Course summary

Develop the skills for a career in research, then put this into practice on your industrial placement. Previous students have completed placements in data science in the civil service and joined the Large Hadron Collider team at CERN. After your placement, you’ll join the theoretical physics research team here in Sheffield and run your own project. Answering complex questions in areas like quantum mechanics and applying your knowledge to a real-world challenge - this is where your research career begins. Taught across two departments, the Theoretical Physics with Industrial Placement Year MPhys from Sheffield puts an emphasis on the fundamental mathematics that has brought physicists ever closer to a ‘theory of everything’. As well as the foundation of essential physics given to all physics students, you’ll build a much more detailed understanding of mathematical concepts, thanks to lectures delivered by our colleagues in the School of Mathematics and Statistics. They’ll introduce you to calculus, geometry, differential equations, linear algebra, and mechanics and fluids, too. In practical classes, you’ll run experiments using the equipment in our modern laboratories to help you understand how important theories apply to the real world. In programming classes you can learn skills that are key to many graduate careers, from data science to computer game design. And because curiosity is what powers discovery, we’ll encourage you to dive into optional modules in topics like dark matter and mathematical biology. Year three is where you take what you’ve learned into the real world. Our students have worked on new particle accelerators and nuclear waste management at government laboratories. They’ve applied their analysis skills to data science jobs in the civil service, and joined the Large Hadron Collider team at CERN as part of their placement year. Finally, in your fifth year, you’ll mix optional modules with work on a major research project. You’ll choose a research topic in theoretical physics and work closely with a member of academic staff who is an expert in the area you want to explore. The project takes up around half of your final year and can lead to a publication in a scientific journal. Why study this course?

• No. 1 physics department in the UK - 100% of our research and impact was rated world-leading or internationally excellent by REF 2021.

• Research opportunities - physics students can access incredible research projects, including a summer research placement, work placements and field trips thanks to our links with organisations like CERN and the observatories on La Palma in the Canary Islands.

• The latest equipment - you’ll study in our newly refurbished teaching laboratories, and access loads of specialist technologies – including two telescopes on the roof of our building which you’ll be able to use from your first year.

• Graduate to a career - our graduates solve practical problems at major employers – they include data scientists at Channel 4 and Manchester United FC, researchers at CERN and the European Space Agency, and technology experts at IBM and Nissan.

• Student life - because you’ll be taught across two departments, you’ll have double the social life. In maths you’ll be able to join pizza socials, the SUMS society ball or football club, or attend film screenings. In physics you might choose to join the Sheffield Space Initiative, and design a Mars rover or launch a rocket.