This program provides a positive experience of physics and encourages students to foster and maintain an intellectual curiosity in the discipline, specifically in the area of theoretical physics. We encourage/educate our students to become active, lifelong and autonomous learners with good prospects of employment in economic sectors requiring analytical skills or for further study of the subject. Our students will become well grounded in the fundamentals of physics with an appreciation of more specialised knowledge and the current frontiers of research. Courses in applied and computational mathematics complement physics courses. Our learning environment emphasises laboratory work at all stages, combining in-class, project and problem-solving work including data analysis and programming. Our students will be imbued with professional values including scientific integrity and ethical behaviour, and the ability to communicate complex information effectively. We deepen the mathematical training, allowing students to describe the physical world from the smallest to the largest scales using mathematics and theoretical models. Assessment is based on individual work, group work, work in the laboratory, project work including student presentation and written report.

1 - On successful completion of the programme, students will have acquired a good understanding of the core of physics (as defined by the Institue of Physics degree accreditation document), and students will appreciate the current boundaries of scientific knowledge.
2 - Students will be able to tackle problems in physics and formulate an appropriate solution
3 - Students will be able to use mathematics to describe the physical world
4 - Students will be able to plan, execute and report the results of an experiment or investigation
5 - Students will be able to compare results critically with predictions from theory
6 - Students will have acquired communications skills
7 - Students will have acquired analytical skills
8 - Students will have acquired IT skills
9 - Students will have acquired personal skills, the ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a team, interact constructively with other people, and show leadership in their area of expertise.
10 - Students will have acquired ethical behaviour, including critical thinking, understanding of arguments and consequences, and scientific integrity
11 - Students will be flexible, able to adapt and contribute to the theoretical and modelling aspects in any research and development team.

Students who return failing grades in a trimester amounting to 15 credits, or more, will be identified under the UCD Continuation – Academic Progress policy. Students whose rate of progression and performance over two academic years is deemed unacceptable will be referred to the Governing Board to be reviewed for exclusion from the programme.
Students who fail to progress from the stage of the programme they are registered to for more than two academic years (except where a period of Leave of Absence has been granted for one of those years) will also be contacted under the Continuation – Academic Progress Policy.
As Stages 3 and 4 have the most dynamic components of the programme, and the material studied previously may no longer be relevant, a student who has been away from the programme for a significant period should be required to register again to Stage 3. The upper limit for completion of Stages 3 and 4 should be six years if they choose to do 120 credits with 20 in each year.

Using advanced mathematics, you will learn to understand and predict the behaviour of physical systems ranging from the subatomic to astronomical scales.

The Theoretical Physics programme puts emphasis on the mathematical description of physical phenomena and provides a unified description of the fundamental laws of nature. The degree comprehensively covers Theoretical Physics and includes areas such as Quantum Mechanics, Condensed Matter Theory, Special and General Relativity Theory and Cosmology, Quantum Field Theory, Statistical Mechanics and Theoretical Astrophysics.

The programme offers knowledge and experience in problem-solving using analytical and numerical techniques, which have wide application in, for example, biophysics and econophysics.

STAGES 1 & 2
This course provides you with an introduction to all the major areas of Theoretical Physics including Relativity Theory, Quantum Mechanics, Atomic Physics, Nuclear Physics and Computational Physics.

STAGES 3 & 4
Advanced topics are covered in the final two stages. These include:
- General Relativity
- Electromagnetic Theory
- Quantum Gravity
- Quantum Field Theory
- Statistical Mechanics
- Theoretical Astrophysics
- Fluid Mechanics
- High Energy Physics
- Condensed Matter Physics

You may apply to study abroad for either a semester or a year through the Erasmus programme or on a non-EU exchange.

UCD has over 200 Erasmus partners in Europe and an increasing number of non-EU exchange agreements with universities in the USA, Canada, Australia, Japan and elsewhere.

Please visit the Erasmus section by clicking on the International Office link at the top of this page.

Theoretical Physics graduates can choose to develop careers in a variety of sectors including academic and government research Institutions, energy technologies, information and communication technology, advanced materials  [e.g. semiconductor industry], management consulting, stock market and financial risk analysis, climate change and environmental impact analysis, and second and third-level education. Our Theoretical Physics degree subject is an accredited Physics degree subject and graduates are well prepared for further research and have successfully completed PhDs in MIT, Caltech, Harvard, Princeton and Cambridge, as well as in UCD.

Professor Adrian Ottewill
UCD School of Mathematical Sciences
Science Education & Research Centre
Belfield, Dublin 4
Tel: +353 1 716 2567
Email: adrian.ottewill@ucd.ie
Web: www.ucd.ie/horizons

Students take 7 core modules, 1 Physics option module and 1 Applied and Computational Mathematics option module. To complete 60 credits for Stage 3, students may select 10 credits from elective modules or alternatively, students can take additional modules from the option list below.

Students take 2 core modules and a total of 45 credits from option modules.

