Mathematics and Physics

Mathematics and physics together form one of the most demanding and intellectually rewarding combinations available at university, and one of the most natural. Modern physics is inseparable from the mathematics that expresses it: quantum mechanics, general relativity, statistical mechanics and the theory of fields are mathematical structures as much as they are physical theories, and truly understanding them requires moving between physical intuition and mathematical rigour in both directions. Studying mathematics and physics together develops a way of thinking that neither subject alone can fully provide.

This four-year full-time degree at the University of Edinburgh includes a year abroad, giving you the chance to engage with mathematics and physics in a different academic and cultural context. The University of Edinburgh has exceptional strength in both pure and applied mathematics and in physics, and the combined degree allows you to go deep in both, developing the rigorous mindset and invaluable problem-solving and analytical skills that mathematics requires alongside the physical understanding, experimental sensibility and theoretical ambition of physics. You will encounter mathematical concepts not typically met at school level, and you will develop the ability to apply mathematical structures to physical questions and to appreciate when new mathematics is needed to describe new physics.

Graduates are among the most sought-after of all science graduates. The combination of deep mathematical knowledge and physical understanding is valued across research, technology, finance, data science, computing and many other fields where quantitative reasoning at the highest level is an asset. Careers in academic research, theoretical and experimental physics, mathematical finance, actuarial science, scientific computing and engineering are all realistic destinations.

Further study at postgraduate level in mathematics, physics or related disciplines is a common route for those seeking research or highly technical professional careers.