ucl or kcl physics

hello, im a year 13 and im planning to apply for either ucl or kcl for my aspirational choice, i was originally going to apply to ucl as i rlly liked the uni but after looking at their modules for the msci course on their website ive found that they dont do general relativity and my personal statement is based on this and its really a subject that id like to learn. So i thought maybe about applying to kcl instead as they do general relativity however I havent been to the uni so im not sure if id like the environment but the course seems good, can anyone tell me what kcl is like and how good the physics department is, and what their opinions are on which i should apply to

Reply 1

dimi24

UCL definitely imo, its much higher ranked for physics

Reply 2

artful_lounger

Universities Forum Helper

Honestly neither are especially well known for physics to my knowledge. UCL has some specialisms in space/planetary science, KCL I'm not really aware of anything specific.

GR is taught in the maths department at UCL. This is not uncommon in general for gravitation stuff to be based in the maths departments at major unis. Note also you'll cover some topics of relativity (general and special) in any physics course anyway. Also note my understanding is you can take intercollegiate modules across the UoL constituents in the MSci year so could take GR from KCL, something else from RHUL, etc...? This may have changed recently but something to look into.

Generally speaking Imperial and QMUL are probably the best options in London for physics academically I would imagine (QMUL has stronger research activity in physics that I'm aware of at least), and there are probably better options than QMUL outside of London for physics e.g. Southampton, Edinburgh, Manchester, Oxbridge...