This course will discuss various fundamental topics of modern atomic physics at the postgraduate level. The first part of the course focuses on atomic structures, the semi-classical theory of atom-light interactions and their application to the understanding of laser cooling and related topics. The second part is on atom-atom interactions at ultracold temperatures, including its application to evaporative cooling for reaching quantum degeneracy. An advanced topics section is also included to introduce the most recent developments in this field. Students should have undergraduate level Quantum Mechanics before taking this course.