Swansea is a research-led University to which the Physics department makes a significant contribution, meaning that as a Postgraduate Physics Student you will benefit from the knowledge and skills of internationally renowned academics.

Over 80% of the research outputs from both the experimental and theoretical groups were judged to be world-leading or internationally excellent (REF 2014-2021). 

The three main research groups within the Department of Physics currently focus on the following areas of research:

MSc by Research programmes: We normally require a minimum of an upper second class Honours degree or equivalent in physics or a related field.

International students:  please visit our International pages for information on entry requirements for your country:  Africa, South Asia, East Asia, Europe and Russia, Middle East, North America, South America, South East Asia.  If your country is not listed within these regions, please contact international-science@swansea.ac.uk

Applicants to this programme would normally be expected to meet the minimum entry requirements indicated above. The College/School reserves the right to ask for higher academic grades and qualifications. Admissions decisions take into account not only prior academic qualifications, but also factors including the standard of the research synopsis/proposal submitted by the applicant, their performance at interview (if required), intensity of competition for limited places and relevant professional experience (where appropriate).

All applications for postgraduate programmes should be made direct to the University's Admissions Office.

• Home applicants: you can then submit your application via the Admissions Office.
• EU and Overseas applicants: you can then submit your application via the Admissions Office.

The application process for postgraduate research involves two stages:

1. Firstly, securing an offer of a place at the Department via the Admissions Office.
2. Securing funding for your studies. We will give you help where necessary, especially with the second part.

Depending on the source, funds to undertake postgraduate research are awarded on the basis of either the project being of high quality (in which case the funding will exist when we advertise the project), or the merits of the applicant.

If you already have funding, or are self-funding, you will need to decide on a research topic that interests you.

For enquiries regarding postgraduate research in Experimental Physics (AMQP, APM Groups), contact Dr Markus Müller


For enquiries regarding postgraduate research in Theoretical Physics (PPCT Group), contact Dr Daniel Thompson

Annual tuition fees for entry in the academic year 2019/20 are as follows:

Tuition fees for years of study after your first year are subject to an increase of 3%.

You can find further information on fees and how to pay on our tuition fees page.

Note: The UK/EU fee is indicative pending confirmation from UKRI

If your course starts in January, April or July 2019 please refer to the 2018/19 fee costs on our tuition fees page.

You may be eligible for funding to help support your study. To find out about scholarships, bursaries and other funding opportunities that are available please visit the University's scholarships and bursaries page.

Current students: You can find further information of your fee costs on our tuition fees page.

The tuition fees for the MSc by Research Theoretical Physics do not cover costs incurred personally by the student such as the purchase of books or stationery, printing or photocopying costs.

International students: please visit http://www.swansea.ac.uk/international/students/requirements/

The Physics Department is always keen to attract high-quality postgraduate students to join our research groups.

All Physics Research Degrees take 12 months of study, including the dissertation.  For MSc by Research programmes you will be guided by internationally  leading researchers through an extended one-year individual  research project. There is no taught element.

The MSc by Research degrees enable you to pursue a one year individual  programme of research and would normally terminate after a year.  However,  under appropriate circumstances, this first year of research can also be used in a progression to Year  2 of a PhD degree. 

The programmes all have a recommended initial research training module (Science Skills & Research Methods), but otherwise has no taught element and is most suitable for you if you have an existing background in geography or cognate discipline and are looking to pursue a wholly research-based programme of study.

The first part shall take the form of a thesis embodying the methods and results of the research project. All theses should be presented in accordance with the University’s Guide to the Submission and Presentation of a Thesis for Research Students.

The second part shall take the form of an oral examination (viva voce).

Our two research groups, Particle Physics Theory (PPT) and Atomic, Molecular and Quantum Physics (AMQP), deliver impact with commercial benefits both nationally and internationally, complemented by a public engagement programme with a global reach. 

Economic impacts are realised by the Department’s Analytical Laser Spectroscopy Unit (ALSU) which, since 1993, has worked with companies developing products eventually sold to customers in the nuclear power industry and military, both in the UK and overseas, and in the global aerospace industry. Computational particle physics work performed by the PPT group has spun-off a computer benchmarking tool, BSMBench, used by several leading software outfits, and has led to the establishment of a start-up company.

The AMQP group’s work on trapping and investigating antihydrogen has generated great media interest and building on this we have developed a significant and on-going programme of public engagement. Activities include the development of a bespoke software simulator (Hands on Antihydrogen) of the antimatter experiment for school students.

As a postgraduate student in the Department of Physics you will have access to the following Specialist Facilities:

• Low-energy positron beam with a high field superconducting magnet for the study of
• positronium
• CW and pulsed laser systems
• Scanning tunnelling electron and nearfield optical microscopes
• Raman microscope
• CPU parallel cluster
• Access to the IBM-built ‘Blue C’ Super computer at Swansea University and is part of the shared use of the teraflop QCDOC facility based in Edinburgh