Mathematics and Physics
Mathematics and physics is one of the most intellectually demanding and rewarding subject combinations available at university. The two disciplines are profoundly interconnected: physics provides the phenomena that mathematics describes and explains, while mathematics provides the language and the tools that make physical theories precise and predictive. Studying them together gives you a genuinely dual competence, the ability to reason abstractly and rigorously alongside the physical intuition needed to understand what mathematical structures mean in the real world.
Nottingham Trent University offers this four-year full-time degree with an integrated foundation year, building the mathematical and scientific knowledge needed before you enter the main programme. The foundation year makes the degree accessible to students who may not yet have studied physics or mathematics at the level required for direct entry, ensuring that everyone who progresses has a solid preparation for the demands of the combined degree. Once in the main programme, you will study calculus, linear algebra, differential equations, mechanics, electromagnetism, quantum mechanics, thermal physics, optics, and mathematical methods, developing rigorous quantitative reasoning alongside deep physical understanding.
You will work in laboratories, engage with computational methods, and develop the ability to model physical systems mathematically.
Graduates in mathematics and physics go on to work in research, technology, engineering, data science, quantitative finance, computing, and a wide range of roles where advanced mathematical and scientific reasoning is required. The combination is particularly valued in sectors at the frontier of technology, including aerospace, defence, energy, medical physics, and semiconductor design. Many graduates continue to postgraduate study in mathematics, theoretical physics, applied mathematics, or scientific computing, and some pursue doctoral research that contributes to the frontier of physical knowledge.