Five reasons to study physics at Surrey

1. Fantastic placements and graduate outcomes

All Surrey physics students have the opportunity to undertake a year-long placement, either through a Professional Training placement as part of the BSc programmes, or an integrated Research Year as part of the MPhys programmes. This invaluable experience helps you develop sought-after skills, build professional networks and enhance your career prospects. In fact, 95% of our maths and physics graduates are in employment or further study within 15 months of graduating (Graduate Outcomes 2026, HESA).

Examples of our placement partners include:

• BAE Systems
• National Physical Laboratory (NPL)
• Airbus
• The NHS.

Our MPhys placements are research-focussed, with partners including:

• CERN (Switzerland)
• TRIUMF (Canada)
• The Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias (Tenerife)
• Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (UK).

Read about MPhys student Vadim Rusakov’s research year experience in Spain.

2. Holistic support network

We foster a happy, healthy and inclusive community with a balanced approach to student support. We work closely with specialist university services such as Disability and Neuroinclusion, the Centre for Wellbeing and the Maths & Statistics Advice team. It's no wonder Physics at Surrey is ranked 7th in the UK for overall student satisfaction* in the National Student Survey 2026.

Our friendly academics are always on hand to help with any concerns you may have, and we do everything we can to ensure all students feel safe, included and are able to thrive both socially and academically.

3. Study in state-of-the-art facilities

As a physics student at Surrey you’ll get to work in our recently refurbished undergraduate teaching labs and do your final year project in one of our high-tech research centres. We have a wealth of state-of-the-art facilities including:

• A student observatory - read more in our Astrophysics Research Group section
• £2.7m radiation laboratory
• Ion Beam Centre
• Quantum Biology Centre.

Take a 360 tour of our facilities.

4. Teaching inspired by research

From quantum biology to nuclear astrophysics, photonics to medical physics and nuclear physics, you’ll learn from scientists who are leading the way in their fields. Find out more and meet the team!

You can also broaden your horizons by choosing other modules such as STEM Education and Public Engagement, which gives you real-world experience of science communication, and Financial Methods and Quantum Optimisation.

5. Flexibility of module and course options

We offer a number of optional modules ranging from Quantum Computation to Explosive Stellar Phenomena, allowing you to tailor your degree to your specific interests. This flexibility also benefits those who are unsure which area of physics they are most interested in, as modules choices can be kept broad to begin with and then focussed on your particular interests as the programme progresses.

You may also have the possibility of switching programmes, i.e. from Physics with Astronomy to Physics with Nuclear Astrophysics.

Find out more and discover our courses in physics.