International Students

Welcome to the School of Physics, a School with over 100 years of history.

4th

in the UK. The Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025.

5th

in the UK for Physics & Astronomy - Complete University Guide 2025.

Top 10

in the UK. The Guardian 2025.

Birmingham has one of the largest Physics departments in the UK with internationally acclaimed academics in education and research.

Video Transcript

[MUSIC AND LOGO PLAYING]

[DAISY HEADSHOT TALKING TO CAMERA FROM REMOTE LOCATION] I chose to study Physics at the University of Birmingham because it's one of the top universities in the UK and it's at the forefront of lots of world leading research projects that students can witness first-hand.

[LUKE HEADSHOT TALKING TO CAMERA FROM REMOTE LOCATION] What I love about Birmingham is the availability of the lecturers, they're always willing to answer your questions, whether that's through emails or during drop-in sessions.

[ANWESHA HEADSHOT TALKING TO CAMERA FROM REMOTE LOCATION] I chose to study Physics with Particle Physics and Cosmology at UoB because of our robust research in experimental particle physics and our engagement with CERN. All of our teaching staff are incredibly supportive and easy to approach.

[ALEX HEADSHOT TALKING TO CAMERA FROM REMOTE LOCATION] One of the reasons I love Physics at the University of Birmingham is the huge variety of things you might do in just one week.

Last week I was looking at the nuclear decay of radioactive isotopes in nuclear laboratory, I was learning about the life cycle of stars and fission and fusion reactors from the very best in the industry.

[LAURA HEADSHOT TALKING TO CAMERA FROM REMOTE LOCATION] So I chose Physics at Birmingham because of the range of optional modules available.

So the course at Birmingham is structured so that in the first two years you study core Physics, like thermodynamics and quantum mechanics, and then in years three and four there's a really long list of optional modules that you can pick from.

[LUKE HEADSHOT TALKING TO CAMERA FROM REMOTE LOCATION] Another really cool thing is we have student reps in each year and they feed back our opinions directly to the School so that they can implement changes that help us.

[JEREMY HEADSHOT TALKING TO CAMERA FROM REMOTE LOCATION] One of the main reasons I decided to study at the University of Birmingham was because when I visited the campus, I felt a real sense of community between the staff and students - particularly the Physics department.

[DAISY HEADSHOT TALKING TO CAMERA FROM REMOTE LOCATION] It's also really central, the city centre's only a five minute train ride away, and there are loads of things you can do. There are hundreds of shops and restaurants on top of the ones in the Bullring shopping centre.

 

[VISIT: WWW.BIRMINGHAM.AC.UK/SCHOOLS/PHYSICS/UNDERGRADUATE]

[VIDEO AND MUSIC ENDS]

Dr Stuart Pirrie

Admissions Tutor and Teaching Fellow, School of Physics and Astronomy

“Below we have included links and information for international applicants. We will also be running online events through the year to meet you virtually. However, if you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact me using the email address at the bottom of this page.”

 

Your First Year at Birmingham

Your first year as a Physics student at the University of Birmingham will be an interesting and exciting time full of new experiences and challenges. Here are a few of the highlights you can expect from your first year:

  • Develop a broad skill-set – you will develop a broad range of skills that will set you up for your programme, and make you highly employable in the jobs market - including internships - as well as, developing confidence in problem solving, programming, writing and presenting.
  • Research-led teaching – you will not only be taught by academics who are world-leaders in their research fields – with examples including quantum technology, particle physics, gravitational waves and exoplanets – you will also have the opportunity to actively participate in our research programmes through project work.  
  • A flexible programme that matches to your interests – whether you are inspired by the fundamentals of physics or a particular field of research, or want to develop hands-on practical skills or pursue theoretical studies, we have programmes and individual courses for you, with flexibility through optional modules in later years that allow you to follow particular threads or themes.
  • Active student societies – our Physics students lead award-winning societies - AstroSoc - who organise social and professional events, including career events, talks, quiz nights, projects and social evenings. They also arrange talks from experts in the field and viewing of the night skies through the society's telescopes.

Why Physics at Birmingham?

Becoming a Physics student at the University of Birmingham will be an interesting and exciting time full of new experiences and challenges.

