Subject overview

Specialist facilities

A wide range of experimental facilities at Sussex, at national centres and at international laboratories is available to graduate students. 

The Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics research group at Sussex operates state-of-the-art laboratories for quantum information processing with trapped ions, photons and electrons. Our experimental facilities include a range of high-precision laser systems from infrared to ultraviolet, as well as miniature ion and atom chips for the controlled manipulation of quantum bits. Sussex is one of only two places in the world with the capability to manufacture the optical-fibre cavities needed for quantum networking. 

Our postgraduate students have access to a range of computing facilities including the University’s high-performance computing service. Our research groups have dedicated unix-based computing systems, and access to national and international supercomputer facilities. The Experimental Particle Physics group is part of a Grid Tier-2 node and benefits from access to the Grid’s distributed high-performance computing resources. 

We are currently refurbishing all of our research and teaching laboratories. 

Academic activities

Both taught and research students are expected to attend research seminars, and to contribute to their group’s discussions of the latest journal papers. PhD students have an opportunity to attend an international conference and give a paper on their specialist subject. Many experimentalist PhD students also have the opportunity to travel to various other sites, such as the Institut Laue-Langevin (ILL) in the French Alps, CERN in Geneva and SNOLAB in Canada. Most PhD students acquire considerable computing skills, which they find an asset in obtaining employment. 

Programmes

• PhD in Physics
• MPhil in Physics

There are opportunities for graduate students in many areas of modern experimental and theoretical physics. 

Coursework 

Lecture modules form an essential part of your training. These are given by physics faculty members, assisted by research fellows and visiting members of faculty from various research institutions. In this way a very wide range of topics can be studied. 

During their first two years, experimental and theoretical research students are required to take at least five postgraduate modules, although allowance may be made for previous postgraduate study. Assessment of modules is by coursework and/or unseen examination. 

Entry requirements

MPhil in Physics

UK entrance requirements

A first- or upper second-class undergraduate honours degree in physics. Applications are also encouraged from students of other disciplines, for example mathematical physics, chemical physics or materials science.

Overseas entrance requirements

If your country is not listed below, please contact the University at E pg.enquiries@sussex.ac.uk

Country	Overseas qualification
Australia	Bachelor (Honours) degree with second-class upper division
Brazil	Bacharel, Licenciado or professional title with a final mark of at least 8
Canada	Bachelor degree with CGPA 3.3/4.0 (grade B+)
China	Bachelor degree from a leading university with overall mark of 75%-85% depending on your university
Cyprus	Bachelor degree or Ptychion with a final mark of at least 7.5
France	Licence with mention bien or Maîtrise with final mark of at least 13
Germany	Bachelor degree or Magister Artium with a final mark of 2.4 or better
Ghana	Bachelor degree from a public university with second-class upper division
Greece	Ptychion from an AEI with a final mark of at least 7.5
Hong Kong	Bachelor (Honours) degree with second-class upper division
India	Bachelor degree from a leading institution with overall mark of at least 60% or equivalent
Iran	Bachelor degree (Licence or Karshenasi) with a final mark of at least 15
Italy	Diploma di Laurea with an overall mark of at least 105
Japan	Bachelor degree from a leading university with a minumum average of B+ or equivalent
Malaysia	Bachelor degree with class 2 division 1
Mexico	Licenciado with a final mark of at least 8
Nigeria	Bachelor degree with second-class upper division or CGPA of at least 3.0/4.0
Pakistan	Four-year bachelor degree, normally with a GPA of at least 3.3
Russia	Magistr or Specialist Diploma with a minimum average mark of at least 4
South Africa	Bachelor (Honours) degree or Bachelor degree in Technology with an overall mark of at least 70%
Saudi Arabia	Bachelor degree with an overall mark of at least 70% or CGPA 3.5/5.0 or equivalent
South Korea	Bachelor degree from a leading university with CGPA of at least 3.5/4.0 or equivalent
Spain	Licenciado with a final mark of at least 2/4
Taiwan	Bachelor degree with overall mark of 70%-85% depending on your university
Thailand	Bachelor degree with CGPA of at least 3.0/4.0 or equivalent
Turkey	Lisans Diplomasi with CGPA of at least 3.0/4.0 depending on your university
United Arab Emirates	Bachelor degree with CGPA of at least 3.5/4.0 or equivalent
USA	Bachelor degree with CGPA 3.3-3.5/4.0 depending on your university
Vietnam	Masters degree with CGPA 3.5/4.0 or equivalent

If you have any questions about your qualifications after consulting our overseas qualifications, contact the University at E pg.enquiries@sussex.ac.uk

English language requirements

IELTS 6.5, with not less than 6.5 in Writing and 6.0 in the other sections. Internet TOEFL with 88 overall, with at least 20 in Listening, 20 in Reading, 22 in Speaking and 24 in Writing.

