2 / Programme Code / PHYT19
3 / JACS Code / F321
4 / Level of Study / Postgraduate
5a / Final Qualification / Master of Research (MRes)
5b / QAA FHEQ Level / 7
6a / Intermediate Qualification(s) / PG Cert
6b / QAA FHEQ Level / 7
7 / Teaching Institution (if not Sheffield) / Not applicable
8 / Faculty / Science
9 / Department / Department of Physics and Astronomy
10 / Other Departments providing credit bearing modules for the programme / None
11 / Mode(s) of Attendance / Full-time
12 / Duration of the Programme / 1 year
13 / Accrediting Professional or Statutory Body / Not applicable
14 / Date of production/revision / September 2016
15. Background to the programme and subject area
The one year Masters of Research (MRes) programme is the ideal springboard for a career in Physics research. This course provides extensive research experience and allows participants to work with experienced and world-leading researchers in the Department of Physics and Astronomy http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/physics). In addition to the provision of specialist skills training, the programme builds a wide range of transferable and lifelong learning skills in scientific investigation and communication to equip students for professional careers in science. The programme includes training in research skills, reflective practice, literature review, consideration of teaching to undergraduates and communicating science to different audiences, including the general public.The Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Sheffield is a leading international centre of excellence for teaching and research in physics and astronomy, with expertise that spans from the sub-atomic world to galaxy evolution. Our groups are Particle Physics and Particle Astrophysics, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Inorganic Semiconductors, Soft Matter Physics, Biological Physics and Theoretical Physics.
The Department has an outstanding record of research led and research informed teaching, excelling in combining learning and teaching with research. We have highly active research groups in a wide range of areas and an international reputation for the quality of our research. In the 2014 Research Excellence Framework, over 90% of research in the Department was judged to be either internationally excellent or world leading, putting us in the top ten in the UK. In the National Student Survey the overall satisfaction scores of our students has remained consistently high (94%), with 98% of respondents in 2016 agreeing that the courses are intellectually stimulating and that staff are good at explaining the subject to them.
The MRes programme is founded on the exceptional research and teaching expertise of Physics staff and the outstanding research facilities and equipment in the department. The title of the MRes programmes reflect one of the major research groups in the department (http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/physics/research), the Low Dimensional Structures and Devices (LDSD) group.
The LDSD Group carries out leading-edge research in the physics and applications of semiconductor nanostructures, with particular emphasis on novel opto-electronic phenomena. Our research is carried out in eight well provided laboratories, equipped to the highest standards for advanced optics research on solid state materials. The research is supported by the UK Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the EU FP7 programme, the Royal Society and the British Council.
16. Programme aims
All postgraduate programmes of study offered by the Department of Physics and Astronomy have the following general aims, consistent with the Mission Statement of the University of Sheffield:1. to provide teaching at postgraduate levels that is informed and invigorated by the research and scholarship of the staff and is stimulating, useful and enjoyable to students from a wide variety of educational backgrounds;
2. to produce graduates with well-developed practical, analytical, communication, IT and problem-solving skills who readily find employment in industry, the professions and public service;
3. to address a wide diversity of student interests and aspirations through degree programmes which retain flexibility and choice while furnishing a well-rounded understanding of the subject;
4. to encourage and develop our students’ desire for learning and to support their development of appropriate interpersonal and transferable skills;
5. to sustain a culture of teaching and research that is able to foster the free pursuit of knowledge and the rigorous, quantitative analysis of information;
6. to produce graduates with an understanding of most fundamental laws and principles of physics, along with their application to a variety of fields;
7. to prepare students for a professional career within or outside the discipline;
8. to develop students’ ability to execute experiments, analyse the results using a variety of quantitative methods, and draw valid conclusions;
9. to ensure that students can manage their own learning and study a topic independently with the aid of appropriate sources;
The MRes programme aims:
10. to extend students’ knowledge of selected areas of the field to a level at (or informed by) the forefront of the discipline; The areas of the research in which students will be offered to complete a research project include;
a) organic materials for new generation optoelectronic and photovoltaic devices.
b) photonic structures made of compound inorganic materials such as Al, In, Ga, As etc for quantum optics and information applications.
c) novel two-dimensional van der Waals materials of transition metal dichalcogenides for flexible optoelectronics and novel quantum light sources.
d) advanced physics of solitons, Bose-Einstein condensation and correlated states of hybrid light-matter quasiparticles in photonic devices based on the above materials.
e) theory of quantum optical computation.
11. to prepare students for a research degree or research-based career in condensed matter physics, quantum optics, material science or a related discipline by gaining;
a) a necessary physics background through the offered courses (see section 20);
b) substantial experience in advanced optical experiments and device fabrication;
12. to develop students’ ability to plan and execute an experimental or theoretical investigation, using ideas and techniques appropriate to research work in the relevant discipline, and including critical and quantitative assessment of their own work and the work of others;
13. to develop advanced skills in scientific communication through written assignments, oral presentations, lecture plans and project reports written in the style of scientific journal articles.
14. to ensure that students can investigate a topic independently with the aid of research articles and other primary sources, and report their findings clearly, concisely and accurately.
17. Programme learning outcomes
K1 / Advanced knowledge in specialist research-led areas of physics.
K2 / An understanding of the research area to a level appropriate as a foundation for postgraduate research.
K3 / An appreciation of current research and advanced scholarship in several aspects of modern physics, in particular solid state physics and related areas.
K4 / A knowledge of key developments, experimental, computational or analytical techniques and background literature in the subject area of their research project.
Skills and other attributes:
S1 / The ability to learn independently, using written source material at a research level, i.e. primary or review papers in scientific journals, as well as other appropriate sources.
S2 / The ability to plan and carry out advanced project work in a research environment.
