Mathematics and Physics
Entry requirements
A level
Overall: AAA We do not include General Studies or Critical Thinking in our offers. Required Subjects: Mathematics grade A and Physics. Applicants taking the Science Practical Endorsement are required to pass.
Access to HE Diploma
Overall: QAA-recognised Access to Higher Education Diploma with 45 Level 3 credits overall, including 45 at Distinction and A level Mathematics grade A. Required Subjects: Modules must be in relevant subjects. Also A level Mathematics grade A.
GCSE/National 4/National 5
GCSE English Language at Grade C(4) and Mathematics at Grade C(4).
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
Overall: 35 Required Subjects: HL6 in Mathematics (Analysis and approaches at HL/SL or Applications and interpretation at HL) and Physics GCSE or Equivalent: English, HL4/SL4 (including MYP). Maths, HL4/SL4 (including MYP). Maths Studies, SL4.
Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)
Overall: D*DD in the BTEC Extended Diploma and A level Mathematics grade A. Required Subjects: BTEC must be in a relevant subject. Also A level Mathematics grade A.
Scottish Advanced Higher
Overall: AAA Required Subjects: Mathematics grade A and Physics. GCSE or Equivalent: English Language: Scottish National 5 - C Mathematics: Scottish National 5 - C
Scottish Higher
Overall: AAAAB Required Subjects: Mathematics grade A and Physics. GCSE or Equivalent: English Language: Scottish National 5 - C Mathematics: Scottish National 5 - C
Overall: Pass overall with AAA from a combination of the Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate and two A levels. Applicants taking the Science Practical Endorsement are required to pass. Required Subjects: A level Mathematics grade A and A level Physics. GCSE or Equivalent: Completion of GCSE English and Mathematics equivalents within the Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate.
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
**Why choose this course**
If you have a passion for understanding the universe and a love of mathematics, our mathematics and physics courses could be perfect for you.
Taught jointly by the two departments, our BSc, MMath and MPhys give you a deeper understanding of mathematics and explore how it’s applied to solve physics problems. Whether you think of it as applied mathematics or theoretical physics, this joint programme gives you the best of both worlds.
Two unique aspects of these courses are:
-Our award-winning Professional Training placements:
--As part of our BSc, you can take a paid placement in a research laboratory or company, gaining valuable industry-relevant experience. On our MPhys or MMath, you can take a research placement in Year 4 in one of our world-leading research groups.
-Our focus on undergraduate research and innovation:
--You can apply for paid summer research placements with our research groups and those of our South East Physics Network partners. We offer in-house grants that students can apply for to fund a research placement, attend a conference, or develop a new business idea.
**What you will study**
These courses explore core topics across both subjects, including linear algebra, quantum physics, differential equations and particle physics.
You’ll also get to choose from a range of fascinating optional modules – such as fluid dynamics, nuclear astrophysics, Galois theory and general relativity – and take an extended project, enabling you to tailor the course to suit your own interests.
Your final research project will be carried out under the supervision of an academic who’s a leading researcher in the field. The outcomes of the project could even lead to a publication in a peer-reviewed scientific journal.
Formal lectures are complemented with work in our specialist radiation laboratories, which have recently been refurbished and enlarged at a cost £2.7m. As an undergraduate student you’ll use these labs to undertake experiments related to the Nuclear and Particle Physics module.
You can apply to study for either a BSc or an MMath or MPhys. The latter two are direct routes to a masters qualification. If you study toward one of the integrated masters, you’ll spend part of your last year doing a research project in either physics or mathematics.
Modules
To see the full range of modules for this course please visit our website – the link is under the Course contact details. You will also find full details of the programme, including programme structure, assessment methods, contact hours and Graduate prospects.
Extra funding
The University of Surrey offers a range of scholarships and bursaries to support our students, please visit https://www.surrey.ac.uk/fees-and-funding/scholarships-and-bursaries for more details.
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.
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.
Mathematics
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
Physics
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
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.
Mathematics
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.
Top job areas of graduates
Want to feel needed? This is one of the most flexible degrees of all and with so much of modern work being based on data, there are options everywhere for maths graduates. With all that training in handling figures, it's hardly surprising that a lot of maths graduates go into well-paid jobs in the IT or finance industries, and last year, a maths graduate in London could expect a very respectable average starting salary of £27k. And we're always short of teachers in maths, so that is an excellent option for anyone wanting to help the next generation. And if you want a research job, you'll want a doctorate — and a really good maths doctorate will get you all sorts of interest from academia and finance — and might secure some of the highest salaries going for new leavers from university.
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.
Top job areas of graduates
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.
Mathematics
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£27k
£34k
£44k
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.
£24k
£30k
£31k
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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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):
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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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