Microeconomic theories of economic development and empirical evidence on population, labour, firms, poverty. Inequality and environment.
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ECON 314Economic Development 23 credits
Macroeconomic development issues, including theories of growth, public finance, debt, currency crises, corruption, structural adjustment, democracy and global economic organization.
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ECON 326Ecological Economics3 credits
Macroeconomic and structural aspects of the ecological crisis. A course in which subjects discussed include the conflict between economic growth and the laws of thermodynamics; the search for alternative economic indicators; the fossil fuels crisis; and "green'' fiscal policy.
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ECON 347Economics of Climate Change3 credits
The course focuses on the economic implications of, and problems posed by, predictions of global warming due to anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases. Attention is given to economic policies such as carbon taxes and tradeable emission permits and to the problems of displacing fossil fuels with new energy technologies.
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ECON 408Public Sector Economics 13 credits
Theoretical and empirical economic analysis of the public sector with an emphasis on public goods and government spending. Study of Canadian institutions in international perspective.
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ECON 409Public Sector Economics 23 credits
Theoretical and empirical economic analysis of the public sector with an emphasis on taxation. Study of Canadian institutions in international perspective.
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ECON 416Topics in Economic Development 23 credits
This course gives students a broad overview of the economics of developing countries. The course covers micro and macro topics, with particular emphasis on the economic analysis at the micro level.
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ECON 511Energy, Economy and Environment3 credits
Interdisciplinary study of the short-term and long-term interactions between economic activity, energy usage and the environment. Implications of rising fossil fuels usage for environmental damage and its consequences for the future. The political economy of energy in national politics and international relations; the interface of energy and financial flows; the challenge of globally managing toxic residues.
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ECON 525Project Analysis3 credits
A course in cost benefit analysis for graduate and advanced undergraduate students.
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ENVB 437Assessing Environmental Impact3 credits
Principles and practice of Environmental Assessment (EA) in Canada and internationally. Exploration of issues surrounding impact assessment for sustainable development in different sectors, including their limitations.
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ENVR 422Montreal Urban Sustainability Analysis3 credits
Applied and experience-based learning opportunities are employed to critically assess Montreal as a sustainable city through research, discussion, and field trips. The urban environment is considered through various specific dimensions, ranging from: waste, energy, urban agriculture, green spaces and design, or transportation.
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AGRI 550Sustained Tropical Agriculture3 credits
Contrast theory and practice in defining agricultural environmental "challenges" in the Neotropics. Indigenous and appropriate technological means of mitigation. Soil management and erosion, water scarcity, water over-abundance, and water quality. Explore agro-ecosystem protection via field trips and project designs. Institutional context of conservation strategies, NGO links, and public participation.
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ANTH 451Research in Society and Development in Africa3 credits
Instruction focuses on three goals: 1) existing research in selected core thematic areas, 2) participating in interdisciplinary team research, 3) developing powers of observation and independent inquiry. Students will be expected to develop research activities and interdisciplinary perspectives, and to become conversant with advances in local research in their field.
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BIOL 343Biodiversity in the Caribean3 credits
Biodiversity loss and the measure of ecological integrity of ecosystems, patterns of diversification and evolution of terrestrial and oceanic biotas in the Caribbean.
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BIOL 451Research in Ecology and Development in Africa3 credits
Development of observation and independent inquiry skills through: 1) participation in short-term project modules in collaboration with existing researchers; 2) participation in interdisciplinary team research on topics selected to allow comparative analysis of field sites; 3) active and systematic observation, documentation, and integration of field experience in ecology and development issues.
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BIOL 553Neotropical Environments3 credits
Ecology revisited in view of tropical conditions. Exploring species richness. Sampling and measuring biodiversity. Conservation status of ecosystems, communities and species. Indigenous knowledge.
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ENVB 500Advanced Topics in Ecotoxicology3 credits
Exploring the impact of environmental chemicals on biological organisms in an ecological context. Basic topics in ecotoxicology, such as source and fate, routes of exposure, bioavailability, dose-response, biomarkers, and risk assessment will be covered from both theoretical and applied perspectives. The processes by which pollutants are tested, regulated, and monitored will be critically examined.
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ENVB 529GIS for Natural Resource Management3 credits
Applications of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and spatial analysis techniques to the presentation and analysis of ecological information, including sources and capture of spatial data; characterizing, transforming, displaying spatial data; and spatial analysis to solve resource management problems.
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ENVR 421Montreal: Environmental History and Sustainability3 credits
This course will focus on the role of place and history in the cities in which we live and in our understanding of sustainability. Each year, students will work to develop a historical reconstruction of the natural environment of Montreal and of its links to the cultural landscape, building on the work of previous cohorts of students.
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EPSC 325Environmental Geochemistry3 credits
