School of Chemical and Physical Sciences brochures Physics Astrophysics brochure 2019 | Page 3

PHYSICS AND ASTROPHYSICS | 3
Introduction
Welcome to Physics and Astrophysics at Keele. This booklet gives you
an overview of the undergraduate degree programmes we offer and a
flavour of what it is like to study with us.
Keele is the leading interdisciplinary university
in the UK, and either Physics or Astrophysics
may be studied together with another subject
as part of a three-year Combined Honours BSc
degree. The opportunity to study two subjects
simultaneously at degree level holds great
appeal for many students; while the breadth
of knowledge and diversity of skills acquired
in such courses are valued by a large and
growing cross-section of private and public
sector employers.
Alternatively, many students choose to
specialise at an earlier stage and we offer
3-year Single Honours programmes in
“Physics” and in “Physics with Astrophysics”,
where you will study just these subjects.
These programmes allow a greater depth
and breadth of study in your chosen field and
may be a better choice for those more likely
to go on to postgraduate study at Masters
Level and beyond. Both the Single Honours
and Combined Honours variants (whichever
second subject is chosen) cover the whole of
the Core of Physics, a detailed set of concepts
and topics laid out by the IOP for inclusion
in all undergraduate physics degrees in the
UK. When you graduate from one of our
programmes, you will be equally well-prepared
either to undertake further study towards
a higher degree or to enter graduate-level
employment directly.
We work hard to deliver teaching and support
of the highest quality to our students. There is
a minimum of 10 hours per week of lecture, lab
and tutorial time in Combined Honours Physics
or Astrophysics, or 17 hours per week in Single
Honours and all of these are led directly by
members of the academic staff, with “an open
door policy regarding student consultation”. We
participate in Keele’s well-developed personal
tutoring system. For each year of our degrees
there is a Physics/Astrophysics member of
staff responsible for keeping abreast of every
student’s individual progress and ensuring
that academic programmes run smoothly. We
organise careers and postgraduate information
sessions for our students and we have a
student-staff voice committee, which meets
twice yearly with student representatives from
each of the three degree years.
We are proud of what our students have to
say about us in return. In the National Student
Survey, which gives final-year undergraduates
the chance to offer feedback on every aspect
of their courses, we consistently place among
the top handful of Physics/Astrophysics
departments in the UK. Our graduates gave
us satisfaction ratings of 90%+ in each of
the 2011-2015 surveys and we were the top-
ranked Physics/Astrophysics department in
both the 2016 and 2017 surveys, with 100%
overall student satisfaction with their course.
All of the academic staff who teach on the
Physics and Astrophysics BSc courses at
Keele are active in research; a brief summary
of what we do is included later in this booklet.
This enables us to inject some of the topicality
and the excitement of our own scientific
interests into the undergraduate degrees —
particularly within specialised lecture modules
and project work in the third year. We also
have thriving research PhD programmes,
and we draw on our postgraduate students to
bolster the support we give in undergraduate
lab sessions and tutorials.
Beyond Physics and Astrophysics specifically,
Keele University as a whole makes a
concerted effort to provide all of its students
with tools to maximise their achievements
during their time here and to communicate
those achievements most effectively. There
are, for example, a number of University
services to support careers planning and
personal development. There are also
opportunities to become involved in a range
of activities, which can enhance both your
own experience of university and your appeal
to future employers: entrepreneurship,
volunteering, work with students in local
schools, a Study Abroad programme, free
foreign language courses, a variety of student
societies (including a Physics and Astronomy
Society), and much more.
If you have any questions for us as you make
your choices about Physics or Astrophysics,
Keele and your university career, we would
encourage you to get in touch using the details
on the back cover. Whatever you ultimately
decide, we wish you every success in your
current and future studies.
Professor Rob Jeffries,
Head of Physics and Astrophysics
Dr A. Mahendrasingam,
Director of Undergraduate Courses
keele.ac.uk/physics