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Physics and Philosophy with a Year Abroad

Entry requirements


A level

A,A,B

Please note that A-level General Studies, Critical Thinking, Thinking Skills and Global Perspectives are not accepted by King's as one of your A levels. AAB including A in both Mathematics and Physics. NOTE: If you are taking linear A levels in England, you will be required to pass the practical endorsement in all science subjects.

Access to HE Diploma

D:33,M:12,P:0

Access to Science Diploma (or similar subject). This must include substantial focus at Level 3 (with Distinction) on both Mathematics and Physics.

Cambridge International Pre-U Certificate - Principal

D3,D3,M2

Please note that Global Perspectives is not accepted by King’s as one of your Pre-U Principal subjects. Combinations of Pre-U principal subjects and other qualifications (such as A-levels) will be considered. Three Pre-U Principal subjects at D3 D3 M2 including D3 in both Mathematics and Physics.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

35

Including 6,6,5 at Higher Level with HL6 in both Mathematics and Physics. The total point score of 35 includes TOK/EE. Note: IB students studying the new Maths curriculum would be required to study Analysis and Approaches at Higher Level to meet the subject requirement for this programme

Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)

H1,H2,H2,H2,H2,H2

Must include Higher Mathematics and Physics.

Please see our online prospectus for further details on our BTEC entry requirements.

Scottish Advanced Higher

A,B

Must be combined with three Scottish Highers. We do not count the Higher and Advanced Higher in the same subject. Must include Advanced Higher Mathematics and Physics.

Scottish Higher

A,B,B

Must be a combination of three Scottish Highers and two Scottish Advanced Highers. We do not count the Higher and Advanced Higher in the same subject.

UCAS Tariff

87-136

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course


Course option

4years

Full-time with time abroad | 2024

Subjects

Philosophy

Physics

Through our Physics & Philosophy with a Year Abroad BSc you will investigate the fascinating connections between these two subjects, and augment your learning experience with a year at one of our partner institutions around the world. As well as enabling you to gain experience of a different culture and ways of teaching and thinking, this will give you an added advantage when looking for careers post-graduation.

Key benefits
- Award winning: six former staff and students in the Physics department have won Nobel Prizes.

- You’ll have access to our newly refurbished laboratory facilities, located in the heart of London.

- Research lies at the heart of our department, so you’ll be taught by internationally renowned scientists.

- The Philosophy Department is ranked 4th in the UK and 6th in Europe (QS World Rankings by Subject 2018).

- Study the skies using King’s own rooftop observatory and telescope.

Please see our online prospectus for further details on this programme: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/physics-and-philosophy-with-a-year-abroad-bsc

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

King's College London, University of London

Department:

Physics

Read full university profile

What students say


We've crunched the numbers to see if overall student satisfaction here is high, medium or low compared to students studying this subject(s) at other universities.

74%
Philosophy
63%
Physics

How do students rate their degree experience?

The stats below relate to the general subject area/s at this university, not this specific course. We show this where there isn’t enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Philosophy

Teaching and learning

83%
Staff make the subject interesting
88%
Staff are good at explaining things
81%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
59%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

75%
Library resources
79%
IT resources
86%
Course specific equipment and facilities
60%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

53%
UK students
47%
International students
45%
Male students
55%
Female students
94%
2:1 or above
10%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
A
A

Physics

Teaching and learning

67%
Staff make the subject interesting
69%
Staff are good at explaining things
74%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
56%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

79%
Library resources
77%
IT resources
86%
Course specific equipment and facilities
44%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

61%
UK students
39%
International students
66%
Male students
34%
Female students
69%
2:1 or above
15%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
A
A

After graduation


The stats in this section relate to the general subject area/s at this university – not this specific course. We show this where there isn't enough data about the course, or where this is the most detailed info available to us.

