Pre-Masters Programme in Science and Engineering (2-Terms), Leading to Master of Science (Res) in Particle Physics Study Group - The University of Sheffield international College, UK

The Pre-Masters programme at the International College offers a path to a masters for international students at the University of Sheffield. This programme is designed in collaboration with the University and is delivered by Study Group.

Pre-Masters in Science and Engineering
The Pre-Masters in Science and Engineering will introduce you to carrying out lab experiments and analysing statistics for research projects. This programme leads to a number of postgraduate engineering and science degrees in the engineering and science faculties at the University.

Once you complete your Pre-Masters in Science and Engineering and achieve the required grades, you can enter into the postgraduate degree at the University of Sheffield.

Leading to: Particle Physics MSc (Res)

This course covers the complex theories and experimental techniques that particle physicists use to explain the nature of the universe. It will develop your understanding of the Standard Model by going into even greater depth on topics you might have covered in your undergraduate degree, such as quantum mechanics, electrodynamics and dark matter.

You’ll learn about the methods particle physicists use to study the universe, the experiments that led to the discoveries of neutrons, positrons and neutrinos, and the experimental evidence for quarks and gluons. You can examine the possible explanations for dark matter with scientists who are leading searches for it, and take modules led by researchers who were involved in the Higgs boson and gravitational wave discoveries.

The biggest part of your degree is your research project, which you might be able to work on at a research facility such as CERN. Possible topics include:

• Background events in the LUX-Zeplin dark matter experiment
• Characterising ultra-fast imaging photon sensors for neutrino experiments
• Design a masterclass for high-school students using ATLAS open data
• Searching for supersymmetry with the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider
• The WATCHMAN Project: Using anti-neutrinos for nuclear threat reduction
• Using tau leptons in collider experiments to search for new physics