Physics with Music
The School's purpose-built sound studios are an ideal location for recording music or analysing the sounds of musical instruments.
Course Information: BSc, 3 years
This degree scheme provides an ideal background for students considering a career in radio, TV, or the recording industry, although graduates can also look for career opportunities in the areas open to mainstream physicists. Students may also wish to continue into higher degree with research into the physics of music.
The programme consists of a comprehensive foundation in physics (with computing and electronics), combined with a significant music course and its associated practical training.
The mix of two parts science to one part music continues throughout the three years, though at the end of the first year you do have the option of switching to Physics or Theoretical and Computational Physics. Years two and three include special courses on Acoustics, Studio Techniques, and Sound Synthesis. The School's electronic music studios are open to all Physics and Music students for their formal and informal work. Final-year project work can be selected either from areas of conventional physics or can be based in the studios or in our musical acoustics research laboratories.
Cardiff is one of the few universities in the UK which has specialised research in physics and music. Research activities include the study of stringed-instrument acoustics, by means of holographic interferometry, and the numerical modelling of radiation fields and vibrations using finite-element analysis. You will have a chance to get more involved in this research during your final-year project.