As a physicist, you are driven by curiosity about the universe, you are a problem solver and you have imagination. You might decide to become a professional scientist, but physics opens other doors too. Your skills will be valued by a wide range of employers in areas such as journalism, law, IT, education and finance.

Factfile

Degrees

 Degree Programmes

Degrees

 Degree Programmes

 Our Degrees

Our Physics degree programmes reflect the huge diversity of modern physics, with modules ranging from General Relativity to Medical Imaging to Spacecraft Dynamics. We prize our flexibility, which allows you to switch between any of the specialist Physics degrees during your first year and even change between some programmes as late as the second year. A particularly attractive aspect of these modular programmes is that you can select options in all years to complement the core subjects. 

In addition to our excellent taught modules, the unique research year within our MPhys programmes and the professional training year on our BSc programmes allow you to do a full 12 months of salaried work in a world-leading research laboratory or top company, either in the UK or abroad. As an integral part of your degree you are paid to apply the physics you have learnt, and to acquire new physics knowledge and skills as you work or perform research. 

Many universities offer the chance of a ‘sandwich’ year, but the University of Surrey knows more about it than most. We have been placing students with companies for more than 40 years. Placement employers are often so impressed with the student’s performance that they offer them a permanent job when the student graduates.

MPhys/BSc Physics

Traditional physics programmes study atoms and black holes, but at the University of Surrey we do so much more than this. We try to understand all aspects of the natural world, including how our bodies work.

Our programmes are designed to be varied and flexible. Providing a thorough grounding in the basics of the subject, our modular structure allows you to select optional modules of interest.

Our Surrey MPhys programmes will interest you if you are considering a career in research. Explore the discipline to a greater depth with additional core modules including problem solving and a research year.

The BSc programme allows you to take a professional training year option, after Level 2. Opportunities range from research to engineering or computing, with placements in small and large organisations, national laboratories, hospitals and government agencies.

MPhys/BSc Physics with Nuclear Astrophysics

Almost everything you see when you look up into the night sky is the result of nuclear reactions. Nuclear astrophysics plays a vital role in helping us to understand the cosmos.

The special blend of physics taught as Physics with Nuclear Astrophysics reflects the outstanding nuclear physics research we undertake at Surrey. With the largest research group of its kind in the UK, our specialised resources include the Surrey ion beam particle accelerator.

Covering core physics principles, the programme also explores our current knowledge of the physical origins of the universe, the sun and its planets. It also includes detection and measurement in astronomy, and experimental nuclear physics. 

In the final year, your modules cover the life cycle of a star, general relativity and cosmology. You will understand just what Einstein meant by curved space-time and learn about cosmological models of the Big Bang and the expansion of the universe.

MPhys/BSc Physics with Satellite Technology

In today’s rapidly changing world, the range of satellite applications is huge, encompassing weather monitoring, communications, space exploration, in-orbit technology demonstrations, earth observation and remote sensing – even reading home gas meters! At the forefront of this technological revolution is the Surrey Space Centre, which is the only academic centre in the UK to design and build micro-satellites.

Physics with Satellite Technology is ideal for you if you enjoy physics and have an interest in space technology. You will learn what satellites do, how they communicate and how they are designed and controlled. Many of these specialist topics are taught by staff at the Surrey Space Centre. These same people have built satellites that are orbiting above us right now.

You will be well placed to pursue careers in the space, telecommunications and semiconductor industries. Satellites are a growth area with approximately 6500 people employed in the UK space sector. One of the fastest growing areas within the sector is that of micro-satellites, which is our speciality at Surrey.

MPhys/BSc Physics with Finance

Financial institutions (banks, consultancy firms, financial regulatory bodies) are employing more and more people with a rigorous training in physics. Understanding the stock market is just like doing a physics experiment - the flow of money through the economy is like the flow of electric current. This specialist understanding means that physicists are in demand as the so-called ‘rocket scientists in the City’.

In addition to the Physics core modules, academics from the School of Management teach modules in Accounting, Finance and Business Control, while experts within the Department of Physics will teach you about financial derivatives. As you progress through the degree, you will see that the way physicists use mathematics to solve physics problems can be applied to problems in quantitative finance.

MPhys/BSc Mathematics and Physics

Our new joint programme in Mathematics and Physics will appeal to students who wish to continue studying both subjects to degree level by combining the rigour of formal mathematics with its application to a wide range of situations in physics. The aim of the programme is to educate such students to both sufficient breadth and depth that they would be able to continue on to PhD study in either theoretical physics or applied mathematics, or gain employment in a numerate or technical field, such as would be available to existing straight Physics or Mathematics graduates. As it is a joint degree, it also provides a route to gaining either an MPhys or MMaths degree.

The course contains a selection of core material across both Mathematics and Physics, including Calculus, Quantum Physics, Linear Algebra and Particle Physics, along with a wide-ranging choice of optional modules across both disciplines. Options include areas such as Fluid Dynamics, Space science, Galois Theory and General Relativity. Masters and Bachelors degrees both involve extended projects, which can be taken in more mathematical or physical subjects, according to your interests.