Here are a few of the reasons to choose Physics at Birmingham:

  • Flexibility - our courses are designed to give grounding in core physics in the early stages and then allow specialisation and a wealth of options during the later years. As such, it is often possible to swap between our specialised courses early in your studies, subject to satisfactory achievement during the first two years of study.
  • Academic Support - contact hours are split between lectures, labs, computing classes, small group example classes and tutorial sessions and amounts to around 22 hours a week in the first year. Our tutorials are held weekly in groups of no more than four students and are invaluable to ensuring our students have a ready source of academic and personal help throughout their studies.
  • Access to excellent facilities – our laboratories contain equipment specialised to teaching degree level Physics, allowing our students to pursue a wide range of experimental interests throughout their degree. We also have our own observatory just outside the city, which contains a modern telescope and equipment.  We are also the only physics department in the country to have its own cyclotron accelerator.
  • Study and social space - the department has plenty of study spaces and computers in addition to other facilities around the campus. There is also a café in the physics building which is a great meeting place and the perfect place to grab lunch between lectures.
  • Careers Support - our courses aim to prepare you for graduate level employment either as a Physicist or in the wider working world. We have a large Careers Centre on campus and a careers tutor in the School of Physics and Astronomy. We run careers tutorials in Year 2 of the degree, and organise careers fairs for our undergraduates, where representatives from companies come to talk to and recruit our students. We also provide special advice for our final year students who are applying for jobs. This support is reflected in our consistently high graduate employability rate, as reported in the Destination of Leavers form Higher Education Survey.
  • To get a feel of what it is like to study Physics here at the University of Birmingham, you are welcome to join a virtual visit day, the Offer Holder Facebook groups or take up our offer of a current physics student buddy who can answer questions about moving to the UK to study Physics at Birmingham.

Hear from our international community

One of the best ways to find out what life is really like as an international Physics student is to hear from them! Here, our current students and recent graduates talk about their experience and give real insight into student life at Birmingham. To see full student profiles, as well as, student videos and much more, please see our International Students Information page.

Kelly, a Physics student

"You'll learn from excellent lecturers and have enough support and flexibility. I like how communicative the Department is - it always keeps you updated about any events, internships or placements."
Kelly, BSc Physics

Khang Minh Nguyễn, a Physics student

"One of the best parts of the course is being able to bring theoretical knowledge in my specialised field, into practice in either data analysis or using an observatory to do research."
Khang Minh Nguyen, MSci Physics with Astrophysics 

Fatima, a Physics student

"Being taught by academics who are global experts in their field is definitely one of the best parts of the course. The excellent quality of teaching shines through both in the classroom and the lab."
Fatima, BSc Physics with Astrophysics

Mukul, a Physics graduate

"Astrophysics is an immensely interesting and challenging course, and one of its best aspects would be the use of our very own University of Birmingham Observatory."
Mukul, MSci Physics and Astrophysics

Key dates - 2024 UG admission

 

  • September 2023 - UCAS applications open
  • 16th October 2023 (6pm UK time) - Deadlines for applications if your options include Oxford or Cambridge
  • 31st January 2023 (6pm UK time) - Deadline for applications - First places*
  • 28th February 2024 - UCAS Extra opens (see here)
  • 6th June 2024 -  All applicants who received their decisions by 16 May must make their Firm and Insurance choices by this date otherwise all offers will be declined by default.
  • 30th June 2024 - All applications made after this date are entered in to UCAS Clearing
  • 4th July 2024 - Last date to make a UCAS Extra application
  • 5th July 2024 - UCAS Clearing opens. Birmingham Clearing programmes will confirmed in due course - Please note, limited programmes and places will be available in Clearing
  • 5th July 2024 - IB results date
  • 31st July 2024 - Birmingham accommodation application deadline (for Accommodation Guarantee scheme)
  • 15th August 2024 - A level results day. If you're not an A level student, you must send us your results directly
  • 31st August 2024 - Last date to meet any offer condition
  • 21st - 22nd September 2024 - Arrivals weekend
  • 23rd - 27th September 2024 - Welcome Week
  • 30th September 2024 - Semester One teaching begins

 Information on University of Birmingham term dates

*All applications received by this date are given equal consideration. If you apply after this date then we cannot guarantee that we will be able to consider your application depending on the number and quality of applications we received before this UCAS deadline.

** If you apply after this date, your application is automatically entered into Clearing.

Information on the UCAS process.

Contact us

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