Physics: Physical Sciences

What is Physics?

Physics is the study of the material world and natural phenomena around us, including the fundamental particles of nature and their interactions, properties of atomic nuclei, atoms, molecules, gases and solid matter. It includes fields such as astrophysics, cosmology, and physics of materials. The laws of physics are the laws which govern electricity and magnetism in modern devices such as mobile phones, computers, the internet, radio and television, the mechanics of aviation and space flight and the quantum mechanics underlying magnetic resonance imaging in medicine.

Physics: The course for you?

If you enjoy laboratory and computational work and have an interest in how fundamental physical theories explain the world that we live in, then this could be the course for you.

Physics at Trinity

The Trinity Physics course includes a strong background in core physics subjects as well as courses in condensed matter physics, semiconductor devices, photonics, metals, magnetism and superconductivity. Practical aspects of the course include lecture modules in electronics and instrumentation. Physics at Trinity offers you the opportunity to study with world leading experts in the School of Physics, with modules designed to provide you with a qualification for employment across a range of research and industry settings.

Graduate skills and career opportunities

The Trinity physics degrees are all recognised by the Institute of Physics, which is the professional body for physicists in Ireland and the UK, as qualifications for the professional title ‘Chartered Physicist’ (CPhys). Physics graduates are always in high demand in Ireland and abroad in modern high-technology industries, as well as in teaching. You may also find a career in academic institutions, government and industrial research organisations and production facilities or in the meteorological service. There are diverse opportunities in electronics, telecommunications, biophysics, hospital and health physics, automation and computing. Your degree course will give you the opportunity to acquire problem solving skills which will be valued by your future employer. It could also give you useful primary training for a legal, managerial or actuarial career, where a technical background is attractive.

Your degree and what you’ll study

In the first two years you study Physics and Mathematics and one other subject. The Physics course includes topics in astrophysics, statistics, mechanics, thermodynamics, electricity, acoustics and optics, nuclear physics and quantum physics. The mathematics course includes topics in calculus, linear algebra, fourier analysis and mechanics. You spend three hours per week in experimental or computational laboratories. You will learn computer coding skills through the Python programming language.

In the third year you take lecture modules in Physics and spend one day per week in the experimental laboratory as well as receiving training in communication and presentation skills. In the fourth year you carry out an experimental or computational Capstone research project during the first nine weeks of the first semester and then take lecture modules in Physics which cover core Physics at a more advanced level as well as approved modules.

Third year modules

Quantum Mechanics, Electromagnetism, Condensed Matter Physics, Atomic Physics, Semiconductor Physics and Devices, Stellar and Galactic Structure, Statistical Mechanics, Computer Simulation.

Fourth year modules

Quantum Physics, High Energy Physics, Nuclear Structure, Condensed Matter, Nanoscience, Electromagnetic Interactions, Modern Optics, Polymers, Soft Matter, Energy Science and Computational Physics.

Study Abroad and internship opportunities

You may undertake your fourth-year Capstone project at a research institute or university in the EU or further afield, provided you attain a sufficient standard in the third-year examinations. Information on the year abroad programme for second or third year students, and a list of partner universities, can be found at: www.tcd.ie/study/non-eu/study-abroad

Do you enjoy:

• Experimental and computational work in a variety of fields such as condensed matter physics or nonlinear optics?
• Finding out how big ideas, such as quantum physics and relativity, shape the world we live in?