Undergraduate student profiles

We asked some of our students and graduates to share their experiences of studying physics and astronomy at the University of Sheffield, and to tell us what they've ended up doing with their degree.

At the University of Sheffield I made friends who are friendly and supportive

Xiaoyu Sun Materials Physics BSc

Xiaoyu became interested in materials physics because of how it can be applied to everyday life, and during her time in Sheffield got to learn advanced experimental techniques.

Developing my skills on placement at IBM

Anna Sheard Physics with a Year in Industry MPhys

After talking to family and friends about placements, and undertaking some initial research into the company, Anna applied to IBM and became a Service Management Analyst.

The most appealing thing to me was the high student satisfaction rate

Kyle Young BSc Physics and Astrophysics

Kyle was attracted to Sheffield thanks to our high rates of student satisfaction. Now he's enjoying the range of astrophysics topics we cover on his degree programme.

Both my academic and personal tutors have been extremely helpful

Su Yuan Wu BSc Physics and Astrophysics

Su came from Singapore to study physics in Sheffield, and has taken the chance to develop her science communication skills by running astronomy-based activities in local schools.

My degree gave me excellent communication and research skills to exceed in this role

Ed Williamson MPhys Physics with Medical Physics

After completing his physics degree, Ed joined staff on a trip to China, and soon started working as an engineer for Rolls-Royce while he completes his Engineering Doctorate.

The programming courses were particularly useful for me

Thomas Nuttall BSc Physics

Thomas’ job as a Data Scientist at Channel 4 sees him use the software development and computational statistics skills he learned during his BSc in Physics to improve the digital products that the channel can offer, as well as making sure that their online service can recommend the right programmes for you.

I had amazing lecturers who later became colleagues and are now my friends

Dr Heloise Stevance MPhys Physics and Astrophysics

Heloise did her undergraduate degree and PhD in astrophysics here in Sheffield, and is now a researcher at the University of Auckland.

Studying in Australia in third year gave me the confidence to look at PhDs abroad

Emily Rickman MPhys Physics and Astrophysics with Study Abroad

Emily spent the third year of her degree studying in Australia, and is now completing her PhD in Switzerland.

I got to simulate the motion of photons in contracting spacetime

Richard Mann MPhys Theoretical Physics

Richard spent last summer on the Sheffield Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) scheme — a six-to-eight week project that allows undergraduate students to conduct their own research. For his project, Richard simulated the motion of photons in contracting spacetime.

A project on the Higgs boson sparked my interest in the Large Hadron Collider

Josh McFayden MPhys Physics with Mathematics

After completing his degree in our department, Joshua has gone on to work on the ATLAS experiment at CERN's Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland.