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University of Nottingham

UCAS Code: F3F5 | Bachelor of Science (with Honours) - BSc (Hons)

Entry requirements

A level

A,A,A

Including Mathematics and Physics plus one other academic subject at A level, or equivalent, excluding General Studies, Critical Thinking and Citizenship Studies. A pass in the practical element is required for this qualification if assessed separately.

Contact the school directly – considered on an individual basis, when combined with A Level Mathematics

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

34

including Higher Level 6 in Physics and Higher Level 6 in Mathematics Analysis and Approaches. Alternatively, 6,6,6 from 3 Higher Level certificates including Higher Level Physics and Mathematics Analysis and Approaches.

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

DD

This qualification is only acceptable when combined with A level grades AA including Maths and Physics. A pass in the practical element is required for this qualification if assessed separately.

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

D

This qualification is only acceptable when combined with A level grades AA in Maths and Physics in any order. A pass in the practical element is required for this qualification if assessed separately.

Contact the school directly – considered on an individual basis.

Scottish Higher

A,A,A,B,B

This qualification is only acceptable when combined with Advanced Higher grades AA including Maths and Physics.

Welsh Baccalaureate - Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate (first teaching September 2015)

A

This qualification is only acceptable when combined with A level grades AA including Maths and Physics. A pass in the practical element is required for this qualification if assessed separately.

UCAS Tariff

144-153

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

About this course

Course option

3years

Full-time | 2025

Subjects

Physics

Astronomy

**About Physics at the University of Nottingham**

We have a proud history of learning and innovation. Research undertaken within the School of Physics and Astronomy, by Professor Sir Peter Mansfield, was recognised with a 2003 Nobel Prize for the invention of Magnetic Resonance Imaging body scanners. This technology has already helped more than half a billion people worldwide. More recently, our use of quantum technologies to understand how the brain works is changing the way that neurological conditions are detected and treated.

Our research activities cover cutting-edge topics ranging from probing quantum mechanics at ultralow temperatures to understanding the largest structures in the Universe.

Our courses offer a wide range of optional modules, so you can explore new areas of physics and specialise in the ones that interest you the most. You can study topics as diverse as cosmology, nanoscience, and medical imaging and learn from experts in those fields. What’s more, there is flexibility to transfer between most physics courses after the first year.

Some of our teaching staff share their love of physics with budding scientists worldwide through the popular Sixty Symbols YouTube channel. Our unique, student centred MSci course offers innovative teaching methods, with few to no exams in the final year.

We encourage students to share their fascination with physics with the wider community through our outreach programme. This programme can help you further develop skills such as organisation, communication and team working. We also have an active student society, PhysSoc, which organises social events throughout the year. Our mentoring scheme gives new starters the opportunity to connect with more experienced physics students, helping you settle into university life.

**Physics with Astrophysics BSc**

Tailored modules such as Cosmology and Extreme Astrophysics will give you a specialist understanding of astronomy. Conduct astronomical research by gathering data from our rooftop facilities and telescopes. Project work may involve analysing data from international facilities such as the Hubble Space Telescope or supercomputing cosmological simulations.

Modules

The first year will teach you the core elements of physics. Here you will be taught the key mathematical and computational skills for your degree. The Frontiers in Physics module will introduce you to astronomy.

In the second year, you will continue to build up your core physics knowledge with the same core modules as MSci Physics. Specialist astronomy modules, The Structure of Stars and The Structure of Galaxies, will replace two of the options.

The final year adopts the same core physics as BSc Physics. Two of the modules are replaced with Extreme Astrophysics and Cosmology. This still leaves plenty of flexibility for you to choose other optional modules such as theoretical particle physics. You will also work on a year-long astronomical research project.

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
£28,600
per year
International
£28,600
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni

Course location:

University Park Campus

Department:

School of Physics and Astronomy

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
85%
Astronomy

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

79%
Staff make the subject interesting
93%
Staff are good at explaining things
85%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
71%
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

80%
Library resources
82%
IT resources
92%
Course specific equipment and facilities
66%
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?

95%
UK students
5%
International students
76%
Male students
24%
Female students
82%
2:1 or above
9%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
A
A

Astronomy

Teaching and learning

85%
Staff make the subject interesting
92%
Staff are good at explaining things
88%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
85%
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

85%
Library resources
92%
IT resources
92%
Course specific equipment and facilities
81%
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?

94%
UK students
6%
International students
77%
Male students
23%
Female students
83%
2:1 or above
9%
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.

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.

£26,565
high
Average annual salary
98%
high
Employed or in further education
84%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

33%
Information technology and telecommunications professionals
9%
Teaching and educational professionals
8%
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.

Astronomy

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.

£26,565
high
Average annual salary
98%
high
Employed or in further education

Top job areas of graduates

33%
Information technology and telecommunications professionals
9%
Teaching and educational professionals
8%
Business, research and administrative professionals

Not a lot of people study astronomy as a first degree, and if you want to be one of the small number of people who start work as an astronomer - often overseas - every year, you will need a doctorate — so at least a third of graduates go into further study. Astronomy graduates, however, are versatile, going into all parts of the jobs market - their good technical, data and maths skills taking them into IT and business especially. However, if you want to find out more specifically about the prospects for your chosen subject, it might be a good idea to go on open days and talk to tutors about what previous graduates from your chosen subject went on to do.

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.

£25k

£25k

£33k

£33k

£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.

Astronomy

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

£25k

£25k

£33k

£33k

£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.

Explore these similar courses...

This is what the university has told Ucas about the criteria they expect applicants to satisfy; some may be compulsory, others may be preferable.

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This is the percentage of applicants to this course who received an offer last year, through Ucas.

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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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.

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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

Have a question about this info? Learn more here

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