The Honours program satisfies the requirements for a professional career as a meteorologist. It equips the student to undertake postgraduate study in meteorology, atmospheric science, and related sciences (for example, physical oceanography) at any of the leading universities. The Honours program is meant for students with high standing. It is based on courses similar to those in the Major program, but provides the opportunity to take advanced courses and to take part in a research project.
Students can be admitted to the Honours program after completion of the U1 year of the Major in Atmospheric Science program with a minimum GPA of 3.3.
Students having completed a U1 year in a different program with high standing may be admitted to the Honours program on the recommendation of the Department.
A minimum GPA of 3.3 in the Honours Program courses (taken as a whole) is required to remain in the program. A CGPA of 3.3 on the total program is also required to graduate with honours.
The Honours program also offers an Atmospheric Chemistry Option.
Required Courses (52 credits)
ATOC 214
Intro:Physics of the Atmosph
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences: An introduction to physical meteorology designed for students in the physical sciences. Topics include: composition of the atmosphere; heat transfer; the upper atmosphere; atmospheric optics; formation of clouds and precipitation; instability; adiabatic charts.
Offered by: Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences
- Fall
- 3 hours lecture
- Prerequisite: CEGEP Physics, or the combination of PHYS 131 and PHYS 142, or permission of instructor.
ATOC 215
Oceans, Weather and Climate
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences: Laws of motion, geostrophic wind, gradient wind. General circulation of the atmosphere and oceans, local circulation features. Air-sea interaction, including hurricanes and sea-ice formation, extra-tropical weather systems and fronts, role of the atmosphere and oceans in climate.
Offered by: Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences
- Winter
- 3 hours lecture
- Prerequisite: ATOC 214
ATOC 309
Weather Radars and Satellites
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences: 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.
Offered by: Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences
- Winter
- 3 hours lecture
- Prerequisite: ATOC 215
- Terms
- Instructors
- Frederic Fabry, Gerard Szejwach
ATOC 315
Thermodynamics and Convection
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences: 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.
Offered by: Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences
ATOC 480
Honours Research Project
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences: 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.
Offered by: Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences
- Restriction: U3 Honours students
- Terms
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the academic year
ATOC 512
Atmospheric & Oceanic Dynamics
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences: Introduction to the fluid dynamics of large-scale flows of the atmosphere and oceans. Stratification of atmosphere and oceans. Equations of state, thermodynamics and momentum. Kinematics, circulation, and vorticity. Hydrostatic and quasi-geostrophic flows. Brief introduction to wave motions, flow over topography, Ekman boundary layers, turbulence.
Offered by: Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences
- Fall
- 3 hours lecture
- Prerequisite (Undergraduate): MATH 314, MATH 315, or permission of instructor
ATOC 531
Dynamics of Current Climates
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences: The general circulation of the atmosphere and oceans. Atmospheric and oceanic general circulation models. Observations and models of the El Niño and Southern Oscillation phenomena.
Offered by: Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences
- Fall
- 3 hours lecture
- Prerequisite (Undergraduate): MATH 315 or permission of instructor
- Corequisite (Undergraduate): ATOC 412 or ATOC 512 or permission of instructor
ATOC 540
Synoptic Meteorology 1
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences: 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.
Offered by: Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences
- Fall
- 2 hours lecture; 2 hours laboratory
- Prerequisite (Undergraduate): MATH 314, MATH 315, or permission of instructor
ATOC 546
Current Weather Discussion
1 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences: Half-hour briefing on atmospheric general circulation and current weather around the world using satellite data, radar observations, conventional weather maps, and analyses and forecasts produced by computer techniques.
Offered by: Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences
- Winter
- 2 hours
- Prerequisite (Undergraduate): ATOC 540 or permission of instructor
- Restriction: Graduate students and final-year Honours Atmospheric Science students. Others by special permission.
COMP 208
Computers in Engineering
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Computer Science (Sci): Introduction to computer systems. Concepts and structures for high level programming. Elements of structured programming using FORTRAN 90 and C. Numerical algorithms such as root finding, numerical integration and differential equations. Non-numerical algorithms for sorting and searching.
Offered by: Computer Science
- 3 hours
- Prerequisite: differential and integral calculus.
- Corequisite: linear algebra: determinants, vectors, matrix operations.
- Restrictions: COMP 202 and COMP 208 cannot both be taken for credit. COMP 202 is intended as a general introductory course, while COMP 208 is intended for students interested in scientific computations. Credits for either of these courses will not count towards the 60-credit Major in Computer Science. COMP 208 cannot be taken for credit with or after COMP 250.
