Find out more: “An inspiring and friendly www.southampton.ac.uk/phys department, located in UK enquiries: a fantastically serene [email protected] +44 (0)23 8059 9699 and beautiful campus! EU and International enquiries: What better place to be [email protected] and enjoy studying!” +44 (0)23 8059 9699 Stefani Petropoulou MPhys Physics with Astronomy, third year PUSH THE FRONTIERS OF PHYSICS PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY UNDERGRADUATE COURSES 2021 Choosing your university is about more than finding to become almost anything you want to be when a course. It’s about starting the next chapter of your you graduate. EXPLORE YOUR life and taking another step towards becoming the Here at Southampton, you’ll learn from passionate person you want to be. NEW WORLD and supportive lecturers who are working at the At Southampton we share your passion to learn frontiers of physics in quantum physics, particle and encourage your desire to explore and evolve in physics, astronomy, photonics and more. a friendly and vibrant community. OPEN DAYS There will be many opportunities open to you as a Our academics and diverse student community will physics student at Southampton, from placements inspire, challenge and support you. Together we at CERN and Harvard to becoming part of a lively For the latest Open Day dates and can help you make your mark on the world. society, such as Physoc or AstroSoc. information, please go to: Studying Physics and Astronomy is fascinating, Southampton is a place where you can truly make www.southampton.ac.uk/sb/openday and provides the skills and knowledge you need your journey your own. Updates on other ways to visit us can be found at: www.southampton.ac.uk/sb/visitus CONTENTS 06 A global university 10 Our people 12 Your courses 32 Research 34 Your career 38 Your student life 42 Accommodation 44 Applying and funding CHOOSE 46 How to find us SOUTHA MPTON TAKE A TOUR Can’t wait for an Open Day? Experience Southampton through a virtual tour. Study at prestigious global Find out more and explore: Top 100 Top 20 organisations including www.southampton.ac.uk/sb/virtualopenday global UK university** CERN *QS World University Rankings, 2020 **Complete University Guide, 2020 university* 2 3 WELCOME TO PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY It’s a pleasure to welcome you to Physics and Astronomy at Southampton and to share some of the incredible things that you can look forward to when you study here with us. Your degree will be challenging but fascinating; you’ll use excellent facilities for your practical work and have unique opportunities open to you. But what makes Southampton truly special is our people. Your teachers here at Southampton A physics degree from Southampton are leading on some of the world’s opens the door to a range of career most innovative and exciting physics opportunities and puts you in a great research programmes, but are also position when you graduate. You might down-to-earth and supportive people. choose to go into academic research, We care about helping the next make your mark using physics and generation of students to become astronomy in industry – or go into excellent physicists and creating a something completely different such happy, exciting and supportive as data science, finance, IT, business or environment for learning. media. Whatever you decide to go on to do, you can be confident that you’ll You’ll benefit from our close links with graduate with the mathematical, international research institutions, analytical, computational and problem giving you the best learning solving skills that will make you highly opportunities whilst you’re here and employable. In addition, your physics the best prospects when you graduate. degree will indicate to employers that Our flagship degrees give you the you are intellectually curious, insightful chance to spend a year at places like and not afraid of a challenge. CERN and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. There are also I hope you will choose to study with us opportunities to undertake a summer and look forward to welcoming you. placement, travel to the Teide Observatory in Tenerife on a field trip Professor Mark Sullivan or spend six months in industry. Head of Physics and Astronomy Faculty Head of Equality, Diversity and Inclusivity 4 5 Southampton is your gateway to the world. We are part of the A GLOBAL Worldwide Universities Explore new cultures through study abroad opportunities and international Network: a collaboration student societies, get advice from our global alumni community, and make of knowledge from friends with people from a multitude of backgrounds. around the world UNIVERSITY Our inspiring academics make a difference on every continent, and our business, government and non-government organisation partners span the globe. A GLOBAL UNIVERSITY 5 Our network of over 245,000 STUDY ABROAD alumni spans over We have over 190 countries 3 276 exchange links with 227 