Mathematics and Physics with professional placement or study abroad

Mathematics and physics is one of the most natural and productive of academic pairings, rooted in the centuries-long relationship between mathematical thought and physical understanding. The two disciplines have always enriched each other: mathematics provides the language in which physical laws are expressed, and physics has historically driven the development of new mathematical ideas. Studying them together gives you access to both the rigour of mathematical reasoning and the empirical grounding of physical science, and develops the kind of analytical depth that is among the most valued in the graduate market.

At the University of Bath, this four-year full-time programme includes a professional placement year or a year abroad alongside the core academic content. These options give you either direct professional experience in a relevant industry or academic setting, or international experience at a partner institution, significantly enriching the degree beyond the classroom. In your final year you will carry out a substantial project, with choices ranging from experimental, theoretical, and computational physics projects related to current staff research interests, to an Industry Team Project addressing a real-life scientific problem posed by an industrial client, or a Communicating Physics Project involving public engagement activities.

This range of project options reflects the breadth of what physics and mathematics graduates can contribute.

You will study across the core areas of mathematics including analysis, algebra, statistics, and differential equations, and across the core areas of physics including quantum mechanics, electromagnetism, thermodynamics, and classical mechanics, with the two streams in continuous dialogue throughout.

Graduates from mathematics and physics programmes enter careers in research, data science, finance, engineering, computing, meteorology, and a range of analytical and technical roles across sectors. Postgraduate study in mathematics, physics, applied mathematics, or a related discipline is a well-established next step.