The basic concepts and calculations needed to quantitatively understand the geochemical processes occurring between minerals and waters in Earth’s near-surface environment. The important concepts of thermodynamics and kinetics will be exemplified using examples that concentrate on reactions between minerals and water and their impact on the environment.
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EPSC 331Field School 23 credits
Two week field studies in selected branches of the geosciences.
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EPSC 341Field School 33 credits
Two week field studies in selected branches of the geosciences to examine processes in geology.
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EPSC 355Sedimentary Geology3 credits
The origin, classification, diagenesis and economic importance of sedimentary rocks. The physical properties of sedimentary rocks, the processes by which sediments are transported and deposited, and the environments in which they accumulate. Introduction to techniques for describing and analyzing sedimentary rocks in thin section, hand specimen, and on the outcrop.
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EPSC 425Sediments to Sequences3 credits
EPSC 452Mineral Deposits3 credits
A systematic review of the nature and origin of the major types of metallic and non-metallic mineral deposits; typical occurrences; geographic distribution; applications to exploration. Emphasis on magmatic ores, massive sulfides, iron formations.
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EPSC 519Isotopes in Earth and Environmental Science3 credits
The theory and application of stable and radioactive isotope measurements in the Earth and environmental sciences, including applications in geology, hydrology, climatology, biogeochemistry, and ecology.
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EPSC 549Hydrogeology3 credits
Introduction to groundwater flow through porous media. Notions of fluid potential and hydraulic head. Darcy flux and Darcy's Law. Physical properties of porous media and their measurement. Equation of groundwater flow. Flow systems. Hydraulics of pumping and recharging wells. Notions of hydrology. Groundwater quality and contamination. Physical processes of contaminant transport.
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EPSC 590Applied Geochemistry Seminar3 credits
Seminar course devoted to field case studies that illustrate the applications of geochemical principles to solving geologic problems. Each student will prepare and lead a class devoted to a geochemical subject of their own choosing.
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GEOG 201Introductory Geo-Information Science3 credits
An introduction to Geographic Information Systems. The systematic management of spatial data. The use and construction of maps. The use of microcomputers and software for mapping and statistical work. Air photo and topographic map analyses.
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GEOG 302Environmental Management 13 credits
An ecological analysis of the physical and biotic components of natural resource systems. Emphasis on scientific, technological and institutional aspects of environmental management. Study of the use of biological resources and of the impact of individual processes.
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GEOG 305Soils and Environment3 credits
Discussion of the major properties of soils; soil formation, classification and mapping; land capability assessment; the role and response of soils in natural and disturbed environments (e.g. global change, ecosystem disturbance).
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GEOG 322Environmental Hydrology3 credits
Quantitative, experimental study of the principles governing the movement of water at or near the Earth's surface and how the research relates to the chemistry and biology of ecosystems.
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GEOG 451Research in Society and Development in Africa3 credits
Three intersecting components: 1) core development themes including culture change, environmental conservation, water, health, development (urban and rural), governance and conflict resolution, 2) research techniques for topics related to core themes, including ethics, risk, field methods and data analysis, 3) field documentation, scientific recording and communication.
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MIME 320Extraction of Energy Resources3 credits
The extraction of energy resources, i.e. coal, gas, oil and tar sands. After a brief geological review, different extraction techniques for these substances will be discussed. Emphasis on problems such as northern mining and offshore oil extraction with reference to Canadian operations. Transportation and marketing.
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NRSC 451Research in Ecology and Development in Africa3 credits
Development of observation and independent inquiry skills through: 1) participation in short-term project modules in collaboration with existing researchers; 2) participation in interdisciplinary team research on topics selected to allow comparative analysis of field sites; 3) active and systematic observation, documentation, and integration of field experience in ecology and development issues.
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SOIL 300Geosystems3 credits
Interactions between Earth's various geologic systems and how these interactions lead to mineral and rock formation. Geomorphic processes and how various landforms are created by the interactions at the Earth's surface between the various geologic systems.
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SOIL 315Soil Nutrient Management3 credits
Plant nutrients in the soil, influence of soil properties on nutrient absorption and plant growth, use of organic and inorganic fertilizers.
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SOIL 326Soils in a Changing Environment3 credits
Soil processes responsible for soil formation will be studied and the impact of changes to the physical and chemical environment will be discussed.
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SOIL 535Soil Ecology3 credits
Exploration of the unique soil habitat for organisms with a focus on the variables that affect the abundance, diversity and interactions of soil biota and, in turn, their influence on soil physicochemical properties, biogeochemical cycles and other factors impacting ecosystem sustainability. Topics include survey of soil fauna, soil food webs, microbial ecology, biological carbon and nitrogen cycling, plant-soil interactions, and the effects of human activities and management on soil ecology, including synthesizing concepts and a critical analysis and interpretation of primary scientific literature in soil ecology.
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Chemistry

