Welcome to Lancaster Physics

I am proud to be head of one of the top physics departments both for physics education and research in the UK, as recognised in repeated assessments and league tables.

By putting aside preconceptions and analysing the world from a scientific viewpoint, physics furthers our understanding and can bring immense intellectual satisfaction. Based on our broad range of world-leading research, we provide flexible and engaging degrees that allow our students to experience the full fascination of the subject.

Through project work, extracurricular activities and an open-door policy, we offer a unique and inclusive study experience within a degree programme that is constantly evolving along with the frontiers of the discipline. This is supported by an institution that was awarded the highest rating, Gold, in the Teaching Excellence Framework, recognising outstanding teaching, an outstanding learning environment and its delivery of excellent employment outcomes for its students.

Whether by contributing to Nobel-prize winning research with colleagues at international facilities such as CERN and the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory, discovering new galaxies or setting low-temperature records, or by providing outreach events for the community, Lancaster University’s Department of Physics strives to play a significant positive role in science and society, and our students have many opportunities to be involved. I hope that this will be the beginning of your own rewarding journey leading to a deeper understanding of our world.

Professor Roger Jones
Head of Department

Equality and Diversity

We are a friendly department with a warm atmosphere and a dedication to being inclusive, diverse and fair.

The Department of Physics consistently has a higher proportion of female physics professors than the national average (15% vs 12%). We welcome everyone and are strongly committed to fostering diversity within our community as a source of excellence, cultural enrichment, and social strength. Our family-friendly policy includes flexible working hours, maternity and paternity leave policies, and on-campus daycare for under-fives.

Lancaster University and the Department of Physics are also committed to breaking down barriers and improving access to Higher Education through its widening participation programmes.

The equality and diversity committee within the Department of Physics meets regularly to continue to strive for a welcoming, inclusive, diverse and fair department.

The University have appointed an Honorary Researcher who will explore factors underpinning the differing under-representation rates of some diversity groups undertaking physics degrees (such as gender, ethnicity, WP characteristics, etc.) using from Physics student registration data from the last 10 years. The project will use data already held by the University but will be provided to the researcher in an anonymous format. No individual students will be identifiable from the data used in the project. Although this is an internal research project at this point, there is a possibility that we may publish results or look to partner with other institutions to expand the research. Any future publication or partnership with other institutions will maintain the anonymity of the data used in the project.

This research is being carried out as a public task for the purpose of archiving, research and statistics. No decisions concerning individual students will be made in the course of this research project. For further information including the contact details of our Data Protection Officer, please refer to the University’s over-arching Research Privacy Notice. For further details on the research project, please contact Professor Jim Wild.