PHYS 490Special Topics in Physics
- Units
- 0.50
- Faculty
- Science
- Subject
- Physics
When it runs
- F24
- W25
- S25
- F25
- W26
- S26
- F26
- W27
- S27
Ran in 5 of the last 7 terms. Winter 2027: scheduled, 2 lecture sections. Spring 2027: schedule not out yet.
A lecture course offered in a particular branch of physics, subject to availability of instructor.
Prerequisites
Antirequisites
None listed.
Leads to
No course lists it as a requisite.
Fall 2026 sections
| Section | Class | Enrolled | Meets |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 001 | 7406 | 18 / 40 | MW 16:00–17:20 |
| TUT 101 | 8412 | 18 / 40 | Th 14:30–16:20 |
Winter 2027 sections
| Section | Class | Enrolled | Meets |
|---|---|---|---|
| LEC 001 | 7031 | 0 / 40 | TTh 16:00–17:20 |
| LEC 701 | 2628 | 22 / 9999 | Online or by arrangement |
Reviewed on UW Flow
100% liked it88% easy88% useful
From 5 ratings and 2 comments on UW Flow. The most helpful comments, quoted as written, without names. Read them all on UW Flow.
Took Intro to Biophysics as Special Topics with Dr. Brenda Lee. Of course, Brenda is an amazing professor, and the course was very useful indeed. We learnt a lot from the course, but the real useful stuff was the research grant proposal that we drafted as the final project. Very informative as to what truly goes into making a good proposal, from topic selection down to layout.
Aug 2026 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
took as biophys with brenda, cool topics and great term project
Nov 2025 · liked itOn UW FlowRemove this
Discussed on r/uwaterloo
5 posts and comments in 4 threads mention PHYS 490, October 2017 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.
Spring 2024
Has anyone taken Phys490? 1 point, 0 comments
u/Content_Barracuda_14: “uwflow also cannot find relevant content...”
Fall 2020
Phys490 3 points, 8 comments
u/Paul_A_M_Dirac1: “Are you talking about the machine learning one? I'm interested in taking that too next term. I don't believe its been offered before. The quantum information and foundations has been offered before.”
u/cabbagemeister: “Phys490 is special topics in physics. Next term the topics are: - quantum theory 3 (quantum info) - machine learning Quantum theory 3 was offered last year and is really good, machine learning looks good too”
Winter 2018
AMATH/PHYS/PMATH courses with no final exam, or that are project/assignment oriented? 2 points, 4 comments
u/maractite: “… winter You could also probably look into the special topics/readings courses (AMATH 495 or PHYS 490), or the research projects (PHYS 437A and 437B), though I've never taken any of them so can't give any thoughts on the content.”
Fall 2017
Any way to disable UWCourseLinker from posting? 16 points, 26 comments
“posting a reply to my comment I find the bot annoying.”
u/Jackhofmann: “PSYCH 483 PSYCH 484 PSYCH 485 PSYCH 486 PSYCH 490R PSYCH 499A PSYCH 499B PSYCH 499C PSYCH 621 PSYCH 630 PSYCH 677A PSYCH 704A PSYCH 704B PSYCH 707 PSYCH 710 PSYCH 714 PSYCH 717 PSYCH 720A PSYCH 721A …”
u/Jackhofmann: “… 434 PHYS 437A PHYS 437B PHYS 442 PHYS 454 PHYS 460A PHYS 460B PHYS 461 PHYS 474 PHYS 475 PHYS 490 PHYS 491 PHYS 601 PHYS 602 PHYS 603 PHYS 604 PHYS 605 PHYS 611 PHYS 701 PHYS 704 PHYS 709 PHYS 767 PHYS 768 PHYS 771 PHYS 777 PHYS 781 PHYS 786 PHYS 788 PLAN 100 PLAN 102 PLAN 104 …”
Check it elsewhere for Fall 2026
- Undergraduate Calendar, 2026–27The official entry
- Requirements for Fall 2026Waterloo’s requisite checker
- Schedule of Classes, Fall 2026Instructors, rooms, live seats
- Quest Class SearchWhere you enrol
- Course outlinesSyllabi from past terms (UW login)
- UW FlowStudent ratings and reviews
- WClassesPast sections back to 2004, and who taught them