Postgraduate Course: Research Skills for Theoretical Physics (PGPH11098)
Course Outline
| School | School of Physics and Astronomy |
College | College of Science and Engineering |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 11 (Postgraduate) |
Availability | Not available to visiting students |
| SCQF Credits | 20 |
ECTS Credits | 10 |
| Summary | This course is compulsory for all students on the MSc programmes in Theoretical Physics and Mathematical Physics. Students will develop their research skills through a set of exercises which include oral analyses of recent research papers. This will impact on their choice of MSc dissertation topic. |
| Course description |
This course consists of several exercises, each of which will develop the students' research skills:
1. Review of recent research papers in theoretical or mathematical physics: reading and comprehending the papers; explanation of the papers' content to the student's peers as an oral presentation in the style of a conference presentation.
2. Detailed analysis of one or more research papers in a specialised area, preferably related to the student's MSc Dissertation, and giving another oral presentation in the style of a conference presentation.
3. Choice of general area of MSc Dissertation; project planning and topic of dissertation; aims and objectives, with realistic targets (including dates), and an initial calculation, analysis or preparatory investigation.
|
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Academic year 2025/26, Not available to visiting students (SS1)
|
Quota: None |
| Course Start |
Full Year |
Timetable |
Timetable |
| Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Lecture Hours 4,
Dissertation/Project Supervision Hours 10,
Feedback/Feedforward Hours 4,
Formative Assessment Hours 6,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
170 )
|
| Assessment (Further Info) |
Written Exam
0 %,
Coursework
100 %,
Practical Exam
0 %
|
| Additional Information (Assessment) |
100% continuous assessment«br /»
(two presentations, two oral examinations (aka questions after the presentations), and two written submissions) |
| Feedback |
Not entered |
| No Exam Information |
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, the student will be able to:
- Understand and critically review a paper in the research literature via an oral presentation.
- Understand in detail an extended theoretical derivation in one or more research papers.
- Understand the underlying physical principles related to the paper(s).
- Communicate this understanding orally in the style of a conference presentation.
- Choose a topic for their dissertation, complete an initial plan for the project, and perform an initial calculation or preparatory analysis.
|
Additional Information
| Graduate Attributes and Skills |
Not entered |
| Keywords | Not entered |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Prof Roman Zwicky
Tel: (0131 6)50 5243
Email: Roman.Zwicky@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Ms Lucy Davis-Jenkins
Tel:
Email: ldavisj@ed.ac.uk |
|
|
University Homepage