PHYS 524 Classical Electrodynamics, Winter 2026

Lecture

Tuesday, Thursday 14:00 - 15:20 (2026-01-05 - 2026-04-10)
Room L1-047
Office hours: tba
Course syllabus will be posted on Canvas.
Classical electrodynamics is one of the pillars of modern physics. This core graduate course will give a complete and self-contained overview of the subject, introducing concepts and techniques that are relevant to all areas of physics research. Starting with the four Maxwell equations, it will cover the basic static and dynamic problems in electromagnetism, gauge invariance, electromagnetism in matter, and relativistic aspects of electrodynamics.
Complete lecture notes will be available online here.

The material covered in the course is discussed in numerous excellent books. I encourage students to browse the University of Alberta online library and find the ones they like best. The lectures will follow my lecture notes and as such are independent of any specific textbook. An all-time classic that I recommend for this course is
- Jackson - Classical Electrodynamics, 3rd edition.
This book is a complete and pedagogical exposure of the subject.

Lecture Tuesday, Thursday 14:00 - 15:20 (2026-01-05 - 2026-04-10) Room L1-047 Office hours: tba Course syllabus will be posted on Canvas. Classical electrodynamics is one of the pillars of modern physics. This core graduate course will give a complete and self-contained overview of the subject, introducing concepts and techniques that are relevant to all areas of physics research. Starting with the four Maxwell equations, it will cover the basic static and dynamic problems in electromagnetism, gauge invariance, electromagnetism in matter, and relativistic aspects of electrodynamics. Complete lecture notes will be available online here.
Literature The material covered in the course is discussed in numerous excellent books. I encourage students to browse the University of Alberta online library and find the ones they like best. The lectures will follow my lecture notes and as such are independent of any specific textbook. An all-time classic that I recommend for this course is Jackson - Classical Electrodynamics, 3rd edition. This book is a complete and pedagogical exposure of the subject.
Assignments Assignments will be posted on Canvas.