Mathematical Physics at Waterloo

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the choice between two Mathematical Physics programs at the University of Waterloo: one offered by the Math Faculty and the other by the Science Faculty. Participants explore the implications of each program, including course content, lab requirements, and future academic prospects, particularly in relation to graduate studies.

Discussion Character

  • Debate/contested
  • Exploratory
  • Technical explanation

Main Points Raised

  • One participant expresses uncertainty about which program to choose, noting that the Math Faculty program has more math and computer science courses while the Science Faculty program includes lab courses.
  • Another participant, currently in the Computational Physics program, shares a negative view of labs, describing them as time-consuming but acknowledges their value in understanding course material.
  • A second-year student in the Math Faculty program states that it is more math-intensive compared to the Science Faculty program and recommends it for those who prefer math over labs.
  • A second-year student in the Science Faculty program argues that the programs are largely identical after the first year, highlighting that many courses are cross-listed and that recent changes have aligned some course requirements between the two faculties.
  • One participant from another university suggests that the Math Faculty program may better prepare students for upper-level physics, while also acknowledging the importance of labs for understanding physics concepts.
  • A brief comment simply advises to choose the Math Faculty program.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing opinions on the value of labs versus a more math-focused curriculum, with some advocating for the Math Faculty program while others highlight the importance of lab experience. There is no consensus on which program is definitively better.

Contextual Notes

Participants mention specific course requirements and differences between the two programs, including lab courses, elective requirements, and scholarship criteria, but do not resolve the implications of these differences for future academic or career paths.

simon009988
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I am in my last year of high school and going to waterloo in Semptember for Mathematical Physics.

I applied for the mathematical physics program twice, once from the Math Faculty and once from their Science Faculty.

I don't know which one to choose, many of the courses are overlapping, except that the one from the Science Faculty requires a few lab courses and the other doesn't but have more math and computer sciences. (I don't enjoys labs too much though but are still okay with them)

I eventually want to do graduate work. I'm wondering if anyone have any opinions to which one I should choose. Is their a big difference between a B.Sc. and a B.Math.? and would the Math faculty program put me at a disadvantage because of the lack of labs?
 
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I'm doing Computational physics at Waterloo, and i had labs for the following
Earth 121L/122L ( i have no idea why we have to take a course relating to rocks)
Chem 120L/123L
Phys 121L/122L
CS 125/L

Honestly I HATE labs with a passion, they are time consuming and tedious, but they do assert valuable experiences and assets to help you out on the long run, and may even help you understand the course material better.
 
I am a 2nd year student at university of waterloo. If you take math phys at faculty, yes you take more math courses and its more math intense compare to math phys at science. If you think you are not a person who will enjoy labs but really love math, I would recommend you to go for math faculty one.
 
I'm 2nd year math phys under science, and I think the programs are identical after first year. There are a lot of crosslisted courses under AMATH and PHYS, so it may look like math based students take more, but its really the same. The main difference up until now was Quantum 2 - math students took a more rigorous course that required Calc 4 as a prereq - but they've changed the science program to this course as well now (I don't think the change is on the university calendar yet).

In first year, there are some differences. As you mentioned, science based students must take one chem lab and one phys lab in each semester. They also must take two chem lecture courses and one intro C++ course - math faculty replaces this with 2 CS courses (either Java or Scheme) and an elective. Also, math faculty has a breath requirement (they require a couple ARTS courses) that science omits.

Another thing to consider: intro scholarships are faculty dependent. Math ones are based on the Euclid contest, science are based off the SIN physics contest.
 
I'll start off by saying I know nothing of WO's programs, I'm at UT. Math one would probably better prepare you for upper level physics. Labs are very very time demanding. Still, it is nice to visualize where all the theory your studying comes from.

In essence, physics IS experiemental results. By studying labs you really are studying physics. You will also remember the results a lot better than a bunch of logic deduced equations. That said, I still think universities do a crap job of teaching labs.
 
do the math one
 

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