Philosophy

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£20,500
med
Average annual salary
89%
low
Employed or in further education
44%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

15%
Other elementary services occupations
11%
Teaching and educational professionals
11%
Business, research and administrative professionals

Although there aren't a lot of jobs around for professional philosophers, philosophy degrees are a relatively popular option, with more than 2,000 students graduating in a philosophy-related subject in 2015 - a little down on previous years, but still healthy. Nearly a quarter of philosophy graduates take a postgraduate qualification, and it's a relatively common subject at both Masters and doctorate level — so if you think academic life might be for you, think ahead about how you might fund further study. For those who go into work, philosophy grads tend to go into teaching, accountancy, consulting, journalism, PR, housing, marketing, human resources and the arts while a few go into the computer industry every year, where their logical training is highly rated.

Physics

What are graduates doing after six months?

This is what graduates told us they were doing (and earning), shortly after completing their course. We've crunched the numbers to show you if these immediate prospects are high, medium or low, compared to those studying this subject/s at other universities.

£26,000
med
Average annual salary
92%
low
Employed or in further education
64%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

32%
Teaching and educational professionals
17%
Business, research and administrative professionals
9%
Natural and social science professionals

Although the subject has seen a bit of resurgence in recent years, the UK is still felt to be short of physics graduates, and in particular physicists training as teachers. If you want a career in physics research — in all sorts of areas, from atmospheric physics to lasers - you'll probably need to take a doctorate, and so have a think about where you would like to do that and how you might fund it (the government funds many physics doctorates, so you might not find it as hard as you think). With that in mind, it's not surprising that just over a fifth of physics graduates go on to take doctorates when they finish their degree, and well over a third of physicists take some kind of postgraduate study in total. Physics is highly regarded and surprisingly versatile, which is why physics graduates who decide not to stay in education are more likely to go into well-paid jobs in the finance industry than they are to go into science. The demand and versatility of physics degrees goes to explain why they're amongst the best-paid science graduates.

What about your long term prospects?

Looking further ahead, below is a rough guide for what graduates went on to earn.

Philosophy

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£21k

£21k

£30k

£30k

£36k

£36k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Physics

The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.

£28k

£28k

£34k

£34k

£43k

£43k

Note: this data only looks at employees (and not those who are self-employed or also studying) and covers a broad sample of graduates and the various paths they've taken, which might not always be a direct result of their degree.

Explore these similar courses...

Higher entry requirements
University of Nottingham | Nottingham
Physics and Philosophy
BSc (Hons) 3 Years Full-time with time abroad 2024
UCAS Points: 152-159
Lower entry requirements
University of York | York
Physics with Philosophy (with a year abroad)
BSc (Hons) 4 Years Full-time with time abroad 2024
UCAS Points: 54-136
Nearby University
Royal Holloway, University of London | Egham
Physics with Philosophy
BSc (Hons) 3 Years Full-time with time abroad 2024
UCAS Points: 136-168
Same University
King's College London, University of London | City of Westminster
Physics and Philosophy
BSc (Hons) 3 Years Full-time with time abroad 2024
UCAS Points: 93-136

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This information comes from the National Student Survey, an annual student survey of final-year students. You can use this to see how satisfied students studying this subject area at this university, are (not the individual course).

This is the percentage of final-year students at this university who were "definitely" or "mostly" satisfied with their course. We've analysed this figure against other universities so you can see whether this is high, medium or low.

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This information is from the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), for undergraduate students only.

You can use this to get an idea of who you might share a lecture with and how they progressed in this subject, here. It's also worth comparing typical A-level subjects and grades students achieved with the current course entry requirements; similarities or differences here could indicate how flexible (or not) a university might be.

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Post-six month graduation stats:

This is from the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Survey, based on responses from graduates who studied the same subject area here.

It offers a snapshot of what grads went on to do six months later, what they were earning on average, and whether they felt their degree helped them obtain a 'graduate role'. We calculate a mean rating to indicate if this is high, medium or low compared to other universities.

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Graduate field commentary:

The Higher Education Careers Services Unit have provided some further context for all graduates in this subject area, including details that numbers alone might not show

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The Longitudinal Educational Outcomes dataset combines HRMC earnings data with student records from the Higher Education Statistics Agency.

While there are lots of factors at play when it comes to your future earnings, use this as a rough timeline of what graduates in this subject area were earning on average one, three and five years later. Can you see a steady increase in salary, or did grads need some experience under their belt before seeing a nice bump up in their pay packet?

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