The PhD in Physics is a full-time period of research which introduces or builds upon, research skills and specialist knowledge. Students are assigned to a research supervisor, a specialist in part or all of the student's chosen research field, and join a research group which might vary in size between a handful to many tens of individuals.Although the supervisor is responsible for the progress of a student's research programme, the extent to which a postgraduate student is assisted by the supervisor or by other members of the group depends almost entirely on the structure and character of the group concerned. The research field is normally determined at entry, after consideration of the student's interests and facilities available. The student, however, may work within a given field for a period of time before his or her personal topic is determined.By the end of the research programme, students will have demonstrated:the creation and interpretation of new knowledge, through original research or other advanced scholarship, of a quality to satisfy peer review, extend the forefront of the discipline, and merit publicationa systematic acquisition and understanding of a substantial body of knowledge which is at the forefront of an academic discipline or area of professional practicethe general ability to conceptualise, design and implement a project for the generation of new knowledge, applications or understanding at the forefront of the discipline, and to adjust the project design in the light of unforeseen problemsa detailed understanding of applicable techniques for research and advanced academic enquiry andthe development of a PhD thesis for examination that they can defend in an oral examination and, if successful, graduate with a PhD.