Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Physics

at University of Bath United Kingdom

Develop a deep understanding of the fundamental principles of physics, expand your knowledge with flexible options and get involved in our high-level research.

This is our broadest physics degree and gives you the opportunity to explore a wide range of areas in physics, from the nanoscale to the most energetic processes in the Universe.

As well as gaining a deep knowledge and understanding of physics, you’ll graduate with strong experimental, mathematical and computational expertise. You’ll gain powerful problem-solving, analytical and critical thinking skills, preparing you for careers in physics and many other fields as well.

Placement Year

Going on placement gives you the opportunity to apply your skills and knowledge to a year working professionally. You’ll be employed full-time in a role to match your future career ambitions, broadening your experience and transferable skills. This could give you a competitive edge when applying for graduate jobs.

You can choose from a wide range of roles to match your interests, from working in marketing to a lab-based role at a research institute. We have links with some of the industry’s leading companies. Recent placement employers include BAE Systems, CERN, Dyson, Morgan Stanley, Rolls-Royce and Samsung.

Develop your understanding of business analytics and how it works internationally. You’ll graduate with the skills you need to start a career specialising in data and decision analysis.

This course is for graduates who want to pursue a career in business analytics.

How can companies use ‘big data’ to gain business insight? This course will teach you how to convert data into knowledge. Get hands-on practical experience using the latest business intelligence software and interpreting real data.

This course includes guest lectures from industry experts, and a unit co-delivered by a specialist from IBM.

Explore new and creative ways to tackle key social challenges. Learn theory and methods to understand, critically examine, and influence organisations.

This course will appeal if you want to combine an understanding of the social world from different perspectives with a rigorous analysis of policy responses to social problems. You will examine theory and techniques from sociology alongside the analytical focus of social policy.

You’ll explore areas such as health, welfare and poverty, race and discrimination, inequality and exclusion. You’ll be able to take a range of optional units on topics such as the sociology of death, lobbying, justice and conflict. By the end of the degree you’ll have an understanding of how social institutions develop, operate and how they might be improved.

Placement Year

The placement year will give you valuable practical experience and is an excellent opportunity to try different careers. It enables you to leave university with a strong CV and may set you apart from other graduates entering the job market. You can take placements in commercial, voluntary or government organisations, or in a research setting.

Gain a broad education in chemistry and business ready for careers in science or management.

This course allows you to combine your love of chemistry with an interest in how business works. You’ll gain a broad education in chemistry with an understanding of the theories of chemical behaviour and how they're applied. You'll also develop skills in experimental chemistry and in designing experiments to test hypothesis.

At least a quarter of the units you’ll study will be management topics, delivered by the School of Management. You’ll develop an understanding of the social, legal and economic implications of the decisions managers in industry are required to make.

Placement Year

Going on placement gives you the opportunity to apply your skills and knowledge to a year working in industry. You’ll be employed full-time in a role to match your future career ambitions, broadening your experience and transferable skills. This could give you a competitive edge when applying for graduate jobs.

We have links with some of the industry’s leading companies. Recent employers include GlaxoSmithKline, Syngenta, Deloitte and PwC.

Apply the full breadth of physics to a wide range of astrophysical phenomena from star formation to black hole growth and the expansion of the Universe.

Physics with Astrophysics at Bath will give you a strong grounding in physics, along with in-depth specialist knowledge of astrophysics. You’ll learn how to combine evidence from stellar and extragalactic astronomy to build consistent theoretical models of the evolution of galaxies.

Topics covered include exoplanets, galaxies, cosmology, stars and stellar evolution, general relativity and high energy astrophysics. There'll also be opportunities for you to carry out both observational and computational astrophysics projects alongside our astrophysics research group.

Develop a strong foundation in the theory and practice of data science, and learn specialist skills in statistics.

Data science is increasingly important to the global economy and is influencing scientific progress across numerous fields from bioscience, to energy and telecommunications. We'll provide you with the tools to become an industry expert with a strong mathematical foundation.

Who is this course for?

This course is designed for graduates who have limited experience of statistics and would like to develop their knowledge in this area. The first semester will give you general programming and machine learning development skills. The second semester is focused on statistics, and will give you the skills and knowledge to challenge real-world data using more advanced analytical techniques.

Become an innovative computing professional with the skills needed for a career in the fast-growing field of AI.

This course is for you if you’re keen to learn about current Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies, specialising in this field from the start of your degree whilst still gaining a broad grounding in computer science. AI is becoming an ever more important part of a wide range of sectors from medicine to marketing, so this course will help prepare you for continued demand in the job market.

You'll gain the skills and knowledge to apply the latest AI technologies and methods to a wide range of problems, studying topics such as machine learning, algorithms and complexity, and visual computing.

Tailor to your interests

In the first year, you’ll learn the basics of computer science, including mathematics and programming skills, along with an introduction to the theory and practice of AI. In the second year, you’ll continue to develop your AI skills, with a focus on machine learning. In the final year, you’ll choose optional units alongside an individual project in a specific area of AI. You can specialise in areas such as robotics, natural language processing, intelligent agents or computer vision. You’ll regularly meet with an academic who’s an expert in your chosen field.

Develop a deep understanding of the fundamental principles of physics, expand your knowledge with flexible options and get involved in our high-level research.

This is our broadest physics degree and gives you the opportunity to explore a wide range of areas in physics, from the nanoscale to the most energetic processes in the Universe.

As well as gaining a deep knowledge and understanding of physics, you’ll graduate with strong experimental, mathematical and computational expertise. You’ll gain powerful problem-solving, analytical and critical thinking skills, preparing you for careers in physics and many other fields as well.

Year abroad

Broaden your horizons by spending a year studying at a university abroad. You’ll experience another culture whilst studying a course that complements your studies at Bath.

We currently have links with universities in North America, Australasia, Asia and Europe, including Purdue University, the University of Queensland, National University Singapore and the University of Helsinki.

Make sense of issues underpinning contemporary global challenges such as the impact of climate change and international inequalities.

On this degree you’ll combine the study of politics with an engagement in economic theory and practice. It will appeal if you’re interested in issues of global power, decision-making, democracy and inequality.

You’ll cover topics such as international politics, political ideologies and economic thought. You will explore a range of contemporary economic and political challenges facing national and international society, such as terrorism and climate change.

In your first year you'll focus on concepts and theories relating to both politics and international relations. You'll study economic theory and methodology, and explore contemporary political and economic systems.

In your second year you'll advance your knowledge in political and economic theory. You can focus your studies through optional units covering areas from global responses to international environmental crises, to the nature of UK Parliamentary politics. You'll also develop your skills in research design and methods.

You’ll carry out a year-long dissertation and select optional units relating to your interests in politics and economics, with themes such as financialisation, inter-state relations, and gender politics.

Master the logic, rigour and proof of mathematics alongside the universal principles of physics to prepare you for a wide range of careers.

This course is for you if you enjoy and excel at pure mathematics and want to apply that to the study of physics from subatomic particles to the formation of new galaxies. You’ll get to understand the rigour and application of mathematics and how it underpins our study of the physical world.