Path Integral and functional methods in quantum field theory

Path integral method is an important formal development in quantum mechanics. The first half of the course should be useful for any student of quantum mechanics, providing deeper insights into the theory. The second half of the course discusses path integral method in its functional form applied to space-time fields and brings out connection of quantised fields to elementary particles.
Quantum theory is increasingly a part of many practical developments, from materials science and nanotechnology to quantum computation. Deeper insights and exposure to novel computational approaches in it will be of use to a wide audience. Specifically within theories of elementary particles, a grasp of this method is a stepping stone to more advanced topics such as String Theory.