Physics with Theoretical Physics MSci at Kings College London

Overview

Our Physics with Theoretical Physics MSci will give you an understanding across all fundamental aspects of physics, including theoretical physics, quantum mechanics, fields and waves, electromagnetism and nuclear and particle physics. You will be taught by internationally-renowned academic staff with links to the Large Hadron Collider at CERN and the LIGO gravitational wave observatory. Your studies will take place in a friendly and supportive environment in the heart of London. 

You also have the opportunity to transfer to the Study Abroad pathway and spend your third year at a partner institution before returning to King’s for your final year. 

Key benefits

• Award winning – six former staff and students in the department are Nobel Prize winners.
• Internationally-renowned academic staff in the fields of cosmology, nanotechnology and the interface between physics and biology. 
• Central location gives you easy access to major libraries and many leading societies, including the Institute of Physics.

Description

We have designed this Physics with Theoretical Physics MSci to give you a broad knowledge of all of the fundamental aspects of physics and especially theoretical physics. You will learn about topics including relativity, quantum mechanics, fields and waves, electromagnetism, nuclear and particle physics. The theoretical physics modules introduce advanced mathematical tools for studying whichever branch of theoretical physics that you wish to specialize in (e.g. astrophysics, cosmology, particle physics, condensed matter).

In your final year you can choose modules from the Physics Department, the Mathematics Department, or from a group of University of London colleges (Royal Holloway, UCL, Queen Mary). These modules will support your work on a genuine research project, supervised by our staff, which will allow you to experience some of the excitement of research and develop the skills to continue in this field if you choose.

Problem solving and project work is an important part of this course and you’ll learn about team work, group organisation and the skills of oral and poster presentations. We also encourage you to work with a school, to experience teaching and develop the skill of presenting information to non-experts.

You’ll be assigned a personal tutor to support your development and our Department encourages an atmosphere in which students feel able to easily approach academic staff. Our Student-Staff Liaison Committee provides a forum for the exchange of ideas and feedback on teaching. Staff and students are members of the Maxwell Society, which is the Department of Physics’ social and lecture society.

Teaching

We will teach you through a combination of lectures, laboratory classes, tutorials and project work. All of our academic staff are involved with the undergraduate teaching course. 

You are expected to spend approximately 10 hours work per credit for each module you attend in your degree, e.g. 150 hours work for a 15 credit module. These hours cover every aspect of the module. 

Career prospects

Our Physics graduates are in high demand because employers recognise the wide range of skills that they possess. We train physicists to be good problem solvers, to think logically and to apply mathematical and computational techniques to real problems. 

Career destinations

Recent graduates have found employment or further study as: 

• PhD student (in Astrophysics, Biophysics, Condensed Matter etc), at KCL, UCL, Imperial etc.
• Scientist, Oxford Nanopore Technologies 
• Publishing Editor, Royal Society of Chemistry 
• Mathematical Modeller, Bryden Woods 
• Actuarial Analyst, Willis 
• Physics Teacher, London