Courses and Programmes
Information about the degree structure and course choices.
Degree Programmes
Everyone admitted to the University of Edinburgh to study for a degree must follow a specific 'Degree Programme' (e.g. Physics, Astrophysics etc.). Each programme is made up of a set of 'courses' (often known as 'modules' at other universities) each of which is assigned a level (loosely indicating its difficulty) and credit value (quantifying its size). You can check the courses which are compulsory for your degree by looking up the relevant Degree Programme. You will see that 120 credits must be taken (and passed) each year, and most of our degrees provide some opportunity to study unspecified courses of your choosing in the pre-Honours years (i.e. first and second year). Students opting to begin in Year 2 will have reduced choice (the 'Entry Route' page has further details on this).
Courses
Once you have established how many credits of optional courses are allowed by your degree you can consider the ways to spend them. Here we seek only to provide some ideas and strategies to help you look ahead. You should declare your course option preferences by 09:00 on Monday 4th September using the Physics and Astronomy Year 1 Course Selection online survey. In addition to the Course choice webpage, you can get guidance at our on-line discussion at 2pm on Friday 25th August or at the repeat at 2pm on Friday 1st September. Please also feel free to contact your Academic Adviser. You will have the opportunity to discuss and confirm your course options when you meet with your Academic Adviser during Welcome Week
Visiting/exchanges students: in most cases you will have already confirmed your courses, but you may find this link to all Physics and Astronomy courses useful.
Course Catalogue - Physics and Astronomy courses
BSc or MPhys
For most of our degrees there are two qualification outcomes, BSc or MPhys.
More information about these qualifications.
You can change from one qualification route to the other up to the middle of your degree. The curriculum for both the BSc and equivalent MPhys degrees are identical during years 1-3. Speak to your Academic Advisor if you wish to change.
Your Timetable
You will have a personalised timetable which you can view in MyEd.