Biophysical Chemistry30 listed

Published required and complementary course choices for the 66-credit Chemistry: Biophysical Chemistry Major (B.Sc.). This is a program within the degree, not the complete degree or a term-by-term timetable. Some requirements specify course levels or subjects rather than naming courses. 66 credits for this program; faculty-wide degree and foundation requirements apply separately.

BIOL 219Introduction to Physical Molecular and Cell Biology4 credits
An introduction to molecular and cell biology from a physical perspective. Techniques and methodologies, both experimental and computational, are included in the presentation of each thematic module.
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BIOL 319Introduction to Biophysics3 credits
Emerging physical approaches and quantitative measurement techniques are providing new insights into longstanding biological questions. This course will present underlying physical theory, quantitative measurement techniques, and significant findings in molecular and cellular biophysics. Principles covered include Brownian motion, low Reynolds-number environments, forces relevant to cells and molecules, chemical potentials, and free energies. These principles are applied to enzymes as molecular machines, membranes, DNA, and RNA.
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BIOL 395Quantitative Biology Seminar1 credits
Overview of concepts and current research in quantitative biology; theoretical ecology and evolution, computational biology, and physical biology.
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MATH 222Calculus 33 credits
Taylor series, Taylor's theorem in one and several variables. Review of vector geometry. Partial differentiation, directional derivative. Extreme of functions of 2 or 3 variables. Parametric curves and arc length. Polar and spherical coordinates. Multiple integrals.
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MATH 223Linear Algebra3 credits
Review of matrix algebra, determinants and systems of linear equations. Vector spaces, linear operators and their matrix representations, orthogonality. Eigenvalues and eigenvectors, diagonalization of Hermitian matrices. Applications.
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MATH 315Ordinary Differential Equations3 credits
First order ordinary differential equations including elementary numerical methods. Linear differential equations. Laplace transforms. Series solutions.
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MATH 323Probability3 credits
Sample space, events, conditional probability, independence of events, Bayes' Theorem. Basic combinatorial probability, random variables, discrete and continuous univariate and multivariate distributions. Independence of random variables. Inequalities, weak law of large numbers, central limit theorem.
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PHYS 329Statistical Physics with Biophysical Applications3 credits
This interdisciplinary course introduces Statistical Physics illustrated with modern biophysical applications. Principles covered include partition functions, Boltzmann distribution, bosons, fermions, Bose Einstein condensates, Ferni gases, chemical potential, thermodynamical forces, biochemical kinetics, and an introduction to noise and phase transitions in biology.
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CHEM 213Introductory Physical Chemistry 1: Thermodynamics3 credits
Thermodynamics. Topics include gas laws, kinetic theory of collisions, heat capacity, enthalpy, thermochemistry, bond energies, the entropy and free energy functions, absolute entropies, Maxwell relations and chemical and thermodynamic equilibrium states, phase rule and phase diagrams, ideal solutions, colligative properties, solubility, electrochemistry, Debye-Hückel Theory.
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CHEM 267Introductory Chemical Analysis3 credits
Qualitative and quantitative analysis. A survey of methods of analysis including theory and practice of semimicro qualitative analysis and representative gravimetric, volumetric and instrumental methods. The laboratory component includes introductory experiments in analytical chemistry emphasizing classical and instrumental methods of quantitative analysis.
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CHEM 273Introductory Physical Chemistry 2: Kinetics and Methods3 credits
Kinetics: Transition State Theory, complex reactions, free-radical reactions, chain reactions, catalysis, reactions at surfaces, ionic effects of reactions in solution, photochemistry. Methods: physical chemistry laboratory, differential equations and linear algebra applied to physical chemistry, computation methods for data analysis and modeling
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CHEM 281Inorganic Chemistry 13 credits
Basic concepts of electronic structure and molecular bonding will be developed and applied to the understanding of common materials. Acid-base chemistry. Survey of the chemistry of the main group elements. Introduction to coordination and organometallic chemistry.
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CHEM 345Introduction to Quantum Chemistry3 credits
An introduction to quantum chemistry covering the historical development, wave theory, methods of quantum mechanics, and applications of quantum chemistry.
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CHEM 355Applications of Quantum Chemistry3 credits
A survey of the principles of electronic, vibrational and rotational spectroscopy. Magnetic resonance and computational methods.
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CHEM 367Instrumental Analysis 13 credits
An introduction to modern instrumental analysis emphasizing chromatography, atomic spectroscopy and computational data analysis. Analytical methods to be examined in detail include gas-liquid and high performance liquid chromatography, LC mass spectrometry, and common methods of atomic determinations using flames/furnaces/plasma sources.
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CHEM 377Instrumental Analysis 23 credits
