Undergraduate Study

The School of Physical Sciences offers a selection of innovative undergraduate programmes in:

Astrophysics, Astronomy and Space Science

Astrophysics, Astronomy and Space Science

"The course is fantastic. It is possible to combine astronomy, space science and astrophysics which makes for very interesting courses and excellent project work."

Chemistry

The School of Physical Sciences will be offering three and four year undergraduate programmes in Chemistry from September 2013 (subject to approval). The new programmes will utilize the Schools existing expertise in Chemistry and will be further supported by the addition of 3 new members of staff to the teaching team.

Further information

Forensic Science and Forensic Chemistry

Forensic science and Forensic chemistry

"The course is a multidisciplinary mix of courses from Physical Sciences, Law and Biosciences, which gives me the chance not only to look at crime scene investigation but study a broader science background."

Physics

Physics related courses

"The department is very supportive and there is a good relationship between lecturers and students". "There are a huge number of career options with a degree in physics."

Further information

Some of our courses give you the chance to study in the USA, others offer industry placements. We have both BSc and MPhys programmes available as well as a foundation year. The foundation year offers flexible entry routes for those who require additional preparation in Science or English Language.

For postgraduates, we offer a number of cutting-edge research opportunities leading to MSc or PhD degrees in Physics or Chemistry. In addition, we are pleased to announce the launch of the new Graduate Diploma in Forensic Science.

For further details about our courses and research, please use the navigation to the right above, or contact us.

What our students and graduates say about us

The overriding impression from our students is one of a friendly supportive department which is small enough to know its students and work with them to give them a rich experience. Both the campus and Canterbury are highly regarded and seen to offer all you need for a great time at University.

Matt West
Laura Bauld
Vicky Fitzgerald
Steven Parsons
More Profiles

Matt West

Forensic Science

The course is a multidisciplinary mix of courses from Physical Sciences, Law and Biosciences, which gave me the chance not only to look at crime scene investigation but also study a broader science background to widen the possible careers I can go into.
The department is small enough that I know all the staff and they know me.They are a friendly department, and they are very supportive and always keen to help with questions.
The students on my course and in the department are very positive and enthusiastic.
There is a really good dialogue between the staff and students about changes that we think necessary. They listen and act upon our suggestions which means the course is always improving.
The campus is fantastic, cosmopolitan and has a really good mix of students.
Canterbury is a great place to live being so near France/ London/the sea and there is plenty of reasonably priced accommodation and lots of opportunities for part-time work.

Laura Bauld

Forensic Science with a year in Industry

Canterbury is a lovely city, there are a great variety of shops, being a student we get discounts in most, and is in walking distance from campus.
I chose Canterbury mainly because of the year in industry to opportunity to get my foot in the door, to have a year's experience the day I graduate. This degree is very chemistry based as well which is another great asset to have as students here are more likely to be good potential employees in a broader variety of companies.
The lectures are great here, the rapport between lecturers and students are great here, they are all very approachable and their doors are always open to us. I am a course rep and they listen to all of our concerns, recommendations, criticisms and help where they can.
There department is really friendly we have our own student room with really good facilities.
The Forensic Science course is really well structured, it is interesting, challenging and covers a variety of different disciplines.
The student support here is very good

Vicky Fitzgerald

vicky

Physics - graduate

The department gave me the opportunity to work in a research team this last summer which has been amazing. I've had my own project, written a scientific paper and been at the Rutherford Laboratory.
The department is very supportive and there is a good relationship between lecturers and students.
The number of students is not too large so that we can get to know each other and support each other.
They are flexible to allow you to adjust your course if you want to do something different. I started doing Physics with Astrophysics and changed easily to straight Physics.
There are a huge number of career options with a degree in physics but having experienced research I'm quite tempted to do this too.
The campus has a huge number of sports, cultural and other societies and runs different activities like International night and Mediterranean night.
The campus is safe for women and there are measures in place to make sure it is safe which is very reassuring.
On campus there is a caring and supportive environment and there is a whole week of settling in and getting to know people in Freshers' Week.

Steven Parsons

Physics with Astrophysics - graduate

The course was absolutely fascinating it combines the most interesting topics of astrophysics with the most important topics of modern physics. You really get an overview of the whole of physics and the added advantage of a speciality.
The lectures are always willing to help and discuss the current topics there is a great relationship between staff and students. Many of them are able to bring the modules to life by bringing enthusiasm and knowledge to tricky subjects.
Student life was the greatest experience of my life. It was liberating and a little scary, but that's what makes it worth doing. It was completely different to anything else I had ever done.
There is always something going on somewhere on campus which makes it such a unique place. I helped run the Salsa Society one year which was a huge success and great fun.
Canterbury itself it a wonderful, picturesque city, it's full of interesting places to visit and socialise. You'll will never have the same night twice!