Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Natural Sciences

at University of Bath United Kingdom

Learn about the deep connections between mathematics and theoretical physics and develop your scientific computing and theoretical modelling skills to understand and solve complex physical problems.

This course is for you if you want to study a broad physics degree with less emphasis on experimental laboratories and a stronger focus on theoretical, mathematical and computational aspects of physics.

You'll study the cornerstones of theoretical physics while developing your understanding of their mathematical foundations. Our courses reflect our theoretical research expertise in condensed matter, photonics and astrophysics. The computational physics and programming aspects also reflect the more applied nature of our theoretical research.

The combination of theoretical and practical knowledge of physics and mathematics is highly sought-after by employers and also gives an excellent grounding for postgraduate or industrial research.

Placement Year

Apply your skills and knowledge to a year working full-time in a scientific or other professional organisation, anywhere around the world. It is an excellent opportunity to evaluate future career paths and broaden your experience and transferable skills, giving a competitive edge when applying for graduate jobs. 95% of physics students agreed their placement was valuable in helping their learning (National Student Survey 2017).

You can choose from a wide range of roles to match your interests, from working in marketing to a lab-based role at a research institute. We have links with some of the industry’s leading companies and recent employers include BAE Systems, CERN, Dyson, Morgan Stanley, Rolls-Royce and Samsung.

Gain the benefits of studying across different scientific disciplines with the flexibility to shape your degree to your career aspirations.

This is the course for you if you love science and want to study more than one science subject at university. You can design your own degree to suit your interests and strengths. You’ll be able to take your existing scientific skills further, explore new areas and apply what you’ve learnt in practical and relevant ways.

Employers will value your ability to bring problem-solving skills from a variety of different angles. You’ll graduate with the breadth of knowledge and practical skills to prepare you for a career in industry or for postgraduate research.

If you decide your interests fit better within a single science, you may be able to transfer to biology, biochemistry, chemistry, pharmacology or physics after year one.

Learn about key approaches in applied maths and data science that can be integrated to solve real-world problems.

The cutting edge of the application of mathematics in industry combines modelling, analysis and interpretation using methods from applied mathematics and the rapidly growing area of data science. This course is for you if you're interested in applying maths, statistics and computer science to solve complex problems in industry.

Course highlights

• Study a wide range of taught units in applied maths techniques, mathematical modelling, data science, machine learning and scientific communication.
• Gain real-world experience from group projects with other students and the opportunity to work on a project with one of our industrial partners.
• Projects and modules benefit from our research specialisms, including industrial applied maths, probability, scientific computing, machine learning, dynamical systems, asymptotics, imaging, modelling of waves and fluids, and mathematical biology.

Working with industry

A key element of the course is the opportunity to work on a real project with one of our industry partners. This may include some time-based at an external company. Some of our current industry partners include the Met Office, Barclays, Emerson Roxar and Raytheon. Industry projects give direct experience of the problem-solving process, including:

• Identifying the problem and translating it into mathematical language
• Processing and analysing relevant data
• Solving the mathematical problem
• Communicating the results to the client

Placement Year

Going on placement gives you the opportunity to apply your skills and knowledge during a year working in industry. You’ll be employed full-time in a role to match your future career ambitions, broadening your experience and transferable skills. It may be possible to go on placement with the same company you've worked with for an industry project.

Achieve a grounding in economic theory while learning different statistical approaches for the analysis of economic data.

This course is for those who want an understanding of the tools and key theories within economics and mathematics. You'll use these skills to analyse contemporary problems and policy. On this course, you’ll study the core elements of economics, including microeconomic theory, macroeconomic theory and econometrics.

You will develop methodological and statistical tools for the analysis of complex data. Throughout your studies, you will be immersed in a wide variety of quantitative topics. This will enable you to develop and apply your advanced mathematical skills.

In your first year you'll study key concepts in microeconomic and macroeconomic theory, and develop your skills in mathematical and statistical theory and applications.

In your second year you'll continue with more advanced study of economic theory, mathematics and statistics. You'll acquire a deep understanding of economic relationships.

In your final year, you'll study topics and techniques in advanced economic theory and mathematics to critique and contribute to current debates. You can tailor your choice of optional units to your personal interests

By the end of the course, you’ll be able to understand the complexities of global economic problems and data, and you will possess advanced quantitative skills and tools to create innovative solutions.

Placement Year

Taking a placement in your third year enables you to use the theory you have learnt in a practical context. You will learn about an organization and its area of work in the UK or overseas. This is an excellent opportunity to test potential career paths. Sometimes permanent jobs are offered to our students. You’ll develop skills such as teamwork, planning, problem-solving, decision making and project management.

Employers value a year of professional work and you’ll gain an advantage in the job market. Sometimes it is possible for you to acquire additional professional qualifications, particularly in accountancy, whilst on placement.

Year abroad

On this course you'll combine a work placement with studying at a university overseas. Broaden your horizons and experience another culture whilst studying a course that complements your studies at Bath.

