McMaster Physics and Atronomy students get paid Summer Research (25-30 positions every year funded by NSERC and McMaster) to work in research labs using cutting edge equipment and national facilties. We fund students to present their research at conferences (CUPC) and our students win top prizes year after year.

McMaster's Honours Physics Co-op program includes two 8-month terms of paid relevant work experience over a 5 year degree. Employment rates in this program have been consistently at 100% with students placed in high calibre research and industry positions both inside Canada (e.g. TRIUMF, RIM, OPG) and internationally (e.g. NASA, CERN). Dedicated office of Science Career and Co-op Education (SCCE) provides everything from job postings and career development workshops to individual resume critiques and mock interviews.

McMaster Physics and Astronomy department ranks among the highest in research grants and publications per faculty member and our faculty have recieved numerous awards. You are taught by the professors who make the discoveries and you can also participate in our research yourself through summer research, co-op or an undergraduate thesis.

Our faculty are affiliated with The Perimeter Institute (3 Faculty), SHARCNET High Performance Computing (Director) and McMaster's Origins Institute (Director). Our researchers (including students!) use international facilities including neutron facilties, particle accelerators, telescopes and space based instruments.

Mac students consistently win awards at the Canadian Undergraduate Physics Conference including CUPC 2011 First Place Best Poster, 2nd Place Theoretical Physics, 2nd Place Condensed Matter Physics; CUPC 2010 1st Place Best Talk, 2nd Pace Best Poster, 1st Place Astrophysics, 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place Condensed Matter Physics. Our students have also received numerous in-course awards including Chancellor's Gold Medal 2011 and Governor General's Academic Medal 2010, 2008, 2007 and 2006.

Physics is about the big questions and the small ones. It can lead anywhere you want to go. At McMaster we offer courses in:
Computational physics, quantum mechanics, relativity, nuclear physics, optical physics, soft condensed matter physics, solid state physics, astrophysics, biophysics, medical physics and origins.
We have students and professors in the Physics & Astronomy Department researching everything from string theory and cosmology to genomics and the origins of life. There are trained physicists working as Faculty in every department in the Sciences, from math to biology.

You can also study physics through McMaster's Integrated Science Program and in conjunction with the Origins program.

Physics provides both hard science training and transferrable skills such as experimental design, modeling, computing, critical thinking and problem solving. 97% of graduates say their physics training has contributed to their career (regardless of what they do).
McMaster Physics Graduates are now working in
Aerospace, manufacturing, medicine and medical industries, energy, education, finance, government, nuclear industry, hi tech, law, industrial R&D, fundamental research ...and much more!

Physics graduates are 98 % employed and enjoy the highest mid-career salaries of any science. This includes the majority of graduates who do not continue in academia. At No. 6 out of 50 Majors according to the Wall Street Journal, Physics graduates out-earn most Engineering graduates and far outperform Business and Finance majors.