Spectroscopic methods of analysis will be studied with respect to fundamentals, operational aspects and instrument design. Topics will range from UV-visible to x-ray spectrometry. Methodologies will be evaluated with respect to their application in spectrometric systems. Laboratory automation will be studied and applied in the laboratory.
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CHEM 493Advanced Physical Chemistry Laboratory2 credits
Selected experiments to illustrate more advanced physico-chemical principles.
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PHYS 242Electricity and Magnetism2 credits
Properties of electromagnetic fields, dipole and quadropole fields and their interactions, chemical binding of molecules, electromagnetic properties of materials, Maxwell's equations and properties of electromagnetic waves, propagation of waves in media.
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CHEM 302Introductory Organic Chemistry 33 credits
Topics covered may include the following: Aromatic compounds, heterocyclic chemistry, sulfur and phosphorus chemistry, organosulfur and organophosphorus compounds, and biomolecules such as lipids, carbohydrates, amino acids, polypeptides, DNA and RNA.
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CHEM 381Inorganic Chemistry 23 credits
Introduction to transition metal chemistry, coordination numbers and geometry, and nomenclature will be followed by a discussion of crystal field theory and its applications to problems in spectroscopy, magnetochemistry, thermodynamics and kinetics. Several aspects related to applications of organometallic compounds in catalysis and bioinorganic systems will be discussed.
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BIOL 300Molecular Biology of the Gene3 credits
A survey of current knowledge and approaches in the area of regulation of gene expression, post-transcriptional control of gene expression, and signal transduction.
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BIOL 301Cell and Molecular Laboratory4 credits
An introduction to biology research and communication with a focus on cell and molecular biology. Through conducting a series of project-based experiments and writing a final report, molecular and synthetic biology techniques such as gene cloning, manipulation, protein isolation and characterization and how research is conducted, analyzed and communicated will be addressed. In addition, an introduction to bioinformatics methods and their role in analysis will be provided.
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BIOL 316Biomembranes and Organelles3 credits
The course focuses on biomembranes and subcellular organelles and their implications for disease. The topics include: protein and lipid biochemistry, membrane structure and transport; intracellular compartmentalization, protein sorting and modification, intracellular membrane trafficking; energy transfer, organization and dynamics of chloroplasts and mitochondria; extracellular matrix and cell walls.
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BIOL 551Principles of Cellular Control3 credits
Fundamental principles of cellular control, with cell cycle control as a major theme. Biological and physical concepts are brought to bear on control in healthy cells..
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CHEM 502Advanced Bio-Organic Chemistry3 credits
This course will cover biologically relevant molecules, particularly nucleic acids, proteins, and their building blocks. In each case, synthesis and biological functions will be discussed. The topics include synthesis of oligonucleotides and peptides; chemistry of phosphates; enzyme structure and function; coenzymes, and enzyme catalysis; polyketides; antiviral and anticancer agents.
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CHEM 514Biophysical Chemistry3 credits
Physical chemistry concepts needed to understand the function of biological systems at the molecular level, including the structure, stability, transport, and interactions of biological macromolecules.
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CHEM 520Methods in Chemical Biology3 credits
An overview of advanced techniques at the leading edge of Chemical Biology, including some or all of: biological imaging, kinetics of enzyme inhibition, combinatorial synthesis, atomic force microscopy of biological molecules, self assembling biomimetic structures, oligonucleotide therapeutics, biomolecular X-ray crystallography, computational methods, and nuclear magnetic resonance applied to protein interactions.
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CHEM 555Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy3 credits
The fundamental principles underlying Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), Electron Paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) will be covered and applied to biomolecules and materials chemistry. Topics include multidimensional spectra, molecular dynamics, the density matrix, and the product operator formalism.
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CHEM 575Chemical Kinetics3 credits
Kinetic laws, measurement of reaction rates, transition state and collision theory, experimental techniques in reaction kinetics, reaction mechanisms, RRKM theory, Marcus theory of electron transfer, photochemistry and catalysis. Recent developments and their application to chemical and biological problems. Elementary reactions in gas, solution and solid phases and on surfaces.
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COMP 208Computer Programming for Physical Sciences and Engineering 3 credits
Programming and problem solving in a high level computer language: variables, expressions, types, functions, conditionals, loops, objects and classes. Introduction to algorithms such as searching and sorting. Modular software design, libraries, file input and output, debugging. Emphasis on applications in Physical Sciences and Engineering, such as root finding, numerical integration, diffusion, Monte Carlo methods.
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Physics

