PhD Physics

Aberystwyth University

Good mix of study and relaxation. Make sure to plan your time at Aber with your personal tutor. Only minor improvements through communication with students can be made

Lovely community, great adaptations to climate crisis, nicest staff, need more emphasis on learning and integrating Welsh for new speakers and learners. Would prefer not to have all Welsh stuff segregated away. Good science facilities. Accommodations need more modernising and better general states.

First 2 years were great but the uni experience was harmed by covid considerably. The Reliance on online learning negatively impacted it.

It is in a nice rural area, calm place to study but definitely not missing anything from the social side. It is a small town so people know each other or you always come across people who know your peers. The university accepts people with wide range of background knowledge. If you had excellent grades and continue the good work with us, you will excel. If you were somewhat weak, but constantly work on your assignments and coursework you will catch up with the others without any major problem. The university has different kind of support systems to fit many of the students needs, be it coursework or social life related. Make sure you reach out to them if you are struggling. The lectures are always recorded that you can watch anything during the course year. You will not miss anything if you are in bed with fever. University webpage is a true maze, always try the FAQs with keywords, you likely end up with the page you are actually looking for :D

It's a small university, and a small town, and this has both its good and bad sides. It's great knowing all your lecturers, and having them know who you are too. The teaching is almost always excellent, and the amount of interest lecturers show and time they invest even in undergraduates is amazing. If you're doing well, you can be sure of getting noticed and getting extra opportunities. You can also get to know everyone in your classes, and the atmosphere is friendly. However, there is not the same breadth of choices you might get in a larger uni. There have to be some compromises, especially if you're interdisciplinary. e.g. no dedicated theoretical physics department but modules taught with varying degrees of overlap by both the maths and physics departments (for my degree scheme). The town itself is small and quiet, and very safe. Might be too quiet for some, but there's a sense of community. A lot of people stay after their degree. Additionally, there's the beach and a lot of good hiking, just walking out your front door.