uwloo

PHYS 449Special Topics in Computational Physics

Units
0.50
Faculty
Science
Subject
Physics

When it runs

  1. F24
  2. W25
  3. S25
  4. F25
  5. W26
  6. S26
  7. F26
  8. W27
  9. S27

Ran in 1 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: scheduled, 2 lecture sections. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.

The application of advanced computational methods to solve physics problems, model complex phenomena, and analyze large amounts of data. Other topics may include applications of machine learning techniques, GPU programming, and artificial intelligence.

Prerequisites

  • Must have completed the following:
    • PHYS349 - Advanced Computational Physics (0.50)

Antirequisites

None listed.

Leads to

No course lists it as a requisite.

Winter 2027 sections

Enrolment from UW Open Data, which can trail Quest by up to two days. Instructors and rooms: Schedule of Classes.
SectionClassEnrolledMeets
LEC 00174040 / 60TTh 10:00–11:20
LEC 70182649 / 9999Online or by arrangement

Reviewed on UW Flow

25% liked it4% easy71% useful

From 8 ratings and 6 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.

  • The actual teaching of this course is really bad and unorganised, the lectures are hard to follow and most of the steps in the proofs are skipped.

    Oct 2023 · didn’t like it · 3 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Taught by Pooya.
    Worst course I've ever taken in my 4 years at Waterloo. This course seemed very interesting and useful. However once you actually attend the class, all you do is hard math and statistics. If you take this class be prepared for statistics and only statistics. There is ZERO coding or python taught in class. In lectures only the math and theory behind machine learning is taught in a very poor manner that's hard to understand, especially if you are new to the concepts. The midterm (30% in my case) is on the math taught in class, not related to any coding.
    You are expected to learn how to write machine learning code yourself using chat GPT or Co-Pilot in order to complete…

    Nov 2023 · didn’t like it · 2 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • The theory learnt in class is very disconnected from the assignments. The prereq listed is far from enough for this course - make sure you know your linear alg very well and your partial derivatives very well. However, I would say although the course is rather disorganized and difficult, this course does provide some interesting views of ML in physics. Hopefully in the upcoming years it can be better!

    Nov 2022 · liked it · 2 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Machine learning is super powerful and interesting, but the actual teaching of this course was really bad.

    Feb 2023 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

  • Most of the content taught in class wasn't helpful at all for completing the assignments or projects. The course is still being developed and the prof tried to fix the scheduling in the latter half of the term but the class still had many issues. The prerequisites do not prepare you in any way for what you are expected to know in class and there are almost no instructions on the coding side of the assignments and projects which make up 90%. I hope to see the structure of this class improve since the content seems like it could be interesting if I didn't need to go and review the background material for the lecture after each class.

    Dec 2022 · didn’t like it · 1 found this helpfulOn UW FlowRemove this

Discussed on r/uwaterloo

16 posts and comments in 14 threads mention PHYS 449, November 2021 to December 2024. Quoted word for word, newest first; each reply sits under the post and the comment that started its branch. Search r/uwaterloo for newer posts.

Fall 2024

Spring 2024

Want to get ahead before fall 6 points, 8 comments

u/sin_cos_tan_: “I really want to get ahead in courses I’ll be taking this fall - EARTH 458 - PHYS 225 - PHYS 449 Any suggestions from anyone who’s taken these courses as to what I should brush up on right now to go into it a little more prepared? Can’t find any lecture material for these ones”

u/sheep_herder102: “Check here: https://outline.uwaterloo.ca/browse/ -- for previous course outlines. For Phys 449 this may be helpful: https://pooya-git.github.io/490.html”

u/eranand04: “💀”

View on RedditRemove this

Winter 2024

Best Intro to ML/AI course? 15 points, 14 comments

“After going through UWFlow, I found a shocking amount of Intro ML/AI courses like: CS 480: Introduction to Machine Learning CS 485: Statistical and Computational Foundations of Machine Learning CS …”

u/thehedgepart2: “I doubt that you are considering it, but for those who are, avoid PHYS449 like the plague.”

View on RedditRemove this

Fall 2023

I don’t know what to do with my degree 1 point, 14 comments

“I'm in my 2A term as a math student and my initial plans were to get into data science, but due to my average being lower than the cutoff that did not happen. …”

u/Organic_Midnight1999: “Bro a Math degree is underrated. As the world advances the problems we face just get harder and harder. We move towards more high level, abstract, and data driven problems - guess what? …”

u/Organic_Midnight1999: “… Get good at math and then take Phys 449 which is basically a bootleg CS ML course with physics applications. Plus it has no final exam and a final proj so u acc walk away with something to show unlike CS 480 which is midterm + final. …”

View on RedditRemove this

2 Courses over co-op good idea? 1 point, 8 comments

“Hey everyone, I'm a 2B Cs student thinking of taking MATH237 and STAT231 online (degree plan is BMATH CS). Heard STAT231 is brutal in person, would online be better? …”

u/Organic_Midnight1999: “I think u still have to write in person exams, and they r the same as the in person sections. U r basically just guaranteed recorded lectures. Math 237 was a pretty nice course. …”

u/Organic_Midnight1999: “PHYS 449 - I’m taking it this term. It’s a basically a bootleg CS course and it’s project based so u walk away with something nice for ur resume. It does have a midterm tho. Not sure about any other courses. …”

View on RedditRemove this

CS 485? 1 point, 2 comments

“I'm considering taking CS 485 - Statistical and Computation Foundations of Machine Learning. I'm interested in applied ML more so than theoretical ML, so I'm wary of how hard it will be. …”

u/atifmi: “… topic specific machine learning application can be found in PHYS 449, ECON 424 and GEOG 484. …”

View on RedditRemove this

Fall 2022

Spring 2022

What do you guys use your laptops for? 25 points, 32 comments

“I'm heading into ECE. I was wondering what everyone use their laptops for when it comes to school-related stuff. …”

u/void_nemesis: “The only two times I had to run relatively heavy loads on my personal computer were for PHYS 375 (Stars) and PHYS 449 (ML for Physics), and both times a low-tier gaming laptop was enough. …”

View on RedditRemove this

Question for Physics/ Physics and Astronomy 6 points, 6 comments

“Hello, new undergrad here. I accepted Physics and Astronomy and I was wondering what laptop people would recommend for that program? Thanks.”

u/void_nemesis: “… The only two times I've needed more than what a reasonably modern budget laptop could do was for PHYS 375 (Stars) and PHYS 449 (Machine Learning), but in both cases we had access to school resources. …”

View on RedditRemove this

Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026

Calendar versions

Undergraduate Calendar