Physics
Entry requirements
A level
Including Maths and Physics. Entry to Year 2 with A Levels in BBC including Maths and Physics
International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme
Must include Maths and Physics. For year 2 entry, 28 points including Maths and Physics
Leaving Certificate - Higher Level (Ireland) (first awarded in 2017)
Including Maths and Physics.
Pearson BTEC Extended Diploma (QCF)
Scottish Advanced Higher
For entry to Year 2, including Maths and Physics
Scottish HNC
Entry to Year 2 with a HNC in either Physics or Applied Sciences.
Scottish HND
Entry to Year 3 with a HND in either Physics or Applied Sciences.
Scottish Higher
Including Maths/Applications of Maths and Physics, OR BBBC including Maths at B and National 5 Physics at B.
T Level
UCAS Tariff
Including Maths and Physics.
About this course
**OVERVIEW**
The professionally-recognised BSc Physics degree will develop your understanding of the fundamentals of physics as a core science, and will build your knowledge and professional skills to prepare you for a career in any area of physics, including industrial applications and academic research.
UWS is a key member of Scottish Universities Physics Alliance (SUPA) which is a research alliance with the aim of placing Scotland at the forefront of international physics research. You can be assured that you will be taught by research-active academics who are specialists in their field.
In addition, you will also have the opportunity to undertake a 12-month paid placement with an industrial or scientific employer in the UK or abroad.
**PRACTICAL FOCUS**
In addition to work-based learning, the Honours sandwich degree also offers you the opportunity to complete a 12-month period of paid work experience with an industrial or scientific employer in the UK or abroad. In recent years students have undertaken placements with Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and CERN Accelerator in Switzerland.
**PROFESSIONAL RECOGNITION**
This course is accredited by the Institute of Physics (IOP). It partially meets the educational requirements for Chartered Physicist (CPhys). You can also apply to become a Registered Scientist (RSci) through the IoP upon completion of the course.
**CAREER PROSPECTS**
**Jobs**
There is high demand for physics graduates in industries including microelectronic telecommunications, optics, energy, teaching and research.
Physicists are also in demand in the public services, including in schools and hospitals, the civil service and research laboratories. UWS Physics BSc graduates have gone on to secure employment with major companies, including:
BAE Systems / Fujitsu / Motorola / Nikon
**Further Study**
Some graduates choose further study at MSc, MRes and PhD level. Others have went on to complete a Professional Graduate Diploma in Education (Secondary) to become a physics teacher at secondary school level.
Modules
In Year 1, five core modules are taught which include aspects of atomic physics, thermodynamics and mathematics. One optional module can be chosen from a range of science, engineering or computing-related modules.
In Year 2, you will study classical mechanics, special relativity, optics, electronics, oscillations and waves, properties of matter, and mathematical methods for physicists.
In Year 3, you will undertake core modules in electromagnetism, quantum mechanics, atomic and nuclear physics, thermodynamics and statistical physics. Two optional modules can be chosen from complex analysis, advanced optics, imaging and nuclear medicine.
Optional Sandwich year - you have the option to undertake a paid period of up to 12 months in industry or a relevant scientific research laboratory.
In Year 4 (or 5), advanced topics are covered including nuclear and particle physics, solid state physics, surface analysis and detectors, partial differential equations, and applications of nuclear physics. You will also undertake a research dissertation where your knowledge can be applied to an extended project.
Assessment methods
You will be taught through a combination of lectures, tutorials and workshops.
You will also have the opportunity to take part in group work and independent learning to develop your transferable skills such as research, presentation, communication and working as part of a team.
This degree is assessed using a variety of assessment methods including:
Written examinations / Coursework / Practical assessments
Tuition fees
Select where you currently live to see what you'll pay:
The Uni
Paisley Campus
Computing, Engineering and Physical Sciences
What students say
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
Sorry, no information to show
This is usually because there were too few respondents in the data we receive to be able to provide results about the subject at this university.
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.
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.
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
£28k
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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