Course summary

This course is a chance for you to build up skills and experience that you can apply to the final years of your degree and a career in physics research. Our students have had placements working on new particle accelerators and nuclear waste management at government laboratories, and on the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, before finishing their degree as part of a research team here in Sheffield. At the start of your course, you’ll cover the essential physics behind everything else you’ll study: heat, motion, electricity, magnetism and quantum mechanics.You’ll learn through lectures and practical labs so you won’t be learning about abstract topics in isolation. You’ll run experiments using the equipment in our modern laboratories to help you understand how important theories apply to the real world. You’ll explore essential physics in even more depth in the second year, and choose from options where you can learn how stars and galaxies are structured, how particles are detected or the physics of music. Programming classes will teach you skills that are valuable in many graduate careers, from data science to computer game design. Your third year will be your placement year. When you return to Sheffield for your fourth year, you can branch out into lots of different areas and complete your own research project in physics. Your core modules will cover topics like particle physics, nuclear physics and semiconductor technologies. Options include topics such as cosmology, mathematical physics and enterprise. A variety of optional modules are also available in your final year, when you’ll also be working on a major research project. You’ll choose a research topic in 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. Accredited by the Institute of Physics (IOP) for the purpose of fully meeting the educational requirement for Chartered Physicist.