Unique MPhys Research Year

During the research year, you will be paid as a research assistant in a UK national laboratory, an overseas or industrial laboratory, or work in a University research group here at Surrey.

The research year provides superb training for those aiming for careers as researchers. Most students produce results that will go on to be published in the world’s top scientific journals and will gain experience of international conferences.

Previous placements include CERN, TRIUMF (Vancouver), the Institute of Cancer Research, Yale University, LogicaCMG, the Mullard Space Centre, the University of Notre Dame (Indiana, USA), the University of Texas at Dallas, Florida State University, GSI-Darmstadt (Germany), the Nuclear Department at HMS Sultan and Rutherford Appleton Laboratory.

No other UK university can offer the range and quality of MPhys research placements we can. The close links between our world-class physics research groups and international colleagues means that we can place you in a known environment with a high level of support from the University.

A lecturer from the Department of Physics will visit you in your placement laboratory three times in the year to talk to you, your supervisor and monitor progress.

Other degrees you may be interested in:

Computing
Electronic Engineering
Mathematics
Space Technology and Planetary Exploration

Programme

 Programme Overview

Our BSc programmes are three-year programmes with an optional and highly recommended professional training year between Levels 2 and 3. Professional training allows you to experience a year in industry or research, before returning to Surrey for your final year.

Corresponding BSc and MPhys programmes share the same modules at Level 1 and 2. This gives you the flexibility to transfer between the BSc and MPhys up until the end of your second year.

Level 1 gives you the core physics and mathematics you need plus a choice of one of the modules from any of our specialist Physics programmes. You will get to grips with the fundamental principles of physics and be introduced to modern physics from quantum mechanics to relativity. Building on these principles, you will explore the breadth of the world of physics, looking at atoms, star formation, cosmology, the Schrödinger equation, and even measure the speed of light. You will also be introduced to the theories developed to deal with physical processes beyond the normal speeds and sizes of everyday life. See our world through Schrödinger’s eyes.

In Level 2, up to four of the modules studied are a result of your choice of option. You will continue to expand your understanding of and experience with both classical and modern physical theories and concepts. In addition, you will be able to choose the areas you want to specialise in and tailor your degree pathway to suit your interests. 

Taking a professional training year can add real value to your experience and will allow you to make your theoretical understanding come alive in the world outside university. This experience will be important not only when you graduate but will also help you get the most from the final year of your undergraduate degree. If you decide not to do the professional training year, you proceed directly to Level 3 to complete your taught modules and graduate in your third year.

Level 3 will see you specialise in your chosen field and deliver your final-year project. Through your work on your final-year project, you will develop your scientific writing skills as well as your communication and presentation style. BSc students undertake an extended research project in their final semester and can currently choose up to six optional modules.

Our MPhys programmes are four-year programmes with an integrated research year that is unique in the UK. MPhys students undertake a problem-solving module and choose up to five optional modules.The range of modules available may vary from year to year, but your freedom to choose which options to study remains our priority. The unique research year begins after you have completed half of your Level 3 taught modules, at the end of the Autumn semester.

 Programme Structure

Professional Training

If you are studying a BSc programme, you will discuss your particular interests and abilities with your personal tutor and the professional training tutor during Level 2.

The Department looks closely at your CV and helps you with all aspects of applying to potential employers. Every October, a professional training conference allows the previous year’s students to tell you about their experience first hand. The Department will help you to apply to companies in our extensive database.

Over the years we have placed our students with many companies and laboratories. Here is just a small selection: BAE Systems, BT, HMS Sultan, INAF – Osservatorio Astronomico di Roma, Instituto de Carboquimica (Spain), Jaguar Cars, the National Physical Laboratory, the National Radiological Protection Board, Royal Surrey County Hospital, the Science Museum and Southampton Oceanography Centre.

Why Surrey?

 Key reasons to study Physics 2012 at Surrey

• The unique MPhys research year allows you to work with the world’s top scientists
• Flexible and varied degree programmes with specialist programmes covering Nuclear Astrophysics, Satellite Technology and Finance
• Superb experimental facilities for student projects
• More than half of research rated internationally excellent or world-leading by the latest Research Assessment Exercise
• Our students have won the National Student of the Year Award twice in the past six years
• BSc programmes offer a salaried professional training year to further enhance your employability

Careers

 Top for Jobs

 Career Opportunities

Physicists are highly sought after in industry, research, education, management, medicine, law and business because of their broad practical skills and knowledge of fundamental theory. Our degrees will provide you with the analytical, experimental and computational skills valued in a wide range of career opportunities.

Many of our graduates, particularly those with an MPhys degree, go on to postgraduate degrees in order to become researchers. Other graduates have launched careers with multinational companies (such as Shell International Petroleum, 3M, GEC Marconi Research, Nokia and BT), with public bodies (such as the National Physical Laboratory, the BBC, the NHS and the Defence Research Agency), and small enterprises (such as Surrey Medical Imaging Systems and private consultancies). Starting salaries are in the region of £20,000 per annum. 

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Teaching

Facilities

Assessment