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Chemical Physics

Entry requirements


A level

A*,A,A-A,A,B

Standard offer: A*AA including Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics (see also Additional requirements below). Contextual offer: AAB including Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics in any order (see also Additional requirements below). Please visit: bristol.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/entry-requirements-qualifications/contextual-offers/ for more information about contextual offers.

Access to HE Diploma

D:30,M:15

Access to HE Diploma in Science (or similar titles). The 45 graded Level 3 credits must include: at least 30 credits at Distinction and 15 at Merit or above; and at least 30 credits at Distinction from specified units in Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics (including algebra, calculus and trigonometry). Plus successful completion of a University of Bristol test and interview (or AAB at A-Level or equivalent in any order in Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics). Mature students are welcome to contact [email protected] to check the suitability of their Access course.

Requirements for principal subjects are as for A-level, where D1/ D2 is A*, D3 is A, M1/ M2 is B and M3 is C.

International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme

34-38

Standard offer: 38 points overall with 18 at Higher Level, including 6, 6, 6 at Higher Level in Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics (either Analysis and Approaches or Applications and Interpretations). See also Additional requirements below. Contextual offer: 34 points overall with 17 at Higher Level, including 6, 6, 5 (in any order) at Higher Level in Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics (either Analysis and Approaches or Applications and Interpretations). See also Additional requirements below. Please visit: bristol.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/entry-requirements-qualifications/contextual-offers/ for more information about contextual offers.

Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma (first teaching from September 2016)

D*DD

D*DD in either BTEC Engineering with Distinctions in four Physics units plus A at A-level in Mathematics and Chemistry OR BTEC Applied Science Extended Diploma with Distinctions in five required Chemistry units plus A at A-level in Mathematics and Physics.

Scottish Advanced Higher

A,A

Advanced Higher: AA in two of Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics.

Scottish Higher

A,A,A,A,A

Standard Higher: AAAAA including the science not taken for Advanced Higher (see also Additional requirements below).

UCAS Tariff

112-165

We've calculated how many Ucas points you'll need for this course.

About this course


Course option

4years

Full-time | 2024

Subject

Chemical physics

Join a University ranked #1 in the UK for Chemistry research and in the UK top five for Physics research (THE analysis of REF 2021) with an excellent reputation for teaching and learning.

This four-year MSci course is for those considering scientific careers that will make direct use of their subject-specific knowledge and skills. The first and second years of this course are identical to MSci Chemical Physics but during year three you will spend 12 months on a placement as a paid employee in a company.

You will focus on areas at the interface between chemistry and physics, with limited treatment of organic chemistry and more physical and non-synthetic inorganic chemistry. Similarly, there is very little nuclear and particle physics after your first year but an emphasis on materials science and nanoscience.

As well as lectures and practical classes, small-group tutorials and workshops help develop your understanding of challenging and exciting concepts. Practical labs in both chemistry and physics help develop experimental techniques, computational modelling, and programming skills needed in the final year for conducting a research project with a research team.

Tuition fees

Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:

Channel Islands
£9,250
per year
England
£9,250
per year
EU
£29,300
per year
International
£29,300
per year
Northern Ireland
£9,250
per year
Scotland
£9,250
per year
Wales
£9,250
per year

The Uni


Course location:

University of Bristol

Department:

Physics

Read full university profile

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.

76%
Chemical physics

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.

Physics

Teaching and learning

82%
Staff make the subject interesting
86%
Staff are good at explaining things
82%
Ideas and concepts are explored in-depth
73%
Opportunities to apply what I've learned

Assessment and feedback

Feedback on work has been timely
Feedback on work has been helpful
Staff are contactable when needed
Good advice available when making study choices

Resources and organisation

78%
Library resources
83%
IT resources
86%
Course specific equipment and facilities
57%
Course is well organised and has run smoothly

Student voice

Staff value students' opinions
Feel part of a community on my course

Who studies this subject and how do they get on?

92%
UK students
8%
International students
59%
Male students
41%
Female students
80%
2:1 or above
10%
First year drop out rate

Most popular A-Levels studied (and grade achieved)

A
A
A

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.

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.

£26,000
med
Average annual salary
92%
low
Employed or in further education
81%
high
Employed in a role where degree was essential or beneficial

Top job areas of graduates

23%
Information technology and telecommunications professionals
14%
Business, finance and related associate professionals
9%
Teaching and educational professionals

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.

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.

£27k

£27k

£34k

£34k

£38k

£38k

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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Lower entry requirements
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This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Course location and department:

This is what the university has told Ucas about the course. Use it to get a quick idea about what makes it unique compared to similar courses, elsewhere.

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Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF):

We've received this information from the Department for Education, via Ucas. This is how the university as a whole has been rated for its quality of teaching: gold silver or bronze. Note, not all universities have taken part in the TEF.

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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?

Have a question about this info? Learn more here