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Physics with Integrated Foundation Year

Entry requirements


A level

C,C,C

Required subjects: Mathematics, plus a Pass in the practical element of any Science A-levels being taken

GCSE/National 4/National 5

We require at least five GCSEs at grade A*-C or 9 - 4 including English and Mathematics.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

25

Including grade 4 in both Higher Level Maths

Pearson BTEC Diploma (QCF)

DM

Plus grades C in A-Level Maths

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

DM

Plus grades CC in A-Level Maths

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate (first teaching from September 2016)

M

Plus grades CC in A-Level Physics and Maths

Scottish Higher

C,C,C,C,C

Including CC in Maths and Physics

Requirements are as for A-levels where one non-subject-specified A-level can be replaced by the same grade in the Welsh Baccalaureate- Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate

UCAS Tariff

96-105

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

About this course


Course option

4years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Physics

Our Integrated Foundation Year will take you through a carefully-designed programme to help you to progress confidently onto your undergraduate degree.

Engineering, Physical, Computational and Mathematical sciences underpin modern technological society and can help us provide answers to fundamental questions. Graduates with these degrees are highly sought after by employers. The (Physics/Electronic Engineering/Computer Science/Mathematics) Foundation Year provides progressive structures in which you are able to gain knowledge and understanding of approaches to scientific study and your chosen degree subject. 

All Foundation Year students take ‘Global Perspectives’, then four subject-based courses provide familiarity with Mathematics and computation – the language of modern science and technology, and key for success in science, technology and engineering.

Once you have completed your Foundation year, you progress onto the full degree programme, MSci Physics.

Our students often say their enthusiasm to study Physics stems from wanting to learn more about the Higgs particle, dark matter, nanotechnology or just a wide-ranging curiosity about how things really work. Whatever your reasons, our Physics department aims to inform and excite you in the study of Physics, the most fundamental of the sciences.

As one of the most respected centres for Physics teaching and research in the UK, you will join a vibrant environment, where you can pursue your studies and plan your future career.

On our four-year MSci course, we’ll cover the core material that a graduate physicist would be expected to know, including quantum mechanics, electromagnetism, statistical physics and thermodynamics, Einstein’s relativistic physics and the study of the fundamental structure of matter and the universe.  You’ll also develop the mathematical, experimental and conceptual knowledge and skills to a more advanced level.

Your fourth year is intercollegiate, which means you can pick choices from other University of London colleges – modules can include Quantum Computation, Nanoscale Physics and others. You’ll also develop experimental, conceptual and observational skills from your final year Major Project, which will make you an attractive candidate in a range of sectors, including management and finance, as well as scientific, technical, engineering and teaching careers. 

We’re based at the heart of the campus, where you’ll have access to laboratories, technical help, academic staff and, on the roof of the department, our astronomical dome. In Egham Surrey, we’re well away from the light pollution of the big city so our telescopes can give you the best observational astronomy in the University of London. Beyond the specialist equipment, we also have video-conferencing facilities that allow people to take part in seminars and lectures at other institutions. 

- Research is expanding in new and exciting directions, plus strategic partnerships such as CERN and the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), SNOLAB and with industry, and there are impressive research facilities in the Physics labs with dedicated technical help.

- We put a real emphasis on small group teaching – a close-knit, friendly and supportive environment with high staff-student ratio and an open door policy.

- We enjoy a strong track record of high student satisfaction in the annual National Student Survey.

- We’ve been awarded IOP Juno Champion and Athena SWAN silver awards for best practice in equality, promoting women in science and welcoming large cohorts of female students

- This course is fully accredited by the Institute of Physics (IOP)

Tuition fees

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

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£26,500
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Republic of Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

Royal Holloway, 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.

79%
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.

Physics

Teaching and learning

80%
Staff make the subject interesting
79%
Staff are good at explaining things
86%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
80%
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

77%
Library resources
75%
IT resources
79%
Course specific equipment and facilities
59%
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?

91%
UK students
9%
International students
68%
Male students
32%
Female students
79%
2:1 or above
20%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
B
B

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.

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.

£25,000
med
Average annual salary
100%
high
Employed or in further education
50%
low
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

24%
Information technology and telecommunications professionals
9%
Business, finance and related associate professionals
7%
Business, research and administrative 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.

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.

£32k

£32k

£28k

£28k

£41k

£41k

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.

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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?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here