Master of Physics with Astrophysics (Hons) with Placement Year

at University of Bath United Kingdom

Learn about the deep connections between mathematics and theoretical physics and develop your scientific computing and theoretical modelling skills to understand and solve complex physical problems.

This course is for you if you want to study a broad physics degree with less emphasis on experimental laboratories and a stronger focus on theoretical, mathematical and computational aspects of physics.

You'll study the cornerstones of theoretical physics while developing your understanding of their mathematical foundations. Our courses reflect our theoretical research expertise in condensed matter, photonics and astrophysics. The computational physics and programming aspects also reflect the more applied nature of our theoretical research.

The combination of theoretical and practical knowledge of physics and mathematics is highly sought-after by employers and also gives an excellent grounding for postgraduate or industrial research.

Placement Year

As an MPhys student, you can choose to undertake a research placement in the final year of the course. You’ll spend six months (July to December) working in a research organisation of international standing, before returning to the University for the final semester. We have links with leading research organisations, including CERN, NTT Basic Research Laboratories (Japan), European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (France) and Rutherford Appleton Laboratory.

Gain a solid grounding in core management areas. You’ll develop the knowledge and skills needed to open career opportunities in accounting, finance and a range of other sectors.

Accounting and finance professionals are important to almost all functions of business. Learn to use your numerical abilities in a practical way.

Year 1
Your first year includes fundamentals in accounting, finance and economics. You will also develop your skills in topics like law, maths, statistics and computing.

Year 2
Build on Year 1 with more advanced core accounting and finance units. You’ll also study company law and choose from a range of options in business subjects.

Final year
In your final year, optional units will allow you to continue to specialise in accounting and finance and pursue interests in other business areas.

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.

Year abroad

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

We have links with universities in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Europe, currently including Binghamton University, University of Nebraska, University of Canterbury, TU Vienna and National University Singapore.

Learn practical and theoretical skills across all areas of chemistry, ready to tackle major challenges in a range of careers.

From addressing climate change, to developing new pharmaceuticals or tackling food security, chemistry is vital in modern day society.

This course has the broadest range of subjects of all our chemistry courses. In the first two years, you’ll study an introduction to all areas of chemistry, gaining the practical and theoretical skills needed to design experiments and test hypotheses. This includes understanding the theories of chemical behaviour and how they're applied.

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, AkzoNobel and Pfizer.

Learn practical and theoretical skills across all areas of chemistry, ready to tackle major challenges in a range of careers.

From addressing climate change, to developing new pharmaceuticals or tackling food security, chemistry is vital in modern day society.

This course has the broadest range of subjects of all our chemistry courses. In the first two years, you’ll study an introduction to all areas of chemistry, gaining the practical and theoretical skills needed to design experiments and test hypotheses. This includes understanding the theories of chemical behaviour and how they're applied.

Develop your knowledge of biomechanics, physiology and psychology. You will understand how humans function in sport, physical activity and health environments.

This degree has three core strands running throughout the course:

• Biomechanics will explore how humans create and control movement including athletes’ technique
• Physiology will cover the structure, function, regulation and performance of bodily systems
• Psychology will examine the role of thoughts, feelings and behaviours in sport and exercise settings

Through these core disciplines you'll apply your knowledge to sports performance and exercise participation and understand the relevance of sport and exercise science to current practice.

Use specialist facilities

As a student on one of our sport, exercise and health courses you'll have access to facilities that support your learning, including laboratories with specialist equipment and the latest technology, including:

• Applied Biomechanics Laboratory
• Applied Physiology Laboratory
• Biochemistry Laboratory
• Metabolic Research Laboratory
• A dedicated movement analysis suite

Develop the skills to resolve complex economic issues. Learn economic theories, methods and applications, and become acquainted with chosen specialist areas.

In this course, you’ll study the foundations of economic theory and its applications to real-world problems. You’ll explore the connections between the economy as a whole, its main sectors (such as businesses, the financial sector, government, for example) and the decisions of individuals.

You’ll learn how to apply economic principles and methods to policy issues. You’ll develop your knowledge of institutions to understand how economic decisions and policies are made.

Your first year is concerned with key concepts in microeconomic and macroeconomic theory. You’ll further your skills in core mathematics, statistics and data analysis. In Year 2, you’ll build on this through intermediate study of economic theory. The study of econometrics will enable you to estimate and forecast economic relationships. The final year will teach you advanced economic theory. A selection of optional units will enable you to tailor your expertise to your personal interests and career aspirations.

Learn about the deep connections between mathematics and theoretical physics and develop your scientific computing and theoretical modelling skills to understand and solve complex physical problems.

This course is for you if you want to study a broad physics degree with less emphasis on experimental laboratories and a stronger focus on theoretical, mathematical and computational aspects of physics.

You'll study the cornerstones of theoretical physics while developing your understanding of their mathematical foundations. Our courses reflect our theoretical research expertise in condensed matter, photonics and astrophysics. The computational physics and programming aspects also reflect the more applied nature of our theoretical research.

The combination of theoretical and practical knowledge of physics and mathematics is highly sought-after by employers and also gives an excellent grounding for postgraduate or industrial research.

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.

Explore how we can build a sustainable global future that leaves no-one behind. Develop a broad-based social science approach with a grounding in economics.

On this degree you will study some of the most important challenges facing our global society – poverty, inequality, climate change, conflict and migration. Alongside economic methods and analysis, training in sociology and anthropology, politics and social research will enable you to apply a multi-disciplinary approach.

With a strong orientation towards policy and practice, you will explore problems and solutions at local through national and international levels, guided by staff sharing from their own experience of development work and research.

Explore the multi-faceted subject of international security and gain fresh and leading perspectives on this field from leading experts.

International security has evolved enormously in the last 15 years, with terrorism, human and drug trafficking and territorial and sovereignty disputes adding an extra layer of complexity to the traditional security challenges of states.

This course offers a focus on security issues, looking at politics and policy-making in the contemporary international arena, and the role of global actors within it.

You'll gain a deep insight into the diverse dimensions of international security, unpacking the practices and challenges of different governments and organisations and exploring how these relate to research and policy-making.

Studying this at Bath provides an opportunity to work with researchers who are part of the debate on both traditional and non-traditional security issues.

With expertise across a wide spectrum of topics - including cyberspace politics, borders in South East Asia, the American drone strikes in Pakistan, biological and chemical weapons, rising powers and global governance - you'll gain new perspectives on this complex subject area.

You'll leave with:

• An in-depth understanding of the new international security environment of the Post Cold War era
• Detailed knowledge of the theories and methods underpinning international security
• The ability to analyse current security challenges and practices and the impact of those on research and policy-making
• A strong foundation for an international career in administration, diplomacy, research and policy-making

This course is for those with a degree in an appropriate subject, such as public policy, government, international affairs, international relations, history or sociology. It's also suitable for professionals who want to specialise in security issues, whether you're working in an NGO, government or the private sector, or other relevant fields such as commerce, industry and teaching.