Master of Science in Physics

at University of Bristol - Clifton Campus United Kingdom

Studying abroad in Europe fosters language skills and intellectual growth as well as developing your breadth of perspective.

If you're driven by intellectual curiosity and enjoy the satisfaction of cracking difficult puzzles, this course offers a rigorous foundation in mathematics that will help you stand out to top employers.

Our lecturers are passionate about their subject, with modules informed by cutting-edge research in fundamental mathematical abstractions, statistics and practical applications to global problems. Vocational units prepare you for a successful career in industry. Opportunities to undertake a research project could inspire you to pursue postgraduate study.

The first two years of the course provide a broad background in mathematics, similar to our single honours mathematics degrees, and include relevant European language units.

Year one consists of compulsory topics. In your second year you can start to shape your degree by choosing from an extensive range of topics that most interest you.

Provided you fulfil the progression requirements of the Study Abroad in a Modern Language degree, you will spend your third year abroad at one of our partner universities studying mathematics in a foreign language. To find out where you can study visit our Global Opportunities website.

On returning to Bristol you will complete your final year, choosing from a wide range of units from our MSci Mathematics course, and benefiting from our pioneering research.

Suitable for graduates with any degree who have some quantitative training, this interdisciplinary programme provides comprehensive training across the business-relevant disciplines with a strong focus on real-world applications. The program gives you with knowledge and skills to address the strategic challenges that face modern businesses and organisations that operate in competitive national and global markets. 

Second term courses are grouped into two pathways – Strategy and Business or International Economics and Finance – or students have the flexibility to choose their own units.

If you love the challenge of thinking through a maths question and the satisfaction of having solved a difficult problem, but also appreciate the applications of mathematics in areas of physics and want access to the exciting and specialised subjects offered by the School of Physics, then this joint honours course can offer you both.

Your mathematics study will focus on the areas of applied mathematics that are most linked to physics, such as the mathematical modelling of physical problems, quantum mechanics and random matrix theory. You will also cover a range of topics in physics, such as special relativity, electromagnetism and superconductors.

In the first and second years of this course the units are fixed so as to provide a balanced exploration of mathematics and physics and the connection between them.

In your third year you will have freedom to select from a wide variety of relevant units to focus your studies on what interests you most. You can also choose from a physics project or dissertation in one of our cutting-edge research areas, a group project with an industrial partner, or an educational project with a local school.

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.

Epidemiology is the study of disease and health outcomes in populations. It is about finding causes—the reasons why some people become ill, and the reasons why some populations are healthier than others—and what we can do to remove or control these causes. It is the science underpinning public health, clinical research and healthcare evaluation. The MSc in Epidemiology will enable you to engage with the complex population health challenges facing the global community in future decades, providing high-quality training in epidemiological methods that are applicable to low-, middle- and high-income settings. The programme is suitable for students from both clinical and non-clinical backgrounds.

The MSc will introduce the principles of modern epidemiology and its role in public health and other health-related disciplines. You will learn how to design and analyse experimental and observational studies covering aetiology, interventions, diagnosis and prognosis. There will be opportunities to learn about cutting-edge methods in causal inference and molecular epidemiology.

Your dissertation, on a research topic of your choice, will take the form of a journal article and a poster presentation, opening the possibility of submission for publication.

The Department of Population Health Sciences is a large and thriving department, with numerous opportunities for PhD study and employment on research projects. We are internationally recognised for our excellence in developing epidemiological methods and applying these to a broad spectrum of population health topics. Our research ranges from discovery science in molecular and genetic epidemiology to innovative clinical trials, policy-influencing activities and robust evidence assessments. Our MSc in Epidemiology is founded on this expertise.

The program is well balanced, covering a wide range of topics in engineering science and engineering practice.

Our curriculum embeds a diverse set of professional engineering and management skills spanning four core thematic areas:

• Design and manufacture
• Dynamics and control
• Materials
• Thermofluids.

This course is ideal if you are seeking a career abroad or with a multinational company. You will undertake language studies in years one and two of the course to build on GCSE-standard knowledge before spending your third year at a partner university in Europe.

Our LLM in Banking and Finance provides you with an opportunity to access a highly sought-after, technically complex and constantly evolving area of law - and graduate to meet a growing demand for expert lawyers that can embrace challenges and innovation whilst ensuring businesses are financially and legally robust.

Our LLM programmes, including the LLM in Banking and Finance, are well-respected by leading law firms*, international businesses and financial organisations around the world. This is a distinct course that presents an exciting opportunity for in-depth study of the impact of law, regulation, policy and practice on banking and finance.  

Choosing the LLM in Banking and Finance will see you challenged and inspired by world-leading academics who have internationally recognised research profiles in the subject. The intellectually demanding, research-rich curriculum they deliver makes our graduates stand out, able to demonstrate excellent legal, analytical and research skills and empowered to pursue top-flight careers in a variety of fields.`

This degree is designed for students with potential who do not have a science background. You can automatically progress from this course to our BSc or MSci Chemistry degrees.

Our chemistry courses offer a superb grounding in the subject. In years one and two you will study fundamental concepts in inorganic, organic and physical chemistry, and applications in areas such as analytical, environmental, materials and theoretical chemistry.

You will also develop your ability to design experiments and interpret results and gain key skills through our chemistry-specific communications and mathematics units.

You will get the opportunity to specialise after the first two years. BSc final-year project options include work in a research laboratory or a local school, helping to develop science resources or carrying out chemistry education research. On the MSci course you will complete a 20-week research project with an academic member of staff in your final year.

We are one of the UK's biggest chemistry schools and we have a superb reputation for teaching and research; over a third of our research was rated 'world-leading' in the Research Excellence Framework 2014.