Module ID	Module Title	Trimester	Credits
Stage 3 Core Modules
PHYC30320	Advanced Laboratory for Theoretical Physics I	2 Trimester duration (Aut-Spr)	10
ACM30220	Partial Differential Equations	Autumn	5
PHYC30020	Classical Mechanics and Relativity	Autumn	5
PHYC30030	Quantum Mechanics	Autumn	5
ACM30200	Mathematical Fluid Dynamics I	Spring	5
MATH30040	Complex Analysis	Spring	5
PHYC30070	Electromagnetism	Spring	5
Stage 3 Core Modules
Stage 3 Options - A)MIN1OF: Students must take PHYC20100 if not taken in stage 2, Students who had taken PHYC20100 in Stage 2 must take PHYC30050 in Stage 3.
PHYC20100	Thermo & Stat Physics	Autumn	5
PHYC30050	Condensed Matter Physics	Autumn	5
Stage 3 Options - A)MIN1OF: Students must take PHYC20100 if not taken in stage 2, Students who had taken PHYC20100 in Stage 2 must take PHYC30050 in Stage 3.
Stage 3 Options - B)MIN0OF: PHYC30090 can be taken in Stage 3 or Stage 4. Students who wish to take PHYC40110 Medical Physics in Stage 4 must take PHYC30090 in Stage 3.
PHYC30090	Nuclear Physics	Spring	5
Stage 3 Options - B)MIN0OF: PHYC30090 can be taken in Stage 3 or Stage 4. Students who wish to take PHYC40110 Medical Physics in Stage 4 must take PHYC30090 in Stage 3.
Stage 3 Options - C)MIN1OF: Students must choose one module from this list.
ACM30130	Advanced Computational Science	Autumn	5
ACM30190	Dynamical Systems	Autumn	5
ACM30020	Advanced Mathematical Methods	Spring	5
ACM30090	Mathematical Biology	Spring	5
ACM30140	Numerical Methods for PDEs	Spring	5
Stage 3 Options - C)MIN1OF: Students must choose one module from this list.
Stage 3 Options - D)MIN0OF: Students are required to complete 50 programme credits (cores/options) in Stage 3. Additional option modules may be selected from the list below, instead of elective modules, to complete Stage 3
MATH20300	Linear Algebra 2 for the Mathematical Sciences	Autumn	5
PHYC30100	Stellar Astrophysics & Astronomical Techniques	Autumn	5
ACM30210	Foundations of Quantum Theory	Spring	5
PHYC30080	Optics & Lasers	Spring	5
STAT20100	Inferential Statistics	Spring	5
Stage 3 Options - D)MIN0OF: Students are required to complete 50 programme credits (cores/options) in Stage 3. Additional option modules may be selected from the list below, instead of elective modules, to complete Stage 3
Stage 4 Core Modules
PHYC40900	Proj. Theoretical Physics	2 Trimester duration (Aut-Spr)	10
PHYC40020	Applied Quantum Mechanics	Autumn	5
Stage 4 Core Modules
Stage 4 Options - A)MIN0OF: If not taken in Stage 3, students must take PHYC30050 and PHYC30090 in Stage 4.
PHYC30050	Condensed Matter Physics	Autumn	5
PHYC30090	Nuclear Physics	Spring	5
Stage 4 Options - A)MIN0OF: If not taken in Stage 3, students must take PHYC30050 and PHYC30090 in Stage 4.
Stage 4 Options - B)MIN5OF: (Set A) Students register a total of 9 modules (45 credits) of option modules. Students who take PHYC30050 and PHYC30090 in Stage 4 take at least 5 modules from Set A. Students who completed PHYC30050 and PHYC30090 in Stage 3 take at least 7 modules from Set A. Students who take ACM41040 must also take ACM40750. A maximum of 2 option modules may be selected from Set B.
ACM30190	Dynamical Systems	Autumn	5
ACM40010	Electrodynamics & Gauge Theory	Autumn	5
ACM40070	Math Fluid Dynamics II	Autumn	5
ACM40690	Survey of Appl and Comp Math	Autumn	5
ACM40750	Gen Relativity & Black Holes	Autumn	5
ACM41020	Maths of Machine Learning	Autumn	5
PHYC30100	Stellar Astrophysics & Astronomical Techniques	Autumn	5
PHYC40080	High Energy Particle Physics	Autumn	5
PHYC40120	General Relativity & Cosmology	Autumn	5
PHYC40470	Computational Biophysics and Nanoscale Simulations	Autumn	5
PHYC40930	Ultrafast Soft X-ray Photonics	Autumn	5
PHYC41070	Techniques in Biophysics	Autumn	5
ACM30020	Advanced Mathematical Methods	Spring	5
ACM30090	Mathematical Biology	Spring	5
ACM41010	Math of Sust & Environment	Spring	5
ACM41030	Optimization Algorithms	Spring	5
ACM41040	GR and Gravitational Waves	Spring	5
PHYC40030	Galaxies, Observational Cosmology & the Interstellar Medium	Spring	5
PHYC40200	Quantum Theory of Condensed Matter	Spring	5
PHYC40360	Theoretical Astrophysics	Spring	5
PHYC40650	Advanced Statistical Physics	Spring	5
PHYC40800	Quantum Field Theory	Spring	5
Stage 4 Options - B)MIN5OF: (Set A) Students register a total of 9 modules (45 credits) of option modules. Students who take PHYC30050 and PHYC30090 in Stage 4 take at least 5 modules from Set A. Students who completed PHYC30050 and PHYC30090 in Stage 3 take at least 7 modules from Set A. Students who take ACM41040 must also take ACM40750. A maximum of 2 option modules may be selected from Set B.
Stage 4 Options - C)MIN0OF: (Set B) Students may select a maximum of 2 option modules from this list.
PHYC40330	Advanced Laboratory for TP III	Autumn and Spring (separate)	5
PHYC40690	Advanced Laboratory Physics	Autumn and Spring (separate)	5
PHYC30080	Optics & Lasers	Spring	5
PHYC40110	Medical Physics (Selected Topics)	Spring	5
PHYC40210	Applied Optics	Spring	5
Stage 4 Options - C)MIN0OF: (Set B) Students may select a maximum of 2 option modules from this list.

		Award		GPA
Programme	Module Weightings	Rule Description	Description
BHSCI001	Stage 4 - 70.00% Stage 3 - 30.00%	Standard Honours Award	First Class Honours	3.68	4.20
			Second Class Honours, Grade 1	3.08	3.67
			Second Class Honours, Grade 2	2.48	3.07
			Pass	2.00	2.47