Physics with Foundation Year

Foundation courses
A foundation year can develop your skills and make it easier to get started at university. It is an extra year of study at the start of your course that leads in to a full degree programme. It’s a great option if:

You don’t have the grades for a full degree course
You have non-traditional qualifications or experience
You’re starting university after some time away from education
You’re looking for more support during the transition into university study.

Life as a foundation year student
During a foundation year you’ll learn about your chosen subject, develop your study skills and get used to university life. On successful completion of your foundation year, you’ll be ready to progress to the first year of your degree course.

As a foundation year student, you’ll be a full student of the University and part of our community. You’ll have access to all our campus facilities and support.

Why choose this course
Our BSc and MPhys offer you a flexible choice of modules across many different topics, covering both theoretical and applied areas of physics. Our teaching builds on the broad range of expertise among our acclaimed academics.

There are two unique aspects of both our courses:

1. Take the opportunity to get industry-ready with our award-winning Professional Training placements:

-Within the BSc, the option to take a paid Professional Training placement in industry gives you invaluable hands-on experience to enhance your employability.

-On our MPhys, you’ll take a year-long, masters-level integrated research placement. This can be in one of our world-leading research groups or at one of our international partner institutions.

2. Our focus on undergraduate research and innovation:

-All undergraduates have the opportunity to apply for paid 8-10 week summer research placements in our research groups and those of our South East Physics Network partners.

-We offer in-house ‘research and innovation’ and ‘enterprise’ grants that students can apply for to fund a research placement, attend a conference or develop a new business idea.

What you will study
On our BSc and MPhys, you’ll study core topics, such as particle, nuclear and atomic physics, and optional modules. During your first year, you can switch between most of our specialist physics courses.

The option to take an integrated research year or Professional Training placement also gives you invaluable hands-on experience to enhance your employability.

Formal lectures are complemented with work in our specialist radiation laboratories, which have recently been refurbished and enlarged at a cost of £2.7m. As an undergraduate student, you’ll use these labs to undertake experiments related to the Nuclear and Particle Physics module.

You can apply to study for either a BSc or an MPhys. An MPhys is a direct route to a masters qualification, known as an integrated masters, and includes an integrated research year. This allows you to develop your skills in an academic or industrial arena, before returning for your final masters-level modules.