Biological Physics41 listed

Published required and complementary course choices for the 82-credit Physics: Biological Physics Major (B.Sc.). This is a program within the degree, not the complete degree or a term-by-term timetable. Some requirements specify course levels or subjects rather than naming courses. 82 credits for this program; faculty-wide degree and foundation requirements apply separately.

BIOL 219Introduction to Physical Molecular and Cell Biology4 credits
An introduction to molecular and cell biology from a physical perspective. Techniques and methodologies, both experimental and computational, are included in the presentation of each thematic module.
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BIOL 395Quantitative Biology Seminar1 credits
Overview of concepts and current research in quantitative biology; theoretical ecology and evolution, computational biology, and physical biology.
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CHEM 212Introductory Organic Chemistry 14 credits
A fundamental study of aliphatic compounds and saturated functional groups including modern concepts of bonding, reaction mechanisms, conformational analysis, spectroscopy, and stereochemistry.
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MATH 222Calculus 33 credits
Taylor series, Taylor's theorem in one and several variables. Review of vector geometry. Partial differentiation, directional derivative. Extreme of functions of 2 or 3 variables. Parametric curves and arc length. Polar and spherical coordinates. Multiple integrals.
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MATH 223Linear Algebra3 credits
Review of matrix algebra, determinants and systems of linear equations. Vector spaces, linear operators and their matrix representations, orthogonality. Eigenvalues and eigenvectors, diagonalization of Hermitian matrices. Applications.
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MATH 315Ordinary Differential Equations3 credits
First order ordinary differential equations including elementary numerical methods. Linear differential equations. Laplace transforms. Series solutions.
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MATH 323Probability3 credits
Sample space, events, conditional probability, independence of events, Bayes' Theorem. Basic combinatorial probability, random variables, discrete and continuous univariate and multivariate distributions. Independence of random variables. Inequalities, weak law of large numbers, central limit theorem.
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PHYS 319Introduction to Biophysics3 credits
Emerging physical approaches and quantitative measurement techniques are providing new insights into longstanding biological questions. This course will present underlying physical theory, quantitative measurement techniques, and significant findings in molecular and cellular biophysics. Principles covered include Brownian motion, low Reynolds-number environments, forces relevant to cells and molecules, chemical potentials, and free energies. These principles are applied to enzymes as molecular machines, membranes, DNA, and RNA.
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PHYS 329Statistical Physics with Biophysical Applications3 credits
This interdisciplinary course introduces Statistical Physics illustrated with modern biophysical applications. Principles covered include partition functions, Boltzmann distribution, bosons, fermions, Bose Einstein condensates, Ferni gases, chemical potential, thermodynamical forces, biochemical kinetics, and an introduction to noise and phase transitions in biology.
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BIOL 202Basic Genetics3 credits
Introduction to basic principles, and to modern advances, problems and applications in the genetics of higher and lower organisms with examples representative of the biological sciences.
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MATH 314Advanced Calculus3 credits
Derivative as a matrix. Chain rule. Implicit functions. Constrained maxima and minima. Jacobians. Multiple integration. Line and surface integrals. Theorems of Green, Stokes and Gauss. Fourier series with applications.
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PHYS 230Dynamics of Simple Systems3 credits
Translational motion under Newton's laws; forces, momentum, work/energy theorem. Special relativity; Lorentz transforms, relativistic mechanics, mass/energy equivalence. Topics in rotational dynamics. Noninertial frames.
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PHYS 232Heat and Waves3 credits
The laws of thermodynamics and their consequences. Thermodynamics of P-V-T systems and simple heat engines. Free, driven, and damped harmonic oscillators. Coupled systems and normal modes. Fourier methods. Wave motion and dispersion. The wave equation.
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PHYS 241Signal Processing3 credits
Linear circuit elements, resonance, network theorems, diodes, transistors, amplifiers, feedback, integrated circuits.
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PHYS 257Experimental Methods 13 credits
Introductory laboratory work and data analysis as related to mechanics, optics and thermodynamics. Introduction to computers as they are employed for laboratory work, for data analysis and for numerical computation. Previous experience with computers is an asset, but is not required.