- Terms
- Instructors
- Nathan Friedman
- Nathan Friedman
MATH 222
Calculus 3
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Mathematics & Statistics (Sci): 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.
Offered by: Mathematics and Statistics
- Terms
- Instructors
- Wilbur Jonsson
- Wilbur Jonsson
MATH 223
Linear Algebra
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Mathematics & Statistics (Sci): 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.
Offered by: Mathematics and Statistics
- Fall and Winter
- Prerequisite: MATH 133 or equivalent
- Restriction: Not open to students in Mathematics programs nor to students who have taken or are taking MATH 236, MATH 247 or MATH 251. It is open to students in Faculty Programs
- Terms
- Instructors
- James G Loveys, Wilbur Jonsson, James G Loveys
- Wilbur Jonsson
MATH 314
Advanced Calculus
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Mathematics & Statistics (Sci): 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.
Offered by: Mathematics and Statistics
- Terms
- Instructors
- Jian-Jun Xu
- Wilbur Jonsson
MATH 315
Ordinary Differential Eqns
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Mathematics & Statistics (Sci): First order ordinary differential equations including elementary numerical methods. Linear differential equations. Laplace transforms. Series solutions.
Offered by: Mathematics and Statistics
MATH 319
Intro to Partial Diff Equas
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Mathematics & Statistics (Sci): First order equations, geometric theory; second order equations, classification; Laplace, wave and heat equations, Sturm-Liouville theory, Fourier series, boundary and initial value problems.
Offered by: Mathematics and Statistics
PHYS 230
Dynamics of Simple Systems
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Physics: 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.
Offered by: Physics
- Fall
- 3 hours lectures
- Prerequisite: CEGEP Physics or PHYS 131.
- Corequisite: MATH 222
- Restriction: Not open to students taking or having passed PHYS 251
PHYS 232
Heat and Waves
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Physics: 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.
Offered by: Physics
- Winter
- 3 hours lectures
- Prerequisites: CEGEP Physics or PHYS 142, and CEGEP chemistry or CHEM 120, and PHYS 230.
- Restriction: Not open to students taking or having passed PHYS 253
PHYS 257
Experimental Methods 1
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Physics: 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.
Offered by: Physics
Complementary Courses (18 credits)
3-6 credits to satisfy a statistics requirement, usually:
MATH 203
Principles of Statistics 1
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Mathematics & Statistics (Sci): 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).
Offered by: Mathematics and Statistics
- No calculus prerequisites
- Restriction: This course is intended for students in all disciplines. For extensive course restrictions covering statistics courses see Section 3.6.1 of the Arts and of the Science sections of the calendar regarding course overlaps.
- You may not be able to receive credit for this course and other statistic courses. Be sure to check the Course Overlap section under Faculty Degree Requirements in the Arts or Science section of the Calendar. Students should consult http://www.mcgill.ca/student-records/transfercredits/ for information regarding transfer credits for this course.
- Terms
- Instructors
- Christian Genest
- Jose Andres Correa
or (
MATH 323
Probability
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Mathematics & Statistics (Sci): 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.
Offered by: Mathematics and Statistics
- Prerequisites: MATH 141 or equivalent.
- Restriction: Intended for students in Science, Engineering and related disciplines, who have had differential and integral calculus
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken or are taking MATH 356
- Terms
- Instructors
- Masoud Asgharian-Dastenaei
- David B Wolfson
and
MATH 324
Statistics
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Mathematics & Statistics (Sci): Sampling distributions, point and interval estimation, hypothesis testing, analysis of variance, contingency tables, nonparametric inference, regression, Bayesian inference.
Offered by: Mathematics and Statistics
- Fall and Winter
- Prerequisite: MATH 323 or equivalent
- Restriction: Not open to students who have taken or are taking MATH 357
- You may not be able to receive credit for this course and other statistic courses. Be sure to check the Course Overlap section under Faculty Degree Requirements in the Arts or Science section of the Calendar.
)
3 credits selected from:
PHYS 333
Thermal & Statistical Physics
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Physics: 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.
Offered by: Physics
- Winter
- 3 hours lectures
- Prerequisite: PHYS 232
- Restriction: Not open to students taking or having passed PHYS 362
PHYS 340
Majors Electricity & Magnetism
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Physics: 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.
