Which Universities in the UK are best for particle/quantum physics?

3

I'm a y12 student, and I find particle/quantum very very interesting and would like to pursue it further (for a masters or even phd). I'd like to go to oxford but in the very possible case that I am rejected which other universities are worth considering? Durham is local and seems to be a good choice but are there any others? Or any similar degree apprenticeships worth considering (so I don't have uni debt!!)

Reply 1

artful_lounger

Clearing and Applications Advisor, Universities Forum Helper

22

Original post

by jencollins

I'm a y12 student, and I find particle/quantum very very interesting and would like to pursue it further (for a masters or even phd). I'd like to go to oxford but in the very possible case that I am rejected which other universities are worth considering? Durham is local and seems to be a good choice but are there any others? Or any similar degree apprenticeships worth considering (so I don't have uni debt!!)

You should just aim to do a physics degree in general. All physics courses will cover the necessary quantum mechanics if IoP accredited. Particle physics is something you don't really study in detail until postgraduate level - usually there will be a module including particle physics introducing the standard model but all the e.g. quantum field theory etc usually doesn't come in until graduate level.

Good physics courses outside of Oxbridge you may want to consider include Imperial, Edinburgh, Manchester, Southampton, Birmingham, maybe Durham too?

There are no such degree apprenticeships which will cover that content because it's not a field that is based in an industry.

Reply 2

DurhamRep Rosie

Official Rep

9

Original post

by jencollins

I'm a y12 student, and I find particle/quantum very very interesting and would like to pursue it further (for a masters or even phd). I'd like to go to oxford but in the very possible case that I am rejected which other universities are worth considering? Durham is local and seems to be a good choice but are there any others? Or any similar degree apprenticeships worth considering (so I don't have uni debt!!)

Hi there!

As a fellow Durham local, I'm really glad I made the choice to come here. Although I study Bsc Psychology, I've found the teaching, facilities and opportunities to be exceptional.

Durham offers a really flexible approach to studying Physics across four courses accredited by the Institute of Physics – MPhys qualifications in Physics, Physics and Astronomy, Theoretical Physics and BSc Physics – which follow the same core curriculum in the first year. You can read more about what you'd be studying, types of assessment and opportunities for placements and study abroad here - https://www.durham.ac.uk/study/courses/physics-f300/. I would advise you take these factors into consideration for any university you might apply to; it's really hard to narrow down where you'd like to go, but prioritising what's important to you is a step in the right direction! 😊

You can read experiences of students studying Physics at Durham here - https://durham-student.org/whats-it-like-studying-physics-3/ or https://durham-student.org/whats-it-like-studying-physics/.

Degree apprenticeships are also a great option for an interest in Physics, you could take a look here to see what that might entail - https://www.iop.org/careers-physics/your-future-with-physics. I believe you are able to search for degree apprenticeship opportunities on UCAS, if this would be useful.

I hope this is helpful, let me know if you have any other questions or want to hear more about student life at Durham!
-Rosie (DU Representative)

Reply 3

asjdfojweoifj

3

Original post

by jencollins

I'm a y12 student, and I find particle/quantum very very interesting and would like to pursue it further (for a masters or even phd). I'd like to go to oxford but in the very possible case that I am rejected which other universities are worth considering? Durham is local and seems to be a good choice but are there any others? Or any similar degree apprenticeships worth considering (so I don't have uni debt!!)

I'm at Imperial doing Physics, and I'm guessing you have read up about quantum and the standard model and found it really interesting, hence why you want to study Physics. If you are considering doing a PhD, then uni is your only option, and MSci or MPhys courses will get you straight to a Masters degree in 4 years (though most courses let you switch to a bachelor if you decide physics is not for you). Things like relativity and quantum get us interested in Physics but don't be suprised if your interests change significantly by the time you graduate.

One of your main points to consider right now is the breadth of research within that specific Physics department. Because professors only offer modules in areas of their expertise, you want to have as large an options pool to ensure you can specialise in the direction of your interest later on in year 3 and 4. Oxford is of course the best (their tutorial system is a stand out), and Imperial can compete in terms of sheer breadth of the department, maybe Manchester too. I reckon those 3 should be your top choices. If you are drawn to the theoretical side or astro then I suggest durham or maybe Edinburgh, Birmingham and Bristol more for experimental physics.

These are all from my impressions when looking at each uni's research. The reason I didn't specifically suggest unis for quantum is because quantum is such a wide topic - from high energy particle physics, to low energy ultracold matter, to quantum materials - each university are stronger in different aspects of quantum. I would suggest looking for maximum research breadth at this stage. Sorry for so much yap but I hope this helps

Reply 4

Ghostlady

21

Original post

by jencollins

I'm a y12 student, and I find particle/quantum very very interesting and would like to pursue it further (for a masters or even phd). I'd like to go to oxford but in the very possible case that I am rejected which other universities are worth considering? Durham is local and seems to be a good choice but are there any others? Or any similar degree apprenticeships worth considering (so I don't have uni debt!!)

Hi Jen! I’m a mum of a particle physics PhD student so I’ll tell you how my daughter did it. My daughter fell in love with particle physics in year 12. She applied to Oxford, Lancaster York and Leicester. Oxford she did the pat test, got to interviews. Oxford she had one too many prompts on the maths questions so didn’t get in. Lancaster was so relaxed on interview and York she enjoyed too. Leicester didn’t have an interview.

She went to Lancaster to study physics, particle physics and cosmology. The university now has it under physics but you choose a pathway in 2nd year plus to incorporate more particle topics. She loved flavour physics module. It was a 4 years integrated masters. She did two internships with the uni and her masters project was on neutrinos.
At first she wanted to be in theoretical, but her supervisor said she was definitely an experimentalist and he was right. She thrived more on the experiments and doing the coding for it. The support Lancaster uni gave was brilliant. She had a tough second year mentally and it was the uni which gave extra sessions and no question was ever a bother to a lecturer. By third year she was in a much better place and by end of fourth year m, she had the 2:1 needed for a PhD entry.

It was her neutrino masters project and internship at DUNE (with the uni) which set her up for her PhD at Manchester. She applied to unis that did have projects and interests in neutrinos and wrote to the supervisors there and got an interview at Manchester. The experiment is based abroad and has taken her to Spain Italy and Portugal. Mainly based at Manchester but does go for a weeks stint every few months.

With particle physics sorry not heard of any degree apprenticeships as physics is quite a specific pathway, other unis read the modules on each one to see if they have the particle modules because not all unis do. But Lancaster can’t fault them , they were superb with the help, support. No it’s not a big city but has all you need plus trains to Manchester the lakes and even London Euston station.

One final thing to say on particle. Particle yes more niche and not many choose that route. But that does mean more chance to get a funded PhD than the popular Astro route as her Astro mates struggled.

(edited 3 weeks ago)

Which Universities in the UK are best for particle/quantum physics?

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