Course details

Summary

What type of student might consider a Physics degree? Famous UC alumnus, Ernest Rutherford, was intrigued in childhood by seeing a stick apparently bend when dipped into a farm bucket of water; Albert Einstein asked how his face would appear in a hand-held mirror if he ran at some significant fraction of the speed of light. A budding physicist may share this fascination with and curiosity about the natural world.

Physics aims to understand the behaviour of matter and energy from the scale of subatomic particles to that of the Universe itself. From computers to communication systems, architecture to agriculture; modern life is overwhelmingly built using the understanding of nature that physics provides.

We are currently in an incredibly exciting period in Physics. The technological advances of the last 20 years have had an enormous impact on all our lives and almost all of these advances rely on advances in Physics. Modern physics provides a framework for understanding - and contributing to - major advances in technology now and in the future.

UC physicists are currently involved in the following exciting projects:

• building huge laser equipment to study gravitational waves
• creating tiny nanoelectronic devices that can act as transistors or sensors
• measuring the behaviour of the upper atmosphere in order to understand global warming
• obtaining fundamental theoretical understandings of cosmology and sub-atomic physics.

Courses

100-level courses

We offer Physics courses suitable for four different purposes:

studying Physics or Astronomy
studying Engineering
studying biological or environmental sciences
philosophical or general interest.

200-level and beyond

The Physics courses beyond first year at UC include such topics as: astrophysics, classical mechanics, electricity and magnetism, electronics, atomic and molecular physics, nuclear and particle physics, optics, dynamics of atmospheres, quantum mechanics, relativity, signal analysis, solid state physics and thermal physics.

Further study

If you are considering further study, Physics is an ideal first-degree choice. Continuing to pursue Physics leads to many opportunities to work or travel overseas and in New Zealand. Many graduates have continued their study in areas such as medical physics, engineering, teaching and patent law.

Career opportunities

Many of our graduates are employed as physicists and can be found at Crown Research Institutes, the National Radiation Laboratory, medical physics departments of hospitals, or universities and the Meteorological Service among others.

Some Physics graduates are not employed as scientists however - their analytical skills, numeracy and all-round thinking ability are in demand in many industries. Some of these graduates are snapped up by the IT and electronics industries, but those same skills are equally valued by merchant banks, stock brokers and other financial services companies, as well as by the armed services, police and aerospace industries (including airlines like Air New Zealand). Teaching, journalism and science communication also need people with physics training.

Entry criteria

Admission to UC with University Entrance, or equivalent, is required to enrol for a Certificate in Arts. Applicants must have completed New Zealand University Entrance through NCEA; or Cambridge International Examinations (CIE); or International Baccalaureate Diploma (IB) or any other equivalent overseas qualification.

Other English language requirements: TOEFL PBT with a minimum score of 550 and TWE with a minimum score of 4.5; CCEL EAP Level 2 with a minimum C+ grade; CAE or CPE minimum score of 169 with at least 162 in reading, writing, listening and speaking; Pearson Test of English (Academic) - PTE with an overall score of 57 and no PTE communicative skills score below 50.