Undergraduate study 2013 prospectus

General information

This course makes use of one of the largest collection of engineering schools in the UK. It is intended for those who want a career in engineering and wish to develop insight into the underlying physics.

The first two years of the Physics and Engineering Physics courses are identical. Engineering Physics students have the opportunity to choose up to two modules a year in engineering subjects.

Industrial Placement or European Study

This course can be studied in three, four or five years. In the five year MPhys and the four-year BSc version you take a year out between the second and final years of academic study.

Career Prospects

The opportunities for graduates from all of our courses are similar (please see the physics course for career examples), however, the various options naturally lead to a diversity of opportunities according to subjects studied.

Engineering Physics graduates have additional opportunities because of their engineering experience; these range from careers in civil engineering through to electronic engineering.

Course structure

Year 1

The main subjects studied are:

• Mechanics
• Electricity and Magnetism
• Light
• Atomic and Thermal Physics
• Astronomy
• Information Skills
• History and Philosophy of Science
• Mathematics
• Laboratories
• Computing

Year 2

This year includes modules in:

• Quantum Mechanics
• Fields
• Waves
• Solid State Physics
• Nuclear Physics
• Thermal Physics
• Electronics
• Science of the Internet
• Engineering Computation 
• Mathematics
• Laboratories

You may take options from other departments up to one sixth of the first two years,
in particular in their chosen engineering speciality.

Years 3 and 4

In the third year of study the MPhys and BSc Physics and Engineering Physics
courses all diverge.

In the final year, you undertake a substantial course of options from a variety of engineering departments and the physics department.

The schools/departments currently co-operating in the scheme are Aeronautical and Automotive Engineering, Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Civil and Building Engineering, Electronic, Electrical and Systems Engineering, and Materials.

If lower than 100 credits of engineering modules are studied then final-year physics options are taken to make up the total. You also undertake an experimental or theoretical project.

Study options and entry requirements

Here you will find information about the various study options available for this course and the entry requirements for each option.

SQA = Scottish Qualifications Authority IB = International Baccalaureate