S3 / The ability to summarise and present the results of research-level investigations both orally and in writing.
S4 / Competence in the use of advanced, specialised laboratory equipment and/or computational techniques relevant to research areas at the forefront of the discipline.
S5 / The ability to evaluate current research and to critique methodologies.
S6 / The ability to analyse and solve problems in physics by identifying the appropriate physical principles, developing a mathematical model of the system and using appropriate mathematical techniques to obtain a solution.
18. Teaching, learning and assessment
Development of the learning outcomes is promoted through the following teaching and learning methods:Lectures the standards required of a postgraduate in the physical sciences include the acquisition of a substantial body of knowledge (K1–4). This is conveyed principally through traditional lectures, backed up by problems classes and suitable formative assessment (see below). Most 10-credit taught modules include approximately 20 formal lectures.
Research Seminars, including some that are led by invited guest speakers, will be used to gain familiarity with the current research priorities and knowledge gaps in the subject (K1 - 4).
Small group tutorials will be used to develop skills in report writing, data analysis and statistics, critical analysis of the literature, research planning, oral and visual presentation skills. Tutorials will also provide a focus for personal academic and career development. (K1 – 4, S1 - 4)
Oral Presentation will be used to develop presentation skills and to demonstrate the ability to communicate complex ideas to a lay audience (S3).
Research Project. A major piece of independent research forms the focal point of the programme allowing students to apply the knowledge and skills they have developed to research an important issue or problem in physics. Through this unit students apply their research, methodological and writing skills by independently designing and conducting a theoretically informed empirical research project. This will involve bibliographic searches, the use of qualitative and/or quantitative research techniques, handling and analysing data and writing up and reporting findings in an oral mini symposium (K1-4, S1-4).
Opportunities to demonstrate achievement of the learning outcomes are provided through the following assessment methods:
1. Formal examinations
Most taught modules are assessed primarily by formal examinations (2 hours for a 10-credit module, 3 hours for a 20-credit module, 2 times 3 hours for a 25 credit module) which typically account for between 60% and 80% of the module grade. Formal examinations provide effective tests of knowledge (K1–4) and problem-solving skills (S6). Most examination papers include a compulsory element accounting for 30–40% of the paper, designed to demonstrate that students possess a basic overview of the subject matter, and a choice of more searching questions demonstrating detailed knowledge of some aspects of the material. Questions are structured and are presented with an indicative marking scheme.
2. Formative assessment (continuous assessment, homework and progress tests)
Most taught modules have an element of summative assessment (homework or progress tests) accounting for a small proportion of the module grade, up to 20%. Feedback from these exercises allows the lecturer to monitor class progress and identify problems, as well as providing students with information to help them to manage their own learning (S1).
3. Research skills assessment
This module will run over three semesters and consist of four components, all related to the research project being undertaken by the student. Each element will be introduced to the students in a 1-2 hour session with detailed written guidance provided. (Essays/written work will be double marked with a third marker if marks disagree by >10%.)
The self-analysis component will be introduced at the start of the course with check-points early in 2nd and 3rd semesters. Assessed by double marking of the initial assessment and reflections after the second check-point.
The literature review will be introduced early in first semester and assessed by double marking of the literature review and reflection (P2), and double marking of the reflection on learning (P3).
The communication component, consisting of an article, a presentation and a lecture plan, will be introduced in second semester (P4 first). Double marking of the article and staff and peer marking of presentation (P4), and double marking of the lesson plan (P5).
The final component, a diary and reflection on the project, will be introduced in first semester and continues throughout the project work. Diary and reflection will be marked with the project report and an element of the viva will be to discuss the diary and reflection.
4. Research Project assessment
The following assessments will take place during the academic year and at the end of the module:
● Poster presentation of the results achieved at mid-point (10%)
● Oral presentation of the final results 4 weeks before the end of the project (10%)
● Supervisor assessment of effort (10%)
● Viva voce examination of the dissertation work (10%)
● 20,000 words dissertation. (60%)
19. Reference points
The department’s Learning and Teaching Statement
The research interests of departmental staff and the research strategy of the Department of Physics and Astronomy
University Strategic Plan http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/strategicplan
Faculty of Science Learning and Teaching Strategy https://sites.google.com/a/sheffield.ac.uk/science/learning-and-teaching/learning-and-teaching-strategy
University of Sheffield Learning and Teaching Strategy http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/staff/lts
QAA Physics Benchmark Statement 2008
http://www.qaa.ac.uk/en/Publications/Documents/Subject-benchmark-statement-Physics-astronomy-and-astrophysics.pdf
20. Programme structure and regulations
Please refer to programme regulationsDetailed information about the structure of programmes, regulations concerning assessment and progression and descriptions of individual modules are published in the University Calendar available on-line at http://www.shef.ac.uk/govern/calendar/.
21. Student development over the course of study
The structure of the programme allows students to gain the skills needed to undertake an extended programme of independent research.Alongside the knowledge gained through the taught modules, the students will gain research skills and experience. In semester 1 student’s begin reflective practice and conduct a literature review which will provide a knowledge base and help to further define the extended research project.
In semester 2 students will produce a teaching plan and an article and presentation aimed at communication with a wider audience.
Students are supported throughout semesters 1 and 2 via an advanced small group tutorial system. The extended research project commences at the start of semester 2 and continues throughout the summer. The students will be embedded in research laboratories and undertake their projects in the wider community of active researchers within the Department.
While specific learning objectives are associated with each stage of the programme, the development of knowledge and skills will be continuous throughout. For example the generic skills and foundational knowledge and techniques skills will be reinforced through conducting the research project, and through oral presentations and writing the final project report in the style of a scientific paper.
22. Criteria for admission to the programme