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PHYS 258Experimental Methods 23 credits
Advanced laboratory work and data analysis as related to mechanics, optics and thermodynamics. Computers will be employed routinely for data analysis and for numerical computation, and, particularly, to facilitate the use of Fourier methods.
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PHYS 340Majors Electricity and Magnetism3 credits
The electrostatic field and scalar potential. Dielectric properties of matter. Energy in the electrostatic field. Methods for solving problems in electrostatics. The magnetic field. Induction and inductance. Energy in the magnetic field. Magnetic properties of matter. Maxwell's equations. The dipole approximation.
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PHYS 342Majors Electromagnetic Waves3 credits
Maxwell's equations. The wave equation. The electromagnetic wave, reflection, refraction, polarization. Guided waves. Transmission lines and wave guides. Vector potential. Radiation. The elemental dipole; the half-wave dipole; vertical dipole; folded dipoles; Yagi antennas. Accelerating charged particles.
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PHYS 346Majors Quantum Physics3 credits
De Broglie waves, Bohr atom. Schroedinger equation, wave functions, observables. One dimensional potentials. Schroedinger equation in three dimensions. Angular momentum, hydrogen atom. Spin, experimental consequences.
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PHYS 449Majors Research Project3 credits
A supervised research project.
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PHYS 519Advanced Biophysics3 credits
An advanced biophysics course, with a special emphasis on stochastic and out of equilibrium physical processes in living matter.
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COMP 202Foundations of Programming3 credits
Introduction to computer programming in a high level language: variables, expressions, primitive types, methods, conditionals, loops. Introduction to algorithms, data structures (arrays, strings), modular software design, libraries, file input/output, debugging, exception handling. Selected topics.
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COMP 250Introduction to Computer Science3 credits
Object oriented programming in Java: classes and objects, interfaces, inheritance. Data structures and abstract data types: arrays, stacks, queues, linked lists, trees, binary trees,binary search trees, heaps, hash tables, graphs. Recursive and non-recursive algorithms and their asymptotic complexity: searching and sorting, tree and graph traversal. Mathematical tools: induction, recurrence relations.
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PHYS 328Electronics3 credits
Semiconductor devices, basic transistor circuits, operational amplifiers, combinatorial and sequential logic, integrated circuits, analogue to digital converters. The laboratory component covers design, construction and testing of basic electronic circuits.
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PHYS 331Topics in Classical Mechanics3 credits
Forced and damped oscillators, Newtonian mechanics in three dimensions, rotational motion, Lagrangian and Hamiltonian mechanics, small vibrations, normal modes. Nonlinear dynamics and chaos.
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PHYS 339Measurements Laboratory in General Physics3 credits
Introduction to modern techniques of measurement. The use of computers in performing and analysing experiments. Data reduction, statistical methods, report writing. Extensive use of computers is made in this laboratory; therefore some familiarity with computers and computing is an advantage.
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PHYS 359Advanced Physics Laboratory 13 credits
Advanced level experiments in physics including quantum effects and some properties of condensed matter physics and modern physics.
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PHYS 469Advanced Physics Laboratory 23 credits
Advanced level experiments in physics including quantum effects and some properties of condensed matter physics and modern physics.
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CHEM 514Biophysical Chemistry3 credits
Physical chemistry concepts needed to understand the function of biological systems at the molecular level, including the structure, stability, transport, and interactions of biological macromolecules.
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MATH 437Mathematical Methods in Biology3 credits
The formulation and treatment of realistic mathematical models describing biological phenomena through qualitative and quantitative mathematical techniques (e.g. local and global stability theory, bifurcation analysis and phase plane analysis) and numerical simulation. Concrete and detailed examples will be drawn from molecular and cellular biology and mammalian physiology.
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PHGY 425Analyzing Physiological Systems3 credits
