Physics & Philosophy with a year abroad

Year 1

Year 1

Currently, students study the following core modules (modules are 15 credits unless otherwise stated). We review our options on a regular basis, in order to continue to offer innovative and exciting programmes and this list is therefore subject to change. Please check here for updates, or contact either department for further advice.

Courses are divided into modules. In each year you will normally take modules totalling 120 credits.

In your first year you will take 75 credits in Physics and 45 credits in Philosophy.

Required Modules

Physics

• Mathematics & Computation for Physics (30 credits)
• Classical Physics (30 credits)
• Introduction to Modern Physics (15 credits)

Philosophy

Choose two modules, one from each of the following groups:

Group A

• Elementary Logic (15 credits)
• Methodology (15 credits)

Group B

• Metaphysics (15 credits)
• Epistemology (15 credits)

Optional Modules

Physics

There are no optional Physics modules for this course in your first year.

Philosophy

Students choose one module from a range which typically includes:

• Greek Philosophy I (15 credits)
• Ethics I (15 credits)
• Modern Philosophy I (15 credits)
• Political Philosophy I (15 credits)
• Any of the philosophy modules listed above

The modules run in each academic year are subject to change in line with staff availability and student demand so there is no guarantee every module will run. Please click through to see the current required module descriptions for the Department of Philosophy, which are subject to change each academic year.

Year 2

Year 2 In your second year you will take 75 credits in Physics and 60 credits in Philosophy. Required Modules

Physics

• Mathematical Methods for Physics (15 credits)
• Thermal Physics & Properties of Matter (15 credits)
• Quantum Mechanics I (15 credits)
• Electromagnetism (15 credits)
• Relativity & Sub-atomic Physics (15 credits)

Philosophy

• Philosophy of Physics I: Philosophy of Space and Time (15 credits)
• Philosophy of Science (15 credits)

Optional Modules

Physics

There are no optional Physics modules in your second year.

Philosophy

Choose two modules (30 credits) from at least two of the following groups:

Group A

• Greek Philosophy II: Plato (15 credits)
• Greek Philosophy II: Aristotle (15 credits)
• Modern Philosophy II: Locke and Berkeley (15 credits)
• Modern Philosophy II: Spinoza & Leibniz (15 credits)

Group B

• Ethics II: History of Ethical Philosophy (15 credits)
• Ethics II: Contemporary Ethical Philosophy (15 credits)
• Political Philosophy II: History of Political Philosophy (15 credits)
• Political Philosophy II: Theories of Freedom (15 credits)

Group C

• Epistemology II (15 credits)
• Metaphysics II (15 credits)
• Philosophy of Logic and Language (15 credits)
• Philosophy of Mind (15 credits)
• Intermediate Logic (15 credits)

The modules run in each academic year are subject to change in line with staff availability and student demand so there is no guarantee every module will run. Please click through to see the current required module descriptions in the Department of Philosophy, which are subject to change each academic year.

Year 3

Year 3

Spent at an overseas university.

Required Modules

You will spend this year abroad at one of our partner institutions, which currently include:

• University of Chicago
• University of California
• University of North Carolina
• Université Paris Diderot-Paris 7 (basic French language required)
• University of Michigan
• University of Washington
• University of British Columbia
• National University of Singapore
• Hong Kong University
• Australian National University
• University of Sydney
• University of Melbourne
• Bielefeld University
• Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) (French language required)

Please note: The final decision on your application rests entirely with the host institution and depends on students’ reaching a certain grade in their end of year exams.

Please note: The host instution will make the final decision on whether they accept you or not. This depends on you reaching a satisfactory grade in your end of year exams.

Optional Modules

Year 4

Year 4 Required Modules

Physics

• Statistical Mechanics (15 credits)
• Quantum Mechanics II (15 credits)
• Third Year Project in Physics (15 credits)

Optional Modules

Physics

Choose up to two modules (totalling 30 credits) from a list which typically includes:

• University Ambassadors Scheme (15 credits)
• Advanced Mathematical Methods for Theoretical Physics (15 credits)
• Fundamentals of Nanotechnology (15 credits)
• General Relativity & Cosmology (15 credits)
• Optics (15 credits)
• Condensed Matter Physics I (15 credits)
• Particle Physics (15 credits)

Philosophy

Choose enough Philosophy modules to bring your total for the year to 120 credits:

• If students take 45 Philosophy credits, they must select at least 30 credits from the range of level 6 (year 4) optional modules.
• If students are taking 60 to 75 Philosophy credits, they must select at least 45 credits from the level 6 (year 4) optional modules.
• Students may select their remaining credits from either level 6 (year 4) or level 5 (year 2) optional modules.

The range of optional level 6 modules typically includes:

• Dissertation (30 credits)
• Hellenistic Philosophy (15 credits)
• Indian Philosophy: The Orthodox Schools (15 credits)
• Kant's Epistemology & Metaphysics (15 credits)
• Philosophy of Mathematics (15 credits)
• Philosophy of Psychology I (15 credits)
• Set Theory (15 credits)
• 19th Century Continental Philosophy (15 credits)
• Aesthetics (15 credits)
• Formal Syntax (15 credits)
• Moral Normativity (15 credits)
• Greek Philosophical Texts I: Plato (15 credits)
• Topics in Greek Philosophy (15 credits)
• Topics in Modern Philosophy (15 credits)
• Topics in Political Philosophy (15 credits)
• Topics in Philosophy of Language (15 credits)
• Scepticism (15 credits)
• Foundations of Analytic Philosophy (15 credits)
• Indian Philosophy: The Heterodox Schools (15 credits)
• Medieval Philosophy (15 credits)
• Philosophy of Religion (15 credits)
• Ethics of Science & Technology (15 credits)
• Modal Logic (15 credits)
• Formal Semantics (15 credits)
• Topics in the Philosophy of Mind (15 credits)
• Gender & Philosophy (15 credits)
• Philosophy of Psychology II (15 credits)
• Topics in Metaphysics (15 credits)
• Philosophy of Physics II: Quantum Mechanics (15 credits)

For the range of optional level 5 modules, see year 2. The groups do not apply in fourth year.

The modules run in each academic year are subject to change in line with staff availability and student demand so there is no guarantee every module will run.