Liberal Program

Features: Freedom to pursue studies in other domains while following the core Physiology curriculum
Course Listing: Liberal Program

Major Program

Features: Remaining credits can be used to pursue a minor or simply to take interesting elective courses
Course Listing: Major Program

Honours Program

Features: Strong emphasis on research. Fewer credits available to pursue electives or a minor. Admission is based on U1 academic standing, with selection made before U2
Course Listing: Honours Program

Course	Pros	Cons	Evaluation
PHGY 351: Research in Physiology Syllabus	Vollrath will know your name (and sometimes you’ll see her daughters <3) You get to play with zebrafish Bonding with honours friends!	No one really knows what’s going on Lab techniques you learn are legit the same as in PHGY 212/213 and BIOL 301 Have to write full lab reports for every prof (x4) The take home midterm is actual hell	Half lecture, half lab Legit no one knows, but you’re almost guaranteed at least an A- Mythical grading scheme
PHGY 359: Tutorial in Physiology Syllabus	Very little effort required Can pick your supervisor Pass/fail course	Have to read papers every month	Full year course (two consecutive semesters) 4 meetings with supervisor per semester As long as you meet with your supervisor 3x per semester, you pass! No grades!
PHGY 459: Physiology Seminar Fall Winter	Teaches you how to read and discuss scientific papers Learn how to write a grant (cry)	Papers are so dry and they take so long to read it sucks the life out of everything You have a write a full 10 page single spaced grant Spontaneous presentations of grant proposal may be required - they will give you 2 days to prep a 30 min presentation… Literally nobody knows how they’re doing in this class until the end...and it’s 6 credits This course is the worst experience of McGill	Full-year course (two consecutive semesters) Participation: 50% (25% per semester) In-class Tests: 20% (10% per semester Oral Presentation: 10% (Winter) Grant Application: 20% (Winter)
PHGY 461: Experimental Physiology Syllabus: N/A More	Learn research techniques and get research experience Depends on your prof and research Pretty easy (about 15 hours per week) Learn how to write a paper and how to discuss research	Hard to tell if you are doing well and its 9 credits :/ Has a long paper and a presentation Depends on your prof...	Full-year course (two consecutive semesters) Completely decided on by your supervisor! Overall Lab Work: 60% (throughout the year) Oral Presentation Progress: 15% (February) Final Paper: 25%

Major Physiology and Physics

Features: Joint major program, with high degree of specialization in physics. Very few credits available for elective courses. Applications at the end of U1 year
Course Listing: Physiology & Physics

Major Physiology and Math

Features: Joint major program, with high degree of specialization in mathematics. Very few credits available for elective courses. Applications at the end of U1 year
Course Listing: Physiology & Math

Course	Pros	Cons	Evaluation
BIOL 309: Biometry Syllabus: TBD More	Glass is a really interesting lecturer who uses a lot more than just notes on a whiteboard The assignments are very similar to textbook questions/examples	The exams are a little harder than in class/assignments, memorizing is not enough you actually have to understand the theory You have access to all of the past midterms and finals so that is useful	Take this before you take MATH 437 -- MATH 437 rehashes a lot of this material in more details Take this at the same time as MATH 326: Non-linear Dynamics & Chaos Assignemnts: 4 @ % TBD ea. Midterm: % TBD Paper: % TBD Final: % TBD
BMDE 519: Biomedical Signals & Systems Syllabus: TBD	You learn a lot about using MATLAB, and the fundamental tools used in signal analysis (either a pro or a con depending on if this interests you) No other course will ever teach you to manage your time like this one (also either a pro or con depending on your outlook) Midterm and final are offered over a 2 week span (you can pick 72 consecutive hours during this period to write the exam)	Lectures don’t really prepare you for the assignment questions as well as they should The professor expects you to have significant knowledge before starting the class A LOT OF WORK (CANNOT EMPHASIZE THIS ENOUGH) You have exactly 72 hours to do a take-home midterm and final- must prepare very well for this (write a bunch of MATLAB functions to do shortcut analyses in preparation) Weekly assignments take 10h+	This course requires previous knowledge of MATLAB. Either take PHGY 425 (an actual intro to MATLAB) in your 3rd year, or spend some time in the summer before your 4th year learning the basics Learn how to build functions in MATLAB before doing an assignment. Often the assignments are repetitive involving using the same analysis technique for 10 signals. Save the analysis technique as a function then run each signal through it. Try to get ahead on the first week’s assignment so you have two weeks to do subsequent ones Weekly Assignments: % TBD Midterm: % TBD Final: % TBD
MATH 326: Non-linear Dynamics & Chaos Syllabus: TBD	The most interesting PHGY/MATH course you’ll take	Some computational stuff about approximating dynamical systems Learn this before the first quiz because it’s tested repeatedly even tho it’s only 1 or 2 lectures	2x In-class Quizzes: % TBD Midterm: % TBD Final: % TBD
MATH 437: Mathematical Methods in Biology Syllabus: TBD	Super interesting class Dr. Khadra is extremely engaging and excited about this topic You will never fall asleep in class No midterm The paper/presentation project is really cool-- you pick a paper of mathematical biology of your choice to analyze and have fun with Covers different mathematical models within two main biological streams: immunology and neuroscience Basically a continuation of MATH 326 applied to life sciences You mostly learn about how to use systems of ODEs to represent physiological systems	3 assignments throughout the term (a month to do each) but are REALLY long XPPAUTO (required program used for time series and bifurcation analysis) is no friend to strangers	Assignments: 3 @ 10% ea. TBD
PHYS 519: Advanced Biophysics Syllabus: TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD

Interdepartmental Honours Program in Immunology (IHI)

Features: Interdepartmental Honors Immunology (IHI) is a joint program between the departments of Physiology, Biochemistry, and Microbiology and Immunology that aims to give students intensive training in the field of Immunology through the lens of these three diverse yet connected fields. Immunology is at the forefront of research and plays a major role in understanding many diseases. As such, this program is great for students interested in pursuing a career in either research or medicine.

IHI is a demanding 75-credit program that may make perusing a minor challenging. Students are provided with core training in the basic sciences, with 48 required credits spanning Cell and Molecular Biology, Microbiology and Immunology, Biochemistry, and Physiology. The remaining 27 complementary credits allow freedom for students to specialize in Immunology and related disciplines. Student are also exposed to research techniques and seminar style classes, allowing them to be immersed in academic research in their undergraduate years. In the final year of the program, students carry out a year-long research project under the supervision of a Professor of their choosing.

To graduate from IHI, students must have a minimum CGPA of 3.30 and pass five Immunology courses (MIMM 214, MIMM 314, MIMM 414, PHGY 419D1 and D2, PHGY 513, or one of BIOC 503, MIMM 509, PHGY 531) with a minimum grade of B.

Be aware that, while students are not admitted to the program until their U2 year, there are still U1 required courses. Students interested in pursuing IHI should speak with their departmental advisor prior to the start of the second semester in their U1 year. IHI applications are typically due in the second semester of your U1 year. The application involves a short personal statement as well as submission of your transcript. You will likely hear back about acceptances in mid to late June.

If you have any questions about the program and would like to speak with a current student do not hesitate to contact the PULS 2021-2022 IHI representative, Daphne Jin.

Course Listing: Interdepartmental Honours Immunology