Study abroad locations include the National University of Singapore and Stellenbosch University (South Africa), as well as others. We seek to further expand on these. Study abroad opportunities are limited and are subject to availability at our partner institutions.

Prepare yourself for a career in specialist language work including translation, editing and précis-writing.

If you're interested in working as a professional linguist or working with the written word to provide translations and specialised language services, this course is an excellent option.

With a growing demand for highly trained speakers of English in the UK and abroad, this specialist master's will equip you to set up your own freelance business or work in-house for an international organisation or language service provider.

Unlike other courses of its kind, ours covers a wide variety of skills, including editing, revision, précis-writing and proofreading. Employers and agencies have told us they’re looking for these services, so having the right skills will place you in a strong position for securing work. You'll have the opportunity to gain skills in public service and commercial interpreting, and you will learn about setting up your own translation business.

In some cases, we can arrange external translation training. This may be in international organisations, such as the EU and UN, or an independent translation agency, and will give you first-hand experience of the workplace and valuable contacts for building your career.

The course is taught by qualified tutors. While some have worked for international organisations, others have developed their careers as freelance linguists. All bring extensive experience to the classroom to give students invaluable advice.

Gain specialist knowledge in pure and applied mathematics with a particular focus on statistics.

Mathematics enables us to reason logically, to understand structure and formulate scientific principles. Statistics is the collection, analysis and interpretation of data central to everything from scientific progress to medical research and the work of government.

This course is for you if you would like to study statistics and have a significant interest in mathematics. You’ll be trained how to analyse problems and interpret patterns in data to make careful predictions about the future.

Placement Year

Going on placement gives you the opportunity to apply your skills and knowledge to a year working professionally. You’ll be employed full-time in a role to match your future career ambitions, broadening your experience and transferable skills. This could give you a competitive edge when applying for graduate jobs.

We have links with some of the industry’s leading companies. Recent placement employers include BAE Systems, EY, Office of National Statistics, JP Morgan and Deloitte.

Gain sought-after skills in applied mathematics, programming, statistics and data analysis.

This course is for you if you have an analytical mind, enjoy visualizing and interpreting data and thrive on a challenge. You'll learn how to use your mathematical skills to formulate problems and discover patterns, and apply these techniques to analyse data from many different sectors.

Computing is an essential tool in data science and you'll develop strong programming skills with the ability to implement mathematical algorithms on large data sets. You’ll learn how data science is used in a wide range of industries and gain an understanding of machine learning and artificial intelligence at the cutting-edge of data science.

Year abroad

Broaden your horizons with a year studying at a university abroad. You’ll experience another culture whilst studying a course that complements your studies at Bath.

We have links with universities in the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, South Africa and Europe. This includes Binghamton University, National University Singapore, University of Canterbury, Stellenbosch University and the University of Helsinki.

Explore issues facing us in the 21st century relating to crime and criminal justice. Develop research and data handling skills relevant to a range of careers.

This degree has a strong global focus. You’ll explore crime and related topics from around the world, including human rights and terrorism, social justice, contemporary social problems, and the globalisation of crime.

You’ll develop an in-depth knowledge of how the various components of the criminal justice system work, from the police through to prison and probation. As well as a strong theoretical grounding, the course is designed to equip you with practical skills in critical enquiry, research and data generation.

Studying at Bath means you’ll get to work with a leading team of criminal justice researchers and criminologists, with significant global expertise. There’s also the chance to hone your skills further by doing a placement year in a relevant setting.

Develop a broad foundation of theory and practical skills in mathematics, statistics and computing, preparing you for careers in mathematics and beyond.

Mathematical sciences combines traditional mathematics with statistics and computing. This course is for you if you’d like to keep your options open and study a broader range of topics.

Tailor to your interests

In the first year, you’ll explore an introduction to mathematics at university level before choosing areas in which you’d like to specialise later in the course. In year two, you’ll also have the option to study computing, physics and economics units run by other departments. All of our courses are flexible and allow for a wide choice of units after year one. If you find you want to specialise more, you may be able to switch courses during the first year.

Placement Year

Going on placement gives you the opportunity to apply your skills and knowledge to a year working professionally. You’ll be employed full-time in a role to match your future career ambitions, broadening your experience and transferable skills. This could give you a competitive edge when applying for graduate jobs.

We have links with some of the industry’s leading companies. Recent placement employers include BAE Systems, EY, Office of National Statistics, JP Morgan and Deloitte.

Learn about the deep connections between mathematics and theoretical physics and develop your scientific computing and theoretical modelling skills to understand and solve complex physical problems.

This course is for you if you want to study a broad physics degree with less emphasis on experimental laboratories and a stronger focus on theoretical, mathematical and computational aspects of physics.

You'll study the cornerstones of theoretical physics while developing your understanding of their mathematical foundations. Our courses reflect our theoretical research expertise in condensed matter, photonics and astrophysics. The computational physics and programming aspects also reflect the more applied nature of our theoretical research.

The combination of theoretical and practical knowledge of physics and mathematics is highly sought-after by employers and also gives an excellent grounding for postgraduate or industrial research.