Component	Weight
Seminar Proposal	15%	Due: October 26, 2025. Brief 1-2 page (2-3 page for PHYS 7P91) introduction to the proposed topic. Topic should be RELATED to your thesis but SHOULD NOT be a presentation of your thesis research results. Topic should appeal to a general physics audience. Must include at least three references, at least two of which must be journal articles (five for PHYS 7P91 four of which should be journal articles). Submit electronically to course Brightspace site under the 'Assignments' tab.
Three Minute Proposal Presentation	10%	To be scheduled late November/early December. Three-minute Thesis style presentation of your seminar proposal. Rules are: A single, static slide is permitted (no slide transitions, animations or ‘movement’ of eg. text, the slide is to be presented from the beginning of the oration). Images used in the slide must be your own, open access, or you must have permission from the owner of the images(s) and provide proper credit(s). No additional electronic media (e.g. sound and video files) are permitted. No additional props (e.g. laser pointers, laboratory equipment) are permitted. No notes allowed. Presentations are to be from memory. Presentations are limited to 3 minutes maximum. After your presentation, submit your slide as a .pdf to course Brightspace site under the 'Assignments' tab.
Detailed Seminar Outline	20%	Due: January 18, 2026. Indicate what you will discuss in the Introduction, what sections you will include in the main body of the seminar, what are the conclusions. You may include figures, and graphs. Include citations as needed. Submit electronically to course Brightspace site under the 'Assignments' tab.
Seminar Abstract	10%	Due: March 1, 2026. Submit electronically to course Brightspace site under the 'Assignments' tab. Instructor will circulate it (PHYS 5P91 within the PHYS 4F90/5P91/7P91 group, PHYS 7P91 will be circulated to all members of the physics department). Must be a paragraph using proper English and provide at least one citation.
Seminar Presentation	25%	To be scheduled (late March/early April). Presentation should be geared towards a GENERAL AUDIENCE, not specialists in the subject area of the topic. PHYS 5P91 seminar should be 15-20 minutes in length, PHYS 7P91 seminar should be 40-45 minutes in length. PHYS 7P91 seminars will be open to all members (students/staff/faculty) of the physics department.
Seminar Slides	10%	To be submitted electronically to course Brightspace site under the 'Assignments' tab immediately following your presentation.
Attendance, Participation and Etiquette	10%	Attend all scheduled seminars including those by students in the course. Participate in question period following student seminars. Display proper seminar etiquette.

Academic misconduct is a serious offence. The principle of academic integrity, particularly of doing one’s own work, documenting properly (including use of quotation marks, appropriate paraphrasing and referencing/citation), collaborating appropriately, and avoiding misrepresentation, is a core principle in university study. Students should consult “Academic Integrity/Academic Misconduct” section in the Graduate Calendar to view a fuller description of prohibited actions, and the procedures and penalties. The University takes academic misconduct extremely seriously and will follow its strict procedures to the letter in all cases.

A helpful website explains Brock's Academic Integrity Policy. Please consult it, as all students are expected to know and abide by its provisions.

Courses may use phrase-matching software, to verify originality of your submitted work. If you object to uploading your assignments to the phrase matching software for any reason, please notify the instructor to discuss alternative submissions.

Be aware that it is the policy of the Department of Physics that any academic misconduct including (but not limited to) possessing, using or accessing unauthorized material in any form (including online) during final exams or assessments will automatically result in zero grade for the exam. Since most courses require a minimum passing grade on the final exam to complete the course, this will likely lead to a failure in the course.

Unless otherwise specified, the Department of Physics follows the following minimum penalty guidelines for cases of academic misconduct in the Faculty of Mathematics and Science (FMS). Please be aware that the Associate Dean, Research and Graduate Studies, may assign different penalties than those listed here, depending on the details of individual cases. Also note that cheating on exams carries significantly higher penalties.

First offence:

Zero grade on the assignment, additional penalty of 100% of the weight of the assignment to be subtracted from the final grade, mandatory completion of the AZLS Academic Integrity workshop

Second offence:

Zero grade on assignment, additional penalty of 200% of the weight of the assignment to be subtracted from the final grade, 4-month suspension

Third or additional offence:

Zero grade in the course, 1-year suspension, permanent removal from major program.

