Channel your curiosity and investigate the beautiful concepts that underpin our understanding of space, time and matter. Our physics and astronomy degrees offer a rigorous scientific training based on the latest research.

You’ll be prepared to go onto do almost anything when you graduate, whether that’s a role in industry, academia or a completely different field.

Southampton is a great place to study physics and astronomy; we’re ranked 4th in the Russell Group for satisfaction with both course and teaching (Guardian University Guide, 2020).

BSc Physics

MPhys Physics

MPhys Physics with Astronomy

MPhys Physics with Space Science

MPhys Physics with Mathematics

MPhys Physics with Nanotechnology

MPhys Physics with Photonics

Flagship degrees

MPhys Astrophysics with a Year Abroad

MPhys Particle Physics with a Research Year Abroad

MPhys Physics with a Year of Experimental Research

MPhys Physics with Industrial Placement

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Undertaking postgraduate study at the Optoelectronics Research Centre means that you will be starting your career in one of the world’s leading institutes for optical fibres and photonics research.

World-changing inventions from the ORC are used to navigate airlines, cut steel, manufacture life-saving medical devices and power the Internet. Fibres invented and made in Southampton are on the Moon, Mars and the International Space Station.

On our MSc programme, you will work within a vibrant research community alongside some of the world’s leading specialists in optical fibres and photonics. You'll spend time conducting novel research in state-of-the-art facilities with access to an excellent range of photonics equipment and materials technologies.

MSc Optical Fibre and Photonic Engineering

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Southampton is among the top five universities for physics in the UK, with over half of our work judged to be world leading or internationally excellent in the last two Research Assessment Exercises.

MSc Photonic Technologies
Many of the major developments in today’s technology were pioneered by our researchers, including the optical fibres and amplifiers that form the hardware backbone of the internet and the fibre laser which is used for a variety of applications ranging from manufacturing to defence.

Our world-leading research centre is a hive of activity with over 200 staff and students working on cutting-edge research to provide innovative solutions for real life problems in manufacturing, communication technology, defence, healthcare, renewable energy and the environment.

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Southampton is among the top five universities for physics in the UK, with over half of our work judged to be world leading or internationally excellent in the last two Research Assessment Exercises.

Research areas:

The Astronomy Group, are world experts in the study of compact stellar objects. They observe x-ray and gamma-ray sources and are leaders in the Integral space mission. The Space Environment Physics Group within the Astronomy Group, study the Earth's upper atmosphere and magnetosphere and its interaction with the Sun.

The Quantum, Light & Matter Group explores how matter interacts at the smallest and fastest scales, and is partnered with two major internationally renowned centres: the UK NanoPhotonics Centre, and the Optoelectronics Research Centre (ORC).

The Theoretical Particle Physics Group's work on fundamental physics was particularly highlighted in our 5* RAE report. The group studies the strong and weak nuclear forces, and the origin of particles' masses. The group is a leading player in the large UK Lattice QCD computer collaboration

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