Offered by: Physics
3 - 6 credits ordinarily selected from:
ATOC 419
Advances in Chem of Atmosphere
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences: Selected areas of atmospheric chemistry from field and laboratory to theoretical modelling are examined. The principles of atmospheric reactions (gas, liquid and heterogeneous phases in aerosols and clouds) and issues related to chemical global change will be explored.
Offered by: Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences
- Symbols:
- Taught only in alternate years
CHEM 419
Advances in Chem of Atmosphere
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Chemistry: Selected areas of atmospheric chemistry from field and laboratory to theoretical modelling are examined. The principles of atmospheric reactions (gas, liquid and heterogeneous phases in aerosols and clouds) and issues related to chemical global change will be explored.
Offered by: Chemistry
- Symbols:
- Taught only in alternate years
ATOC 515
Turbulence in Atmosph&Oceans
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences: 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.
Offered by: Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences
- Winter
- 3 hours lecture
- Prerequisite (Undergraduate): MATH 314, MATH 315, a previous course in fluid dynamics (such as ATOC 512), or permission of instructor
- Symbols:
- Taught only in alternate years
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the academic year
GEOG 322
Environmental Hydrology
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Geography: 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.
Offered by: Geography
- Winter
- 3 hours
- Prerequisite: GEOG 203 or equivalent
GEOG 372
Running Water Environments
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Geography: 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.
Offered by: Geography
MATH 317
Numerical Analysis
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Mathematics & Statistics (Sci): Error analysis. Numerical solutions of equations by iteration. Interpolation. Numerical differentiation and integration. Introduction to numerical solutions of differential equations.
Offered by: Mathematics and Statistics
MATH 423
Regression&Anal of Variance
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Mathematics & Statistics (Sci): Least-squares estimators and their properties. Analysis of variance. Linear models with general covariance. Multivariate normal and chi-squared distributions; quadratic forms. General linear hypothesis: F-test and t-test. Prediction and confidence intervals. Transformations and residual plot. Balanced designs.
Offered by: Mathematics and Statistics
- Terms
- Instructors
- Abbas Khalili Mahmoudabadi
PHYS 241
Signal Processing
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Physics: Linear circuit elements, resonance, network theorems, diodes, transistors, amplifiers, feedback, integrated circuits.
Offered by: Physics
- Winter
- 2 hours lectures; 3 hours laboratory alternate weeks
- Prerequisite: CEGEP physics or PHYS 142.
PHYS 331
Topics in Classical Mechanics
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Physics: Forced and damped oscillators, Newtonian mechanics in three dimensions, rotational motion, Lagrangian mechanics, small vibrations, normal modes. Introduction to Hamiltonian mechanics.
Offered by: Physics
PHYS 332
Course not available
or
MATH 555
Fluid Dynamics
4 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Mathematics & Statistics (Sci): Kinematics. Dynamics of general fluids. Inviscid fluids, Navier-Stokes equations. Exact solutions of Navier-Stokes equations. Low and high Reynolds number flow.
Offered by: Mathematics and Statistics
- Symbols:
- Taught only in alternate years
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the academic year
PHYS 340
Majors Electricity & Magnetism
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Physics: 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.
Offered by: Physics
PHYS 342
Majors Electromagnetic Waves
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Physics: 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.
Offered by: Physics
6 credits selected from:
ATOC 513
Waves & Stability
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences: Linear theory of waves in rotating and stratified media. Geostrophic adjustment and model initialization. Wave propagation in slowly varying media. Mountain waves; waves in shear flows. Barotropic, baroclinic, symmetric, and Kelvin-Helmholtz instability. Wave-mean flow interaction. Equatorially trapped waves.
Offered by: Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences
- Winter
- 3 hours lecture
- Prerequisite (Undergraduate): MATH 314, MATH 315, or permission of instructor
ATOC 530
Paleoclimate Dynamics
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences: Introduction to the components of the climate system. Review of paleoclimates. Physical processes and models of climate and climate change.
Offered by: Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences
- Winter
- 3 hours lecture
- Prerequisite (Undergraduate): MATH 315, or permission of instructor
- Symbols:
- Taught only in alternate years
- Terms
- This course is not scheduled for the academic year
- Instructors
- There are no professors associated with this course for the academic year
ATOC 541
Synoptic Meteorology 2
3 Credits
Offered in the:
- Fall
- Winter
- Summer
Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences: 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.
Offered by: Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences
- Winter
- 2 hours lecture; 2 hours laboratory
- Prerequisite (Undergraduate): ATOC 412 and ATOC 540 or permission of instructor.