Cheating on exams:

Zero grade in the course, including for first offenses.

All slides, presentations, handouts, tests, exams, and other course materials created by the instructor in this course are the intellectual property of the instructor. A student who publicly posts or sells an instructor’s work, without the instructor’s express consent, may be charged with misconduct under Brock’s Academic Integrity Policy and/or Code of Conduct, and may also face adverse legal consequences for infringement of intellectual property rights.

In the age of GenAI (e.g., ChatGPT), our expectation of you remains the same as it ever was: original academic work, following the instructions of the assignment determined by the instructor for this course for requirements, expectations, and parameters for completion and submission of your work for grading. Therefore, the use of GenAI tools and GenAI-generated content is not allowed (unless explicitly requested/instructed) as a resource or source for answers and discussion in submitted work. Unauthorized use of GenAI will be treated as an academic misconduct.

You probably won’t find much use of GenAI in this course anyway, even when writing something like a lab report. Why? GenAI doesn’t know what you did in the lab. GenAI may know a lot about the overall idea you were studying, but not how you demonstrated it. In your lab reports, your answers and discussion need to relate to what you did and the data you took.

Please be aware of all the important dates, such as the first/last days of classes, snow days and reading week, as well as the deadline for withdrawal without academic penalty. For the current academic term, this information can be found here.

Unless the instructor announces otherwise, students are expected to attend all lectures, discussion groups, seminars, laboratory periods and examinations of the courses in which they are registered and must submit all assignments in order to pass this course.

The University is committed to fostering an inclusive and supportive environment for all students and will adhere to the Human Rights principles that ensure respect for dignity, individualized accommodation, inclusion and full participation. The University provides a wide range of resources to assist students, as follows:

1. If you require academic accommodation because of a disability or an ongoing health or mental health condition, please contact Student Accessibility Services at [email protected] or 905 688 5550 ext. 3240.
2. Medical Self-Declaration Forms (brief absence up to 72 hours)

   In the case of a short-term medical circumstance, if a student wishes to seek an academic consideration, please use the Medical Self-Declaration Form. The request is to be made in good faith by the student requesting the academic consideration due to a short-term condition that impacts their academic activities (e.g., participation in academic classes, delay in assignments, etc.). The period of this short-term medical condition for academic consideration must fall within a 72-hour (3 day) period. The form must be submitted to the instructor either during your brief absence or if you are too unwell, within 24 hours of the end of your 3 day brief absence.

   Medical Verification Form (extended duration)

   In cases where a student requests academic consideration due to a medical circumstance that exceeds 72 hours (three days) and will impact their academic activities (e.g., participation in academic classes, delay in assignments, etc.), or in the case of a final exam deferral, the medical verification form must be signed by the student and the health professional as per process set out in the Faculty Handbook III:9.4.1.

3. If you are experiencing mental health concerns, contact the Student Wellness and Accessibility Centre. Good2Talk is a service specifically for post-secondary students, available 24/7, 365 days a year, and provides anonymous assistance. Follow the above link or call 1-866-925-5454. For information on wellness, coping and resiliency, visit: Brock University (Mental Health).
4. If you require academic accommodation on religious grounds, you should make a formal, written request to your instructor(s) for alternative dates and/or means of satisfying requirements. Such requests should be made during the first two weeks of any given academic term, or as soon as possible after a need for accommodation is known to exist.
5. If you have been affected by sexual violence, the Human Rights & Equity Office offers support, information, reasonable accommodations, and resources through the Sexual Violence Support & Education Coordinator. For information on sexual violence, visit Brock's Sexual Assault and Harassment Policy or contact the Sexual Violence Support & Response Coordinator at [email protected] or 905 688 5550 ext. 4387.
6. If you have experienced discrimination or harassment on any of the above grounds, including racial, gender or other forms of discrimination, contact the Human Rights and Equity Office at [email protected].

For a full description of academic policies in the Faculty of Mathematics and Science, consult brocku.ca/mathematics-science/