An introduction to quantitative analysis of physiological data, both to the mode of thinking and to a set of tools that allows accurate predictions of biological systems. Examples will range from oscillating genetic networks to understanding higher brain function. Modelling and data analysis through examples and exercises will be emphasized.
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PHYS 432Physics of Fluids3 credits
The physical properties of fluids. The kinematics and dynamics of flow. The effects of viscosity and turbulence. Applications of fluid mechanics in biophysics, geophysics and engineering.
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PHYS 434Optics3 credits
Fundamental concepts of optics, including applications and modern developments. Light propagation in media; geometric optics and optical instruments; polarization and coherence properties of light; interference and interferometry; diffraction theory and applications in spectrometry and imaging; Gaussian beams, Fourier optics and photonic band structure. A laboratory component provides hands-on experience in optical setup design, construction and testing of concepts introduced in lectures.
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PHYS 447Majors Quantum Physics 23 credits
Angular momentum and spin, identical particles, multi-electron atoms, perturbation theory, radiation. Selected applications from condensed matter, nuclear and elementary particle physics.
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BIOL 300Molecular Biology of the Gene3 credits
A survey of current knowledge and approaches in the area of regulation of gene expression, post-transcriptional control of gene expression, and signal transduction.
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BIOL 301Cell and Molecular Laboratory4 credits
An introduction to biology research and communication with a focus on cell and molecular biology. Through conducting a series of project-based experiments and writing a final report, molecular and synthetic biology techniques such as gene cloning, manipulation, protein isolation and characterization and how research is conducted, analyzed and communicated will be addressed. In addition, an introduction to bioinformatics methods and their role in analysis will be provided.
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BIOL 303Developmental Biology3 credits
A consideration of the fundamental processes and principles operating during embryogenesis. Experimental analyses at the molecular, cellular, and organismal levels will be presented and discussed to provide an overall appreciation of developmental phenomena.
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BIOL 306Neural Basis of Behaviour3 credits
Neural mechanisms of animal behaviour; neuroethology; cellular neurophysiology, integrative networks within nervous systems; neural control of movement; processing of sensory information.
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BIOL 313Eukaryotic Cell Biology3 credits
In-depth examination of the structure and function of eukaryotic cells, with an emphasis on experimental design and interpretation. Examination of the molecular mechanisms of various cellular processes, including protein homeostasis, intracellular transport, cytoskeletal dynamics, multicellular organization and cell proliferation.
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BIOL 316Biomembranes and Organelles3 credits
The course focuses on biomembranes and subcellular organelles and their implications for disease. The topics include: protein and lipid biochemistry, membrane structure and transport; intracellular compartmentalization, protein sorting and modification, intracellular membrane trafficking; energy transfer, organization and dynamics of chloroplasts and mitochondria; extracellular matrix and cell walls.
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BIOL 551Principles of Cellular Control3 credits
Fundamental principles of cellular control, with cell cycle control as a major theme. Biological and physical concepts are brought to bear on control in healthy cells..
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Elective choices

Approved course menus and remaining elective space depend on the chosen major, Liberal program or honours route. McGill permits up to six credits per year and 18 credits in total outside Arts and Science, with named program exceptions.

Study locations

Published academic-unit location: The 2026–27 catalogue lists the Science Office for Undergraduate Student Advising in Frank Dawson Adams Building, room 23, ground level, at 3450 University Street. SOUSA serves both BSc and BA & Sc degrees. This is a degree-advising office; individual teaching rooms are separate.Mcgill: named science-physical academic-unit location

References

Careers

Career examples

Forensic scientist
Toxicologist
Pharmaceutical chemist
Hazardous-materials management chemist

Scope and qualifications

The university publishes these career examples. They are not employment rates or guaranteed outcomes. Professional, clinical and specialist roles may require further education, registration or experience.

Faculty of Science Chemistry option within the Physical, Earth, Math and Computer Sciences group. This source is the Science Chemistry degree, not an Engineering minor or a claim about every physical-science programme.