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Physics

Entry requirements


A level

A,B,B

Overall: ABB We do not include General Studies or Critical Thinking in our offers. Required Subjects: Mathematics and Physics. Applicants taking the Science Practical Endorsement are required to pass.

Access to HE Diploma

D:30,M:15

Overall: QAA-recognised Access to Higher Education Diploma with 30 Level 3 Credits at Distinction and 15 Level 3 Credits at Merit. Required Subjects: Modules must be in relevant subjects.

GCSE/National 4/National 5

GCSE English Language at Grade C(4) and Mathematics at Grade C(4).

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

33

Overall: 33 Required Subjects: HL5/SL6 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)

DDD

Overall: DDD BTEC Extended Diploma and A level Mathematics grade B. Required Subjects: BTEC must be in a relevant subject. Also A level Mathematics grade B.

Scottish Advanced Higher

A,B,B

Overall: ABB Required Subjects: Mathematics and Physics. GCSE or Equivalent: English Language: Scottish National 5 - C Mathematics: Scottish National 5 - C

Scottish Higher

A,A,B,B,B

Overall: AABBB Required Subjects: Mathematics and Physics. GCSE or Equivalent: English Language: Scottish National 5 - C Mathematics: Scottish National 5 - C

Overall: ABB 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 and Physics. GCSE or Equivalent: Completion of GCSE English and Mathematics equivalents within the Advanced Skills Challenge Certificate.

UCAS Tariff

128-152

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

About this course


Course option

3years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Physics

**Why choose this course**
Home to superb research facilities and partnered with the National Physical Laboratory, Surrey offers distinctive physics courses that are among the best in the UK and reflect the diversity and exciting nature of the subject.

Our BSc and MPhys offer you a flexible choice of modules across many different topics, covering both theoretical and applied areas of physics. Our teaching builds on the broad range of expertise among our acclaimed academics.

Two unique aspects of both courses are:

-Our award-winning Professional Training placements:
--Within the BSc, the option to take a paid Professional Training placement in industry gives you invaluable hands-on experience to enhance your employability
--On our MPhys, you’ll take a year-long, masters-level integrated research placement. This can be in one of our world-leading research groups or at one of our international partner institutions

-Our focus on undergraduate research and innovation:
--All undergraduates have the opportunity to apply for paid 8-10 week summer research placements in our research groups and those of our South East Physics Network partners
--We offer in-house ‘research and innovation’ and ‘enterprise’ grants that students can apply for to fund a research placement, attend a conference or develop a new business idea.

**What you will study**
On our BSc and MPhys, you’ll study core topics, such as particle, nuclear and atomic physics, and optional modules. During your first year, you can switch between most of our specialist physics courses.

The option to take an integrated research year or Professional Training placement also gives you invaluable hands-on experience to enhance your employability.

Formal lectures are complemented with work in our specialist radiation laboratories, which have recently been refurbished and enlarged at a cost of a £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 MPhys. An MPhys is a direct route to a masters qualification and includes an integrated research year. This allows you to develop your skills in an academic or industrial arena, before returning for your final masters-level modules.

Depending on your progress, you may have the option to switch to a BSc or MPhys during your studies.

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.

The Uni


Course location:

Stag Hill

Department:

FEPS - Department of 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.

68%
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

71%
Staff make the subject interesting
87%
Staff are good at explaining things
79%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
74%
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
84%
IT resources
82%
Course specific equipment and facilities
61%
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
77%
Male students
23%
Female students
78%
2:1 or above
9%
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.

£24,500
med
Average annual salary
99%
high
Employed or in further education
75%
med
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

23%
Information technology and telecommunications professionals
15%
Business, finance and related associate professionals
6%
Sales assistants and retail cashiers

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.

£24k

£24k

£30k

£30k

£31k

£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?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here