Message from the Chair

Welcome to the Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences (CPS) at the University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM).  CPS was formed in 2003 through amalgamation of four previously separate departments: specifically Chemistry, Physics, Earth Sciences and Astronomy.  Since amalgamation, enrolments in CPS courses and programs have grown tremendously, mirroring the doubling in size of the student body at UTM over the same period. The department is presently home to 19 full-time faculty, including award winning researchers and educators.  Over 1/4 of the faculty have been hired in the last five years, the result of a recruitment and renewal drive that continues to this day.

We offer 4 year undergraduate B.Sc. programs in our core disciplines of chemistry, physics, earth sciences and astronomy, most available at either the specialist, major, or minor levels.  In addition, we offer biological chemistry and biophysics specialist programs, reflecting the distinctly biological research interests of many CPS faculty.  Opportunities for interdisciplinary studies abound in the form of interdisciplinary programs unique to UTM, while for students interested in a career in teaching, we offer the Concurrent Teacher Education Program (CTEP) / Science - Chemistry and Mathematics, in partnership with the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE/UT).

Exposing undergraduates to the experience of conducting cutting-edge scientific research is a keystone of science education philosophy at UofT.  CPS provides an abundance of Research Opportunity (ROP) and senior research thesis courses in which undergraduates conduct independent scientific research under the supervision of an individual CPS faculty researcher.

Students in CPS enjoy access to the wealth of research and teaching facilities available at UTM.  Highlights include a new multi-million dollar suite of high field NMR spectrometers, the newly-completed $34 million dollar UTM Library, and the recently-added state-of-the-art Recreation and Wellness Centre (RAWC).  Construction of a new UTM Medical Academy  and a new multi-theater Instructional Centre is well underway.

As well as undergraduate degree programs, CPS faculty supervise M.Sc. and Ph.D. graduate students enrolled in graduate degree programs administered by the cognate UT departments and spanning the three UT campuses (University of Toronto Mississauga, St. George, University of Toronto Scarborough), so that all receive the identical UT graduate degree upon graduation.

To find out more about the Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences at the University of Toronto Mississauga please explore this website, or contact us directly at:

Main number: 905-569-4968
Fax number: 905-569-4929
Mailing Address: 3359 Mississauga Road North, Mississauga, Ontario, L5L 1C6
E-mail:  pm.macdonald@utoronto.ca

Peter M. Macdonald
Professor and Chair
Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences University of Toronto Mississauga