Around 7,450 partners in 1 2 international students 45 from over countries around the world 130 countries choose to study CONNECTING with us UNIVERSITIES We have strong partnerships with Opportunities for other highly ranked placements at world- universities across renowned organisations the world, including The such as CERN and the Chinese University of Harvard-Smithsonian 4 Hong Kong, Nanyang Center for Astrophyics Technological University in Boston and UC San Diego Sending 5D data storage Astrophysics in Experimental particle Helping visually impaired Unravelling the 1 devices into space inside 2 the USA 3 physics in Switzerland 4 people explore space 5 mysteries of the the Tesla Roadster Northern Lights Sai Pandian will spend the fourth Alexandra Moor travelled to CERN Our researchers are working with a SpaceX launched one of year of his degree living in Boston, in Geneva for her final year. She blind physicist in South Africa to Our space physicists are Southampton’s 5D data storage USA, working on a research project worked as part of a research team develop a computer package that undertaking expeditions to the crystals into space aboard Elon at the Harvard-Smithsonian improving the simulation of RICH presents numerical data as sound, Arctic to understand the Musk’s Falcon Heavy spacecraft. Center for Astrophysics. detectors, which are used for enabling people with vision loss to mysteries of the Aurora Created using photonics technology, particle identification, as part interpret astrophysical discoveries. Borealis. the crystals contain the text from a of the Large Hadron Collider series of science fiction books and beauty experiment. are the first part of a Solar Library in orbit around the Sun. @unisouthampton @AstroPhysSoton Follow us for the latest news, research and events at the University 6 7 EXPERIENCE YOUR NEW WORLD Spend time immersed in a cutting-edge research project EXPERIENCE YOUR NEW WORLD on one of our exciting flagship programmes. You’ll join a prestigious organisation, either in the UK or abroad, working alongside leaders in the field. Your experience will look extremely impressive on your CV, enabling you to stand out from the crowd when you graduate. Undertaking one of our flagship Particle Physics with a Research degrees will prepare you for whatever Year Abroad your future will bring. You’ll grow both Become part of the international academically and personally, and get a research team at CERN in Geneva, taste of what your career might Switzerland, working at the Large become. Hadron Collider to investigate the If you’re a top-performing student, building blocks of the Universe. you can apply to join one of our Physics with a Year of flagship programmes at the end of Experimental Research your second year. We carefully coordinate your MPhys degree so you Work alongside professional get the knowledge you need in three researchers in the University of years, and can move onto your Southampton’s highly regarded research project in year four. You’ll Quantum, Light and Matter need to show us that you’re achieving research group. first-class results, so we know you’re ready for the challenge. Physics with Industrial Placement Astrophysics with a Year Abroad You’ll join a company for six months on a paid industrial placement, applying Spend a year at the Harvard- your physics skills and knowledge to a Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics real research and development in Boston, USA – the world’s largest project. centre for the study of our Universe. Astrophysics with a Year of Research I loved being part of such an international collaboration, Join the Southampton Astronomy with people from around the world often coming in to Group and work with our academics on a real, unsolved problem in discuss ideas or give presentations. When applying for astronomy. PhDs all my interviewers were interested in my project at CERN and the skills I gained there.” Alexandra Moor Particle Physics with a Research Year Abroad, 2019; Physics PhD, University of Cambridge Find out more: www.southampton.ac.uk/ phys/flagship 8 9 v Dr Elinor Irish Lecturer One of the most rewarding aspects of Elinor’s OUR PEOPLE role is seeing students get so interested in a subject that they want to explore it further in their final-year project – and then go onto Make Southampton the start of your Ò Become part of a research-intensive community where pursue a career in that area. She teaches new world; our community is full our discoveries are having global impact some of our applied physics modules, such as Ò Our world-leading academics will inspire and challenge Medical Physics and Applied Nuclear Physics. of passionate people with the drive Her own research is on the theory of you throughout your studies OUR PEOPLE to change the world through their quantum optics – the interactions between Ò Our graduate mentors can help you develop your skills research and collaborations with global light and matter at the quantum level.