These handbooks describe the programmes of the 3 year BSc (F300) and the 4 year BScMPhys (F304) undergraduate degrees in Physics. They should be read in conjunction with the general information that is relevant to all courses based in the Physics Department. Any query concerning your degree course should be directed to your personal tutor, the relevant year head or the Director of Studies, Dr Robinson.

Introduction

The physics degree is designed as a broad and flexible education. The department offers the modules that a practising physicist would normally be expected to have studied, so that those who already have in mind a career in research or industrial physics are well catered for. At the same time the flexibility of the course allows the many students, who want a broader education, to combine the physics modules which interest them most with modules from other disciplines.

Aims

• To provide a stimulating and challenging education in physics
• To provide a learning environment which helps students to achieve their full academic potential
• To help students develop key intellectual and general transferable skills
• To leave students well-prepared for the next step in their professional lives

Objectives

• Have developed your appreciation and understanding of the fundamental principles of physics and of how these can be applied to explain and predict physical phenomena.
• Have obtained a working knowledge of basic mathematical techniques.
• Have developed your ability to carry out experimental investigations and to report the results appropriately.
• Have developed your analytical, problem-solving, self-study, communication and independent working skills. You will also have had opportunities provided by the University and Students' Union to develop organisational, modern language and other skills.
• Be able, with appropriate supervision, to undertake project work and to communicate the results clearly in writing.
• Have acquired basic skills in IT and have had the opportunity through your choice of options and other activities to develop these further.

If you graduate with an MPhys, you should also

• Be aware of some current research interests in physics.
• Have a good understanding of a broad range of topics in physics.
• Be prepared for postgraduate study in physics.

BSc or BScMPhys

There is a choice between a three year (BSc) and four year (BScMPhys) variant of the degree. The four year course was designed a number of years ago to bridge a gap which had developed between the traditional British three year degree and degrees awarded in other European countries which tend to last four or five years. The British three year degree is seen increasingly as part of a general rounded education, which should leave students numerate, articulate and employable. The four year degree should appeal most to those who wish to work as scientists in industry and those who are thinking of a career in research, i.e. the would-be "Professional Physicist".

The four year degree course covers the main areas of physics and its applications. As in the three year degree course, students can study a broad spectrum of modules. Opting for the four year degree allows students more time to explore the implications of what they have already learnt. This is the idea behind the project and group work in the third and fourth year.

Even though the two degree courses only diverge in the third year, you will have to decide provisionally which one you want to aim for by the last day of the third term of the first year. (The provisional decision must be made early to comply with the requirements of the local authorities, who will only guarantee support for the fourth year if students notify them before this date.) There is also a requirement that students wishing to take the BScMPhys degree perform well during their second year: a IIi classification and an aggregate mark in examined Physics modules of 60% earns automatic eligibility for progression to the 3rd year of the BScMPhys degree. Students not achieving these standards will progress to the 3rd year of the BSc degree.

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