Physics at durham - applicants and discussion

I went to at least one per lecture series just to see if I would be missing out by not showing up. Most lecture series I went to several of.

HMK seems to think he understands every other department in the university and that Physics compares less favourably to them. I have friends doing Maths and Physics and they've had none of these issues that HMK talks about, but then again they do go to the lectures...

It hasn't hit them yet - that most people don't waste their Sundays doing weekly problems.

All Physics students do maths modules - just some of them are poor at maths so choose to take the single maths ones (or do it because the Physics dept bullies them into doing so).

I would much rather having been given a booklet like politics do and tell you to get on with it tbh - you should at least be entitled to that option.

Why would they provide that?! So lazy sods could just sod turning up the lectures and just stay in bed reading? Why does that make the lecturers inept? Their title suggests what they're concerned with... They don't want a half-empty lecture theatre because they've given everything to you on a piece of paper.

The good lecturers in the Maths department are happy to give out a full copy of their lecture notes, nearly everyone still turns up. Physics lecturers the vast majority of the time just read out their powerpoints, you may as well not be there. The problem is that their powerpoints are as an understatement, lacking in material.

Isn't the whole idea of sciences to turn up to lectures. Hell isnt the whole idea of a degree to turn up to lectures? You could get away with self teaching at A level. Although I'm not studying physics at degree level yet but isn't the course designed so you have to turn up to lectures. Even so i find being taught something in front of me much easier than self teaching or reading anyway.

From what ive heard sciences have alot of lectures. Probably a reason behind that as well.

If you got a 2:1 on the resit then why complain? You clearly managed despite not going to every lecture...

Because I should not have had to resit perhaps in the first place - if they ran their course properly then I would have done well enough on the first paper not to have need to have done the second. Plus them making their weekly homeworks summative really annoyed me - it undermines any form of learning from your peers.

Every subject has people who fail first time round, hence why they have resits. But you can't say it's because you missed an exam BUT also the department's fault? Which is it?

Its both - they refused to move any exams despite some people having all 6 of them in the space of 6 days. If they had spaced them out properly I doubt I would have missed any exams.

Why did you miss them? Surely a lot of people had to cope with 6 exams in 6 days?

Very few people - the reason being that the Physics Labs module in Lv1 has no exam component.

If you don't mind me being nosey, what are you doing now?

Maths has a maximum of 12 hours contact time a week in years 3 and 4 - because they recognise letting people learn independently then knocking on someone's door when they get stuck works so much better. Of course, they also provide proper syllabuses.

My point was that if they were actually any good then people would turn up despite them handing out the notes - because they then go down better than you reading them.

Guys, I'm a second year physicist and am enjoying the course very much - I can def recommend it.

Yes it's very hard, but that's why when you come out with a physics degree from Durham you're respected. The Durham physics course is widely regarded to be comparable with oxbridge, and in the year I applied Durham was top in the Times rankings for physics.

As for the lecturers, most of them are more than adequate, with a few bad and a few very good. Just like any other uni. You have to do work outside of lectures too, but again that will be expected of you in all good unis.

Overall, its a great course at a great uni. Didn't want you to get put off by those other posts.





The physics department do not treat you like kids. They expect you to work and will not spoon feed you everything. Wait until you get a job, you'll be in for a big surprise. Turns out you have to work in the daytime.

Anyway, I went out probably about 4 or 5 nights a week for most of first year and ended up with a first. I just worked in the day instead of pissing away my time on the internet.

And how can you say that the lecturers are bad when you don't go to the lectures? Maybe if you went to the lectures you wouldn't have failed your first year?