Scientific Computing

During the last decade Scientific Computing has gradually developed into a field of its own, distinct from traditional experimental and theoretical developments, and the application of computers and computational techniques to significant scientific problems is becoming an indispensable component of many disciplines ranging from social to natural sciences and engineering.

The UWO Graduate Program in Scientific Computing aims to provide students from different disciplines with solid hands-on knowledge of how different computational techniques can be used in, for example, physical, biological and social sciences. The program consists of course work and research on the fundamental principles and techniques in computation in order for the students to be able to carry out computationally intensive work in their own field. The emphasis of the program is on the development of state-of-the-art methods and the application of these methods to real-world scientific problems. Examples include the development of algorithms, application of symbolic methods, high-performance computing, parallelization, data analysis and visualization.

This is a collaborative program in Computational Science offered jointly by a group of departments in the Faculties of Science and Medicine in order to train graduate students, at both the MSc and PhD level, in the application of computational science to their own discipline. 

Participating Programs

• Astronomy
• Biochemistry
• Chemistry
• Geophysics
• Applied Mathematics
• Statistics

• Scientific computing seminars
• Thesis

Core courses

• Scientific Computing 9502 a/b (Solutions of PDEs and SDEs on Parallel Computers)
• Applied Mathematics 9620 (Finite Element Methods)
• Applied Mathematics 9566 (Numerical Solutions of Partial Differential Equations)
• Astronomy 9605 a/b (Computational Astrophysics)
• Statistics Science SS9864a (Statistical Computing)
• Chemistry CHEM9444a (Computer Simulations in Chemistry)

Requirements 

• Students interested in this program should

1. apply first directly to the department of their main discipline. For example, students with primary interest in graduate work in chemistry should apply for admission to the Department of Chemistry andstate their interest in the GPSC.
2. The home department will then share the application with the Director of the GPSC and a joint decision will be made concerning the applicant's admissability.

• Current enrolment in a participating graduate program at Western University.
• Permission of home department supervisor to participate in the Collaborative Program.
• Supervisor must be an associated faculty member or be willing to become associated with the Program.
• TOEFL Internet 86/120 (no individual score below 20), TOEFL Computer 213, TOEFL Paper 550
• IELTS 6.5/9 overall with no individual score less than 6.0 for consideration of direct entry.