International Foundation Year in Science and Engineering (2-Term), Leading to Bachelor of Science in Physics and Astrophysics Study Group - The University of Sheffield international College, UK

International Foundation Year in Science and Engineering
The International Foundation Year in Science and Engineering leads to a wide range of undergraduate degree engineering and science degrees at the Sheffield.

What will you study?
This is a 1.5 or 2-semester programme that will be tailored to prepare you for your chosen undergraduate degree at Sheffield. Programmes have been developed in collaboration with the University so modules are relevant to your field of study. You will develop the academic and English language skills needed for undergraduate study. Some modules will be compulsory for progression on to specific degree programmes at the University.

Once you complete your International Foundation Year in Science and Engineering and achieve the required grades, you can enter your undergraduate degree at the University of Sheffield.

Leading to: Physics and Astrophysics BSc

On our Physics and Astrophysics course, you’ll spend half your time studying astrophysics modules. This means our degree programme has more astrophysics content than most, taking you from the formation and evolution of our solar system, through stars and galaxies, to the origin and evolution of the universe.

There are two telescopes on the roof of our building, which you’ll be trained to use from your first year. We also run a telescope on La Palma in the Canary Islands, which students use during our annual field trip.

At the start of your course, in lectures and lab classes you’ll cover the essential physics behind everything else you’ll study: heat, motion, electricity, magnetism and quantum mechanics. You’ll also begin studying the fundamentals of astronomy and astrophysics with modules that cover topics such as our solar system, stars, galaxies and basic cosmology. There are practical sessions using our telescopes and, in programming classes, you can learn skills that are essential to modern astrophysics and valuable in many graduate careers, from data science to computer game design.

You’ll explore essential physics in even more depth in your second year, and continue to specialise in astrophysics with modules on the structure and evolution of stars and galaxies. You’ll do more practical work with our telescopes and continue to develop your programming skills.

In the third year, you can branch out into lots of different areas and complete your own research project in astrophysics. Your core modules will cover topics like cosmology and stellar atmospheres. Optional modules include topics such as dark matter and nuclear astrophysics.