Program Description

In this course, students put their astrophysics knowledge into practice on a work placement and build up more experience for their CVs. Placement opportunities for The University of Sheffield's astrophysics students include the Isaac Newton Group of Telescopes in the Canary Islands and the Thai National Observatory.

With this Physics and Astrophysics course, students spend half of their time studying astrophysics modules. As a result, this degree programme has more astrophysics content than most, taking students from the formation and evolution of the solar system, through stars and galaxies, to the origin and evolution of the universe.

There are two telescopes on the roof of our building, which students be trained to use from their first year. We also run a telescope on La Palma in the Canary Islands, which students use during their annual field trip. 

At the start of their course, in lectures and lab classes, students will cover the essential physics behind everything else they will study: heat, motion, electricity, magnetism and quantum mechanics. Students will also begin studying the fundamentals of astronomy and astrophysics with modules that cover topics such as the solar system, stars, galaxies and basic cosmology. There are practical sessions using the faculty's telescopes and, in programming classes, students an learn skills that are essential to modern astrophysics and valuable in many graduate careers, from data science to computer game design.

Students will explore essential physics in even more depth in their second year, and continue to specialise in astrophysics with modules on the structure and evolution of stars and galaxies. Students will also do more practical work with the faculty's telescopes and continue to develop their programming skills. 

The third year will be their placement year. When students return for their fourth year, they can branch out into lots of different areas and complete their own research projects in astrophysics. Their core modules will cover topics like cosmology and stellar atmospheres. Optional modules include topics such as dark matter and nuclear astrophysics.

Accredited by the Institute of Physics (IOP) for the purpose of fully meeting the educational requirement for Chartered Physicist.