Course summary

On our Physics with Astrophysics (BSc) degree, you will join one of our two astrophysics groups. You will be mentored by, and work on projects with, astrophysicists. This course is accredited by the Institute of Physics. Astrophysics has a special flavour. With the arrival of space-based instrumentation and gravitational wave detection, some of the most exciting discoveries in your lifetime are likely to come in astrophysics. We can't conduct experiments on stars or galaxies as they're too far away and too big. Instead, we need to piece together explanations of what we see. This involves understanding the fundamental physics - mechanics, quantum theory, relativity, thermodynamics - and trying to work out what they imply for exoplanets, galaxies, stars, and the Universe as a whole. The course covers the principles of physics and their application to explain astrophysical phenomena. In your first year, you will study the classification of astrophysical objects and how we observe them. During the second year, you will study the solar system and stars in some detail. In the third and fourth years, you can study a range of topics including cosmology, exoplanets, the physics of compact objects (black holes, neutron stars, and white dwarfs), general relativity, and our Sun. You will be mentored by, and work on projects with, astrophysicists.