Advanced Functional Materials (Taught)

The Masters in Advanced Functional Materials is an inherently multidisciplinary subject that spans Physics, Chemistry, Materials Science and Nanotechnology. It underpins many of aspects of modern life and its themes are at the heart of global technological challenges, including energy generation and storage, microelectronics and healthcare. University of Glasgow research in the area has spanned the development of photovoltaics for enhanced solar energy systems, next-generation data storage technologies and characterisation of alloys for nuclear reactor design.

WHY THIS PROGRAMME

• The School of Physics and Astronomy plays a leading role in the exploitation of data from the Large Hadron Collider, the world’s largest particle accelerator at CERN.

• The School has close links with Sellafield Ltd. and the UK National Nuclear Laboratory in the area of nuclear fuel reprocessing and nuclear waste management.

• Physics & Astronomy at the University of Glasgow is a UK top 10 School (Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2023).

• The School of Physics & Astronomy hosts the Kelvin Nanocharacterisation Centre, which houses state-of-the-art instrumentation for studying materials at the nanoscale or below.

• The School of Physics & Astronomy plays a world-leading role in the design and operation of the worldwide network of laser interferometers that have detected gravitational waves.

• You will also benefit from our membership of the Scottish Universities Physics Alliance. The alliance brings together internationally leading Physics research across Scotland to form the largest physics grouping in the UK.

• You will gain the theoretical, observational and computational skills necessary to analyse and solve advanced Materials Science problems, providing you with an excellent foundation for a career of scientific leadership in academia or industry.

• You will develop transferable skills that will improve your career prospects, such as project management, team-working, advanced data analysis, problem-solving, critical evaluation of scientific literature, advanced laboratory and computing skills, and how to effectively communicate with different audiences.

• Physics research has been evaluated as ‘world-leading’ or ‘internationally excellent’ in the latest Research Excellence Framework [2021].

• It is expected that the programme will be accredited by the Institute of Physics.

PROGRAMME STRUCTURE

Modes of delivery include lectures, seminars and tutorials and allow students the opportunity to take part in practical lab, and independent project work. In the final part of the programme, you will undertake a research project which will be supervised by a member of staff who works within the area of Materials Science. This extended project will give an opportunity to be embedded into a research group, working at the cutting edge of their particular field.

Each course is assessed separately; assessment methods include written examinations, verbal and written reports of practical/project work, multiple choice questions, oral and poster presentations of project work.

Core Courses
​Solid State Physics
Research Skills
Statistical Mechanics
Nano and Atomic Scale Imaging 1
Nanostructured Materials 4M
Functional Materials 4M
Advanced Materials Characterisation 5M
MSc Project

Optional Courses
Energy And Environment
Magnetism & Superconductivity
Quantum Theory
Semiconductor Physics
Advanced Data Analysis For Physics And Astronomy
Quantum and Atom Optics
Electromagnetic Theory 2
Groups And Symmetries
Imaging and Detectors
Detection and Analysis of Ionising Radiation
Environmental Radioactivity
Nuclear Power Reactors
Quantum Information
Nano and Atomic Scale Imaging 2
Fundamentals of Sensing and Measurement
Polymers and Organic Materials 4M
Surface Chemistry: Structure and Reactivity 4M
Chemistry of the f-Block 4M
Chemical Thermodynamics and Statistical Mechanics 4M
Chemistry Project for MSc