U2 REQUIRED COURSES
Here you will find a list of required physiology courses that should be taken in your second year.
| Courses | Pros | Cons | Evaluations |
|---|---|---|---|
| PHGY 311: Channels and Synapses (should be taken fall) | Very math calculation heavy, therefore there is less overall memorization. | Final exam questions combine concepts across multiple topics, so you must have a very good understanding of WHY you would do step X and when to use equation Y | Midterm 1 – 30% Midterm 2 – 30% Final – 40% |
| PHGY 312: Respiratory, Renal & Cardiovascular Physiology (should be taken winter) | Interesting content covering cardio, resp, and renal. Super applicable to the human body. Builds very nicely off of PHGY 209/210. Class tests help you keep up with the content. Presentations are graded fairly and provide a good opportunity to learn how to read academic papers in depth. Presentations are done in small groups. Lectures are recorded! | Class tests and finals have type B multiple choice questions. It can be hard to figure out if it’s the first time you’re doing type B MCQ. High volume of content and difficult/in-depth content. The final is cumulative and has pretty in-depth questions. The slides contain a lot of graphs/figures that are initially hard to understand. | Class test 1 – 16% Class test 2 – 16% Oral Presentation – 20% Final exam – 48% |
| PHGY 313: Blood, Gastrointestinal & Immune System Physiology (should be taken winter) | Lectures are recorded! The blood section is very straightforwarded. The oral exams are a really cool way to discuss an article. You also get to annotate the article as much as you want. The content is overall pretty interesting. The content also builds well on PHGY 209/210. Dr. Mandl has really organized slides and presents her material well. | The final is all long answer and you have to answer all the questions. You need to have a strong understanding of the material. The final exam is cumulative. There is no “proper” midterm, so it’s hard to ensure you keep up with all the material. The infographic is an extremely time-consuming project. You also will have to pay for biorender. Oral exams are quite competitive. Groups + papers are randomly selected, and you compete for your mark | Infographic – 25% In-Class Concept Test – 5% Oral Examination – 30% Final – 40% |
| PHGY 314: Integrative Neuroscience (should be taken fall) | If you love neuro and how the brain works this class is for you Covers important neuro circuits in-depth Covers neuro research techniques | Very content and memorization heavy Exams are all only MCQ (Type A + B) with little make-up opportunity | Midterm – 40% Final – 60% |
| BIOL 301: Cell and Molecular Laboratory (can be taken fall or winter) | The content is really straightforward. Easy to do well in the course with effort. TAs are very fair graders. TAs are very present to help you throughout the lab. They also are available to help you with your reports. No final exam. You can leave the lab throughout the lab block because there are long waiting times. | Really long labs that are all mandatory every week. Must study for a weekly quiz from a long lab manual and lecture slides. Time consuming course because the labs are super long. | |
| BIOC 311: Metabolic Biochemistry (should be taken fall) | Organized pretty well per section Includes metabolic diseases which are fun Very applicable in upper level courses | Memorization heavy Exam questions are tricky; ALL marks are deducted if even just one part of your short answer is not fully accurate | Online tests – extra 5% of GRADE Midterm 1 – 30% Midterm 2 – 30% Final – 40% |
| ANAT 261: Intro to Dynamic Histology (should be taken fall) | Cadaver lab is super cool and a unique experience. No attendance marks for labs, you don’t have to go if you don’t want to. The labs are helpful for the lab final though. Profs slides are super well done and engaging. | Very content dense but some of it is a repeat from PHGY 209/210. Lots of memorization. The content is not super difficult, it’s just a lot of volume. The exams are very detail specific. | Midterm – 25% 3x Quizzes – 10% total (3.33% each) Final Lab exam – 25% Final exam – 35 % Completion marks – 5% (For completing the lab quizzes) |
| ANAT 261: Intro to Dynamic Histology * (should be taken fall) | Very applicable in upper level classes Not too difficult | You’re just looking at pictures Labs every week with mandatory quiz component | Written Assignment – 10% Lab Participation – 5% Lab Quizzes – 5% Final – 60% Final Lab Exam – 20% |
| ANAT 316: Clinical Human Visceral Anatomy * (should be taken winter) |
* You are only required to take one of these classes
Access our syllabus repository: Here!
PULS U2 Representatives
Haley Del Farra and Samantha Dong
Contact the PULS U2 Reps for any questions concerning NTCs, U2 courses and even for any PHGY events!
NTCs
Here you will find a link to our Note Taking Club’s class notes. PULS hires student writers to take detailed lecture notes as well as student editors to edit those custom notes. You will need to provide your McGill email and student ID to receive access! If you experience any difficulties, feel free to message our Instagram account @pulsmcgill.
