Faculty of Science

About Faculty of Science

The Faculty of Science at the University of Sherbrooke is a higher education and research institution located in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. Established in 1954 alongside the founding of the main university, the faculty operates primarily on the Main Campus (Campus principal) in the Mont-Bellevue borough of Sherbrooke. As an integral academic component of the University of Sherbrooke, a public French-language institution, the faculty adheres to provincial educational standards regulated by the Ministry of Higher Education of Quebec. It provides undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral level training across various scientific disciplines, serving a student body composed of domestic and international scholars.

Academic offerings at the Faculty of Science are organized into five primary departments: Biology, Chemistry, Computer Science, Mathematics, and Physics. Through these departments, the institution grants Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.), Master of Science (M.Sc.), and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees, alongside specialized graduate diplomas and certificates. Undergraduate programs cover fundamental fields such as molecular biology, ecology, biochemistry, medicinal chemistry, computer science, software engineering, financial mathematics, and quantum physics. The faculty is widely recognized for integrating cooperative education (co-op) into its undergraduate curricula, allowing students to alternate academic terms with paid professional work placements in industry, government, and research organizations.

Facilities supporting the Faculty of Science are distributed across multiple dedicated buildings on the Sherbrooke campus. These structures house specialized teaching laboratories, advanced research facilities, computer labs, and lecture halls equipped for multimedia instruction. Key infrastructure includes the Interdisciplinary Institute for Technological Innovation (3IT) and facilities tied to the Quantum Institute (Institut quantique), which provide access to cleanrooms, high-performance computing clusters, and specialized synthesis equipment. Students and researchers also utilize the broader university infrastructure, including the Science and Engineering Library, which provides access to physical collections, digital databases, and collaborative study spaces.

The scientific research enterprise at the faculty focuses on several core areas, with notable academic strengths in quantum information science, organic and materials chemistry, environmental biology, and applied data science. Research activities are supported by federal and provincial funding agencies, including the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Fonds de recherche du Québec – Nature et technologies (FRQNT). The faculty hosts several Canada Research Chairs and institutional research centers that foster interdisciplinary collaboration between physicists, chemists, mathematicians, and computer scientists, particularly in the development of quantum technologies and sustainable chemical processes.

Degree programs offered by the Faculty of Science align with regional and national educational frameworks. Specific professional tracks, such as computer science and chemistry programs, meet the educational requirements established by relevant professional bodies, including the Canadian Society for Chemistry and provincial computer science associations. The faculty maintains partnerships with external research networks, industrial partners, and international academic institutions to support student exchanges, joint research initiatives, and technology transfer, contributing to the broader academic and economic environment of the Estrie region of Quebec.