MPhysics (F303) or M-Astrophysics(F510)?

Hi,
I'm an AS student studying physics, maths, chemistry and further maths. I'm willing to apply for uni next year for physics.
However, I'm slightly confused between both degrees mentioned in the subject of this thread. I understand that the astrophysics 4 years degree can have more in-depth courses on astrophysics, but does that mean that doing MPhysics(F303) will reduce my chances on going for a career or having PhD in astrophysics afterwards? Or is doing MAstrophysics will reduce my chances on, say, perusing a PhD in theoretical physics afterwards?

Thank you in advance!

Hey,

>I'm slightly confused between both degrees mentioned in the subject of this thread

F303- this degree covers a board range of physics topics in depth e.g. astrophysics, particle , nuclear, quantum, electromagnetism etc
F510- this degree specialises in astrophysics so you will go more in depth with astro topics than students taking F303

Each degree is 4 years in length. The structure and specific topics you will learn will vary from uni to uni but in general it will go something like this:

Year 1- both degrees will cover the 'basics' of a broad range of physics topics (astrophysics, particle , nuclear, quantum, electromagnetism etc)
)
Year 2- still covering some basics, F510 students learn more astro topics than F303 students

Year 3 - you have lectures and will do a group project.
-F510 students will learn more in-depth astro topics and project will be on a astro topic,
-F303 students will learn more non-astro topics and the project will normally be on a non-astro topic.

Year 4- same as year 3 but each student does an individual instead of a group project.

In year 3&4 (sometimes year 2 ) you will have get some choice over what topics you study.

>does that mean that doing MPhysics(F303) will reduce my chances on going for a career or having PhD in astrophysics afterwards?

If you know you want to be an astrophysicist take F510.
To have a career in astrophysics you will need a PhD in astrophysics. To get a PhD in astrophysics you will need a masters level qualification in astro - to prove you have enough knowledge of astro to do the doctorate.

This can be achieved in a few ways:

-take F510 (4-year undergraduate degree)
-take F300/F3F5/F342 (etc.) + MSc Astrophysics (3-year undergraduate degree + 1 year postgraduate degree) ..there are student finance issues with this route (see my post here http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?p=49249303&highlight=)
-take FFH5 (4-year undergraduate degree)- 50% 'main stream' physics topics, 50% specialist astro topics. Note this is different to F3FM (75% physics and 25% astrophysics) which would not cover enough astro.

In unis that do F303 and F510 all first year students take mostly the same lectures/modules so it is normally possible to switch between the two once you've started your degree.

If you mean a career outside of physics/academia then it does not matter which degree you choose.

>Or is doing MAstrophysics will reduce my chances on, say, perusing a PhD in theoretical physics afterwards?

Yes. You will not have covered enough theoretical physics in F510 to do a PhD in theoretical physics straight away. If you like both astro and theoretical physics then the FFH5 degree may be a good choice for you. Note, you will be competing for a PhD place with students which have taken a F340 (a 4-year pure theoretical physics degree ) and F303 so if you decide during the first year of you degree you defiantly want to do theoretical physics then I'd suggest switching to one of these degrees.

If you take F510 you can do a PhD in theoretical astrophysics though

There are alot of cross-over topics at PhD level so don't stress too much, people start uni loving 1 topic, then switch to loving a completely different topic. If your unsure my advice would be to take F303 and see how you find it and then maybe switch after the 1-year (this will be dependant on uni ok-ing you to do this).


On a side note, if you plan on taking 3 subjects in A2 I suggest you consider keeping further maths as this is a pro for unis and make you first year of the degree easier. That said, just as-level further maths is fine too

Hope this helped!

Hi,

Thank you so much for your response, it has been really really helpful!
And I'm actually planning to take the 4 subjects I'm doing to A2.

But isn't the master degree like the last year of either of these 4-year degrees?
Like this for example:MSci Physics with Theoretical Physics F390F39

>Thank you so much for your response, it has been really really helpful!
np

>But isn't the master degree like the last year of either of these 4-year degrees?

Essentially Yes. Up until about 15 or so years ago UK universities ONLY offered 3-year (BSc) degrees and the 1 year masters degrees. So to get a masters degree a student would have to go to uni and complete a 3-year BSc, graduate, come back to uni and do a 1 year masters degree.

Essentially the 4-year degree enables students to do the above but not have to graduate after 3 years and then come back for 1 more year. So the first 3 years of a 4-year degree is the BSc and the final year is the Masters year.

There are some subtle but important differences between doing 3+1year degrees and straight 4-years degrees.

1. Money- Student finance fund undergraduate degrees. They will fully fund the 4-year degree and 3-year degree. They will NOT fund the 1 year masters as this is a postgraduate degree. You will have to fund it yourself (this is very expensive >£10,000) or win some form of scholarship (very few and far between and very competitive).

2. Research Project- the 4-year degree runs to the undergraduate academic year
i.e.
Term1, Oct-Xmas
Term2, Jan-Easter
Term3, Easter-June

Term 3 is reserved for exams, therefore students in their final year of the 4-year degree will complete their research project in Term1&2. During Term1&2 they also attend lectures etc.

A 1-year masters is a postgraduate degree and does not run to the undergraduate timetable, so the course runs Oct-Sept. Students attend lectures during Term1&2 (same lectures as the final year 4-year degree students), take exams in Term 3, then do their research project over the summer months so ends up being abit longer/more in-depth/extended.

3. Awards - If you do the 3-year degree then the 1-year degree you two degrees: a BSc and MSc. If you do the 4-year degree you only get awarded 1 degree: a MPhys/MSci

To gain entry to a PhD it does not matter if you do the 3year+1year or straight 4-year.

That was, again, really informative! I'm going to two different taster days in July, one on astrophysics and one on theoretical physics. Hopefully that will help me decide.
Thanks a million!