For more information, refer to English language requirements.

Additional admissions information

If you are a non-EEA student you must obtain clearance by the UK Government Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) for this degree. Please ensure you allow sufficient time for your university application to be considered and processed in time for you to apply for ATAS clearance and your Tier 4 visa.

PhD in Physics

UK entrance requirements

A first- or upper second-class undergraduate honours degree in physics. Applications are also encouraged from students of other disciplines, for example mathematical physics, chemical physics or materials science.

Overseas entrance requirements

If your country is not listed below, please contact the University at E pg.enquiries@sussex.ac.uk

Country	Overseas qualification
Australia	Bachelor (Honours) degree with second-class upper division
Brazil	Bacharel, Licenciado or professional title with a final mark of at least 8
Canada	Bachelor degree with CGPA 3.3/4.0 (grade B+)
China	Bachelor degree from a leading university with overall mark of 75%-85% depending on your university
Cyprus	Bachelor degree or Ptychion with a final mark of at least 7.5
France	Licence with mention bien or Maîtrise with final mark of at least 13
Germany	Bachelor degree or Magister Artium with a final mark of 2.4 or better
Ghana	Bachelor degree from a public university with second-class upper division
Greece	Ptychion from an AEI with a final mark of at least 7.5
Hong Kong	Bachelor (Honours) degree with second-class upper division
India	Bachelor degree from a leading institution with overall mark of at least 60% or equivalent
Iran	Bachelor degree (Licence or Karshenasi) with a final mark of at least 15
Italy	Diploma di Laurea with an overall mark of at least 105
Japan	Bachelor degree from a leading university with a minumum average of B+ or equivalent
Malaysia	Bachelor degree with class 2 division 1
Mexico	Licenciado with a final mark of at least 8
Nigeria	Bachelor degree with second-class upper division or CGPA of at least 3.0/4.0
Pakistan	Four-year bachelor degree, normally with a GPA of at least 3.3
Russia	Magistr or Specialist Diploma with a minimum average mark of at least 4
South Africa	Bachelor (Honours) degree or Bachelor degree in Technology with an overall mark of at least 70%
Saudi Arabia	Bachelor degree with an overall mark of at least 70% or CGPA 3.5/5.0 or equivalent
South Korea	Bachelor degree from a leading university with CGPA of at least 3.5/4.0 or equivalent
Spain	Licenciado with a final mark of at least 2/4
Taiwan	Bachelor degree with overall mark of 70%-85% depending on your university
Thailand	Bachelor degree with CGPA of at least 3.0/4.0 or equivalent
Turkey	Lisans Diplomasi with CGPA of at least 3.0/4.0 depending on your university
United Arab Emirates	Bachelor degree with CGPA of at least 3.5/4.0 or equivalent
USA	Bachelor degree with CGPA 3.3-3.5/4.0 depending on your university
Vietnam	Masters degree with CGPA 3.5/4.0 or equivalent

If you have any questions about your qualifications after consulting our overseas qualifications, contact the University at E pg.enquiries@sussex.ac.uk

English language requirements

IELTS 6.5, with not less than 6.5 in Writing and 6.0 in the other sections. Internet TOEFL with 88 overall, with at least 20 in Listening, 20 in Reading, 22 in Speaking and 24 in Writing.

For more information, refer to English language requirements.

Additional admissions information

If you are a non-EEA student you must obtain clearance by the UK Government Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) for this degree. Please ensure you allow sufficient time for your university application to be considered and processed in time for you to apply for ATAS clearance and your Tier 4 visa.

Related subjects

• Astronomy and cosmology
• Computing, artificial intelligence and IT
• Mathematics

Fees and funding

Fees

MPhil in Physics

Home UK/EU students: £3,900¹
Channel Island and Isle of Man students: £3,900²
Overseas students: £16,200³

¹ The fee shown is for the academic year 2013.
² The fee shown is for the academic year 2013.
³ The fee shown is for the academic year 2013.

