Why choose our School of Physics and Astronomy

Find your passion Our areas of expertise are broad and include particle physics, astronomy, materials physics and theoretical physics, allowing you to pursue your interests as they develop. Ultimately, you can choose to gain a degree with a wide knowledge of physics or to specialise in a particular area.

You can choose from pathways that offer you the opportunity to gain valuable work experience or to immerse yourself in a new culture overseas.

You can also specialise further through our intercollegiate MSci programmes, which share fourth-year modules with other University of London institutions including King’s College London (KCL), University College London (UCL) and Royal Holloway, University of London. All of our programmes are accredited by the Institute of Physics, which ensures consistently high academic standards.

Our highlights

1st in London for student satisfaction 5 years running (NSS 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014)

Successful placement scheme offering opportunities in research and industry

Excellent facilities including laboratories and an astronomical observatory

Involved in pioneering international research collaborations including the discovery of the Higgs boson and exoplanet Proxima b

Opportunities to study abroad and incorporate professional experience into your degree

Taught by experts You will be taught by academic staff who work on high-profile international collaborations and bring unique knowledge and insight to their teaching. The School of Physics and Astronomy is actively involved in research including the ATLAS experiment at CERN, neutrino physics at T2K in Japan, surveys with the VISTA telescope at the European Southern Observatory (ESO), and the NASA/ESA Cassini mission to Saturn.

Take your place in our history Our rich research heritage includes over 100 years of success, with our work playing a key role in some of the most exciting discoveries in the fields of physics and astronomy. Our early studies of atomic structure fed into Rutherford’s discovery of the atomic nucleus; our researchers played a role in the Nobel Prize-winning discovery of the W, Z and Higgs bosons; and our work in the development of superstring theory led to the first ‘superstring revolution’.

More recently, Queen Mary astronomer Dr Guillem Anglada-Escudé was cited in Time Magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people of 2017, having led a team of scientists to discover the closest ever exoplanet to Earth, Proxima b.

In 2020, research led by a team of physicists from Queen Mary was named in physicsworld’s Top 10 Physics Breakthroughs of the Year for discovering the fastest possible speed of sound. A community of physicists The School combines the academic rigour and high standards of a Russell Group institution with a friendly and supportive atmosphere. The School is always highly rated by students in the National Student Survey (NSS) and was voted first in London for overall satisfaction for five years running (NSS 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014).

Excellent facilities Our facilities include teaching laboratories, a roof-top observatory, a study space just for physics students, and professional research facilities for use in final year projects. For more information see page 26.

Training for your future In addition to the suite of skills that you will develop through your study of physics or astronomy, you will also have the opportunity to build valuable work experience and transferable skills through specialist careers and employability support. There are summer placement opportunities available as well as the option of studying one of our Professional Experience degrees (page 16).

Study abroad You can apply to spend a semester or a full year abroad on a non-credit-bearing year at one of our international partner universities (page 28). There are no extra tuition fees associated with years abroad, though you will need to cover your transport, accommodation and living expenses.

The top two students on the Astrophysics programme will be offered fully-funded summer internships at the Skinakas Observatory in Crete.