Undergraduate Course Handbook - University of Oxford Department ...

Third Year 2012-2013 [BA Course]
Choice of Course
During Michaelmas, you must decide whether
you will take the three year course (BA) or
the four year course (MPhys). If you have any
doubts concerning which course you should
take you should discuss the situation carefully
with your tutor. For the BA approximately 57%
of the marks for your final degree classification
depend on work done for Part B.
Part B Examination
The examination will take place at the end of
Trinity and consists of four papers, a Short Option
paper, assessed practical work and a report
on a project or extended report. The four papers
are chosen from the B papers of the 3rd year of
the MPhys course: B1: I. Flows, Fluctuations
and Complexity and II. Symmetry and Relativity;
B2: III. Quantum, Atomic and Molecular
Physics and IV. Sub-Atomic Physics; B3: V.
General Relativity and Cosmology and VI.
Condensed-Matter Physics and must include
III, IV and VI. Students will be required to
answer two questions from a total of four.
The material will be covered by lectures, tutorials
and classes concentrated in Michaelmas &
Hilary of the third year. Full details of the syllabuses
are given in Appendix E.
Practical Work including Written Skills
The requirement for practical work for Part B
is 6 days, undertaken in Michaelmas and Trinity.
A second Short Option may be offered in
place of practical work. There is no practical
work in Hilary. BA students have to write a
report on one of the practicals they have done
in Michaelmas Term, which will be selected
for them at random. The BA project is undertaken
in the second half of Hilary Term.
The practical report write-up is part of the
training in written communication skills for in
Part B. There is also an assessed practical, see
page 9 of the Practical Course Handbook and
the examiners’ matters web page will contain
details of the handling of logbooks.
Group Project
The Group Industrial Project is compulsory
for all third year students who are registered
on the BA course by the start of Michaelmas.
Students will be organised into groups of 5-6
to work on a physics-related problem set by
an external company, with the support of an
external industrial mentor and an internal
academic supervisor. The project is assessed
in two ways: (i) a group presentation on
Wednesday afternoon of 7 th week, for which
each group member is awarded the same mark,
by a marking panel, and (ii) a mark for your
individual contribution to the team, based on
a short report. More details will be announced
at the introductory lecture.
Short Options & Language Option
Details on the Short Options (and alternatives)
are given on page 28. It is possible to offer a
second Short Option in place of 6 days of practical
work, but note that most short option lectures
are delivered at the start of Trinity Term.
Alternative subjects, extra practicals and
extended practicals
Given the necessary permission, it is also possible
to offer alternatives in place of the Short
Option. Details are given on page 28.
BA Project
The project is either a laboratory or a literature
project and undertaken during the final four
weeks of Hilary. The BA Projects Handbook
contains details of both types of projects and
will be circulated at the start of Michaelmas.
This contains the timetable for carrying out
the project work and handing in the report.
You must specify your choice of project
or report by noon on Friday of 2 nd week of
Michaelmas. The allocation of projects will
be published during 5 th week of Michaelmas,
and you should then contact your supervisor
to discuss preparation for the project work.
There is a compulsory Safety Lecture in 7 th
week of Michaelmas, which all BA project
students MUST attend. Three (3) copies of
the report with a declaration of authorship and
a copy of the report in pdf format on a CD must
be handed in to the Examination Schools by
Monday of 1 st week of Trinity Term.
Introduction to 3 rd year
8 October 2012
BA Project or Essay
BA Projects
Handbook 2012-2013
Part B Papers
B1: I. Flows, Fluctuations
and Complexity
and II. Symmetry and
Relativity
B2: III. Quantum,
Atomic and Molecular
Physics and IV. Sub-
Atomic Physics
B3: V. General Relativity
and Cosmology and
VI. Condensed-Matter
Physics
Undergraduate
Physics Conference
www.physics.ox.ac.uk/
users/palmerc/oupc.htm
Part B Practical
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