PhD in Physics

Home UK/EU students: £3,900¹
Channel Island and Isle of Man students: £3,900²
Overseas students: £16,200³

¹ The fee shown is for the academic year 2013.
² The fee shown is for the academic year 2013.
³ The fee shown is for the academic year 2013.

Funding

The funding sources listed below are for the subject area you are viewing and may not apply to all degrees listed within it. Please check the description of the individual funding source to make sure it is relevant to your chosen degree.

Faculty interests

At the time of going to press, the Department of Physics and Astronomy is expanding and, within all our research groups, we are in the process of recruiting further faculty members. 

Our four research groups are focused on research into fundamental areas of science: 

Astronomy Centre

Dr Christian Byrnes is a theoretical cosmologist studying how the smallest-scale density perturbations were the initial seeds leading to the galaxies seen today. The motivation is to learn about the first yoctosecond after the Big Bang. 

Dr Ilian Iliev uses supercomputer simulations to study the formation of large-scale cosmological structures, the cosmic dark ages and reionisation by the first stars. 

Dr Antony Lewis works on theoretical and observational cosmology. He is involved with analysing data from the Planck Satellite. 

Dr Jon Loveday is an astronomer interested in observational cosmology, the nature of dark matter, and in galaxy formation. He participates in several world-leading optical and near-infrared galaxy surveys, including GAMA, SDSS, UKIDSS and VISTA. 

Professor Seb Oliver is an astronomer researching the evolution of galaxies since the Big Bang. He undertakes surveys of the distant universe and leads the largest project on the Herschel mission. 

Dr Kathy Romer is an observational cosmologist specialising in the detection and study of x-ray clusters of galaxies. She is the principal investigator of the international XMM Cluster Survey project. 

Dr David Seery is a theoretical cosmologist working on the physics of the very early universe, and in particular the properties of the primordial density perturbation, which is believed to have seeded later structure formation. 

Professor Peter Thomas uses supercomputer simulations to investigate the physics of galaxies and clusters of galaxies. 

Dr Stephen Wilkins studies the formation and evolution of the first galaxies. He has recently led the identification and characterisation of star forming within the early universe using deep Hubble observations.

Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics 

Dr Claudia Eberlein is a theorist working on quantum optics and quantum field theory. 

Dr Barry Garraway heads this group and is a theoretical physicist with a particular research interest in quantum physics and quantum optics. 

Dr Winfried Hensinger researches ion quantum technology and is implementing new quantum technologies using ultracold-trapped ions. 

Dr Matthias Keller studies the interaction between single atomic ions and light to exchange information between quantum computers. 

Dr José Verdú aims to develop novel types of traps for electrons with applications to metrology. 

Experimental Particle Physics

Dr Antonella De Santo heads this group and also leads the Sussex effort on ATLAS at CERN. She searches for supersymmetry in ATLAS data in a quest to uncover the nature of dark matter. 

Dr Elisabeth Falk seeks to find manifestations of new physics in both neutrino experiments and in proton-proton interactions at the Large Hadron Collider. 

Dr Mike Hardiman seeks to uncover the processes that led to the dominance of matter over anti-matter in the universe. 

Professor Philip Harris is spokesperson of the CryoEDM experiment. He makes high-precision measurements of the neutron electric dipole moment. 

Dr Jeff Hartnell is interested in fundamental properties of neutrinos. He works on the SNO+ experiment. 

Dr Simon Peeters heads the SNO+ effort at Sussex and is interested in fundamental properties of the neutrino. 

Dr Fabrizio Salvatore is involved in the ATLAS experiment at the CERN LHC, working on the experiment’s trigger system and on searches for supersymmetry in tau final states.

Theoretical Particle Physics

Dr Andrea Banfi is a leading expert in QCD phenomenology. His main research interest is the physics of hadronic jets. 

Dr Xavier Calmet investigates physics beyond the Standard Model of particle physics and in particular the Higgs sector. 

Professor Mark Hindmarsh is a world expert on the physics of the early universe and looks at the dynamics of strings in cosmology. 

Dr Stephan Huber works on early universe cosmology and particle physics beyond the Standard Model. 

Dr Sebastian Jaeger’s research centres on indirect ways to find new particles via their virtual effects. 

Dr Daniel Litim heads this group and is a world leader of renormalisation group approaches to fundamental interactions in quantum field theory. 

Dr Veronica Sanz is an expert in collider phenomenology and model building beyond the Standard Model.

Careers and perspectives

Our graduates have gone on to careers in education and software engineering, and also hold posts such as postdoctoral research fellow. 

School and contacts