Physics and Philosophy with a Year Abroad
Entry requirements
A level
Please note that A-level General Studies, Critical Thinking, Thinking Skills and Global Perspectives are not accepted by King's as one of your A levels. AAB including A in both Mathematics and Physics. NOTE: If you are taking linear A levels in England, you will be required to pass the practical endorsement in all science subjects.
Access to HE Diploma
Access to Science Diploma (or similar subject). This must include substantial focus at Level 3 (with Distinction) on both Mathematics and Physics.
Cambridge International Pre-U Certificate - Principal
Please note that Global Perspectives is not accepted by King’s as one of your Pre-U Principal subjects. Combinations of Pre-U principal subjects and other qualifications (such as A-levels) will be considered. Three Pre-U Principal subjects at D3 D3 M2 including D3 in both Mathematics and Physics.
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
Including 6,6,5 at Higher Level with HL6 in both Mathematics and Physics. The total point score of 35 includes TOK/EE. Note: IB students studying the new Maths curriculum would be required to study Analysis and Approaches at Higher Level to meet the subject requirement for this programme
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
Must include Higher Mathematics and Physics.
Please see our online prospectus for further details on our BTEC entry requirements.
Scottish Advanced Higher
Must be combined with three Scottish Highers. We do not count the Higher and Advanced Higher in the same subject. Must include Advanced Higher Mathematics and Physics.
Scottish Higher
Must be a combination of three Scottish Highers and two Scottish Advanced Highers. We do not count the Higher and Advanced Higher in the same subject.
UCAS Tariff
We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.
About this course
Through our Physics & Philosophy with a Year Abroad BSc you will investigate the fascinating connections between these two subjects, and augment your learning experience with a year at one of our partner institutions around the world. As well as enabling you to gain experience of a different culture and ways of teaching and thinking, this will give you an added advantage when looking for careers post-graduation.
Key benefits
- Award winning: six former staff and students in the Physics department have won Nobel Prizes.
- You’ll have access to our newly refurbished laboratory facilities, located in the heart of London.
- Research lies at the heart of our department, so you’ll be taught by internationally renowned scientists.
- The Philosophy Department is ranked 4th in the UK and 6th in Europe (QS World Rankings by Subject 2018).
- Study the skies using King’s own rooftop observatory and telescope.
Please see our online prospectus for further details on this programme: https://www.kcl.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/courses/physics-and-philosophy-with-a-year-abroad-bsc
Tuition fees
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The Uni
King's College London, University of London
Physics
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.
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.
Philosophy
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
Physics
Teaching and learning
Assessment and feedback
Resources and organisation
Student voice
Who studies this subject and how do they get on?
Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)
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.
Philosophy
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.
Top job areas of graduates
Although there aren't a lot of jobs around for professional philosophers, philosophy degrees are a relatively popular option, with more than 2,000 students graduating in a philosophy-related subject in 2015 - a little down on previous years, but still healthy. Nearly a quarter of philosophy graduates take a postgraduate qualification, and it's a relatively common subject at both Masters and doctorate level — so if you think academic life might be for you, think ahead about how you might fund further study. For those who go into work, philosophy grads tend to go into teaching, accountancy, consulting, journalism, PR, housing, marketing, human resources and the arts while a few go into the computer industry every year, where their logical training is highly rated.
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.
Top job areas of graduates
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.
Philosophy
The graph shows median earnings of graduates who achieved a degree in this subject area one, three and five years after graduating from here.
£21k
£30k
£36k
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.
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.
£28k
£34k
£43k
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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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?
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