Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Physics and Statistics and Operations Research

MQF Level

Duration and Credits

4 Years

240 ECTS

Mode of Study

Full-time

Physics

The course design reflects the need to provide as wide a base as the human resources of the department permit. It provides a sound basis in the subject during the first three years, with some specialisation in chosen areas offered during the final year. You will be equipped with the necessary knowledge, experience and skills to pursue careers as scientists within the industry, administration, education and, of course, research.

Statistics and Operations Research

The four-year programme of studies for Statistics and Operations Research as part of the B.Sc. (Hons) degree has been designed for you to embark on a four-year plan which will help you to learn a number of topics considered to be fundamental in the academic disciplines of Statistics and Operations Research, and to follow fruitfully a set of accompanying study units which are oriented towards specialized areas.

Physics

The Course shall consist of two parts, namely, Part One comprising the first three years and Part Two comprising the fourth year.

Part One shall consist of study-units to which 180 credits are assigned and indicated in the programme of study and divided as follows:

First Year: in addition to the compulsory and elective study-units outlined in the programme of studies of the chosen areas (not less than 26 credits in each of the two areas), students are required to register for optional study-units to bring their total for the year to 60 credits,

Second Year: 30 credits in each of the two areas of study,

Third Year: 30 credits in each of the two areas of study.

At the end of Part One, students who obtain 180 credits as specified in paragraph (1) but who either opt not to proceed with the Course leading to the Honours Degree, or having proceeded, do not successfully complete the Course, shall be eligible for the award of the degree of Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.).

Part Two shall consist of study-units to which 60 credits are assigned divided as follows:
1. 40 credits in one area of study, of which 18 credits are assigned to a dissertation, and
2. 20 credits in the other area of study,

provided that in the case of Mathematics, the dissertation may be substituted by one or more additional taught study-units.

Statistics and Operations Research

The Course shall consist of two parts, namely, Part One comprising the first three years and Part Two comprising the fourth year.

Part One shall consist of study-units to which 180 credits are assigned and indicated in the programme of study and divided as follows:

Second Year: 30 credits in each of the two areas of study,

Third Year: 30 credits in each of the two areas of study.

Part Two shall consist of study-units to which 60 credits are assigned divided as follows:
1. 40 credits in one area of study, of which 18 credits are assigned to a dissertation, and
2. 20 credits in the other area of study,

provided that in the case of Mathematics, the dissertation may be substituted by one or more additional taught study-units.

Communication and Academic Skills Programme

The communication and academic skills programme complements students’ main course of study. It introduces them to writing and presenting as situated within academic contexts sensitive to specific disciplines and develops their competences for future careers.

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Information for International applicants

Refer to the list of country-specific qualifications

Physics

Either

A pass at Advanced Level at Grade C or better in Physics together with a pass at Intermediate Level at Grade C or better in Pure Mathematics

A pass at Advanced Level at Grade C or better in Pure Mathematics together with a pass at Intermediate Level at Grade C or better in Physics.

Statistics and Operations Research

Either

A pass at Advanced Level at Grade C or better in Pure Mathematics

A pass at Advanced Level at Grade C or better in Computing or Information Technology together with a pass at Advanced Level at Grade D or better in Pure Mathematics.

You are viewing the entry requirements for International applicants. Switch to Local qualifications.

You can submit your application online. The deadlines for submission of applications vary according to the intake and courses. We encourage all international applicants to submit their applications as soon as possible. This is especially important if you require a visa to travel and eventually stay in Malta.

You can compare your national qualifications to the local requirements by visiting our qualifications comparability webpage. Access more information about our admission process and English language requirements.

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Our dedicated team at the student recruitment office is here to support you every step of the way. From the moment you start your application to the moment when you receive your decision letter, we're here to assist you. If you have any questions or need further information, don't hesitate to reach out to us. You can contact us at info@um.edu.mt, and our team will be more than happy to help.

After you receive an offer from us, our International Office will assist you with visas, accommodation and other related issues.

Physics


Year (This/these unit/s start/s in Semester 1 and continue/s in Semester 2)

Compulsory Units (All students must register for this/these unit/s)

PHY1105	Fundamentals of Experimental Physics	4 ECTS	(NC)
PHY1197	Introduction to Classical Mechanics and Waves	6 ECTS


Semester 1

Compulsory Units (All students must register for this/these unit/s)

PHY1125	Mathematics for Physicists 1	4 ECTS
PHY1133	Python for Physicists	4 ECTS
PHY1134	Introduction to Numerical Methods	2 ECTS
PHY1193	Thermodynamics and Kinetic Theory	4 ECTS


Semester 2

Compulsory Units (All students must register for this/these unit/s)

PHY1145	Electricity and Magnetism and Optics	6 ECTS


Year (This/these unit/s start/s in Semester 1 and continue/s in Semester 2)

Compulsory Units (All students must register for this/these unit/s)

PHY2145	Electromagnetism	4 ECTS
PHY2230	Experimental Physics	4 ECTS	(NC)


Semester 1

Compulsory Units (All students must register for this/these unit/s)

CHE1750*	Health and Safety in the Chemistry Laboratory	2 ECTS
PHY2195	Classical and Relativistic Mechanics	6 ECTS
PHY2211	Analytical Methods for Physicists	6 ECTS
* Study-unit CHE1750 is only available for students following Chemistry and Physics.

Semester 2

Compulsory Units (All students must register for this/these unit/s)

PHY2140	Quantum Mechanics	6 ECTS
PHY3110	Physical Optics	4 ECTS


Year (This/these unit/s start/s in Semester 1 and continue/s in Semester 2)

Compulsory Units (All students must register for this/these unit/s)

PHY3111	Advanced Experimental Physics	6 ECTS	(NC)
PHY3145	Statistical Mechanics	5 ECTS
PHY3228	Foundations of Physical Cosmology	6 ECTS


Semester 1

Compulsory Units (All students must register for this/these unit/s)

PHY3130	Atomic Physics	4 ECTS
PHY3225	Fluid Mechanics	4 ECTS


Semester 2

Compulsory Units (All students must register for this/these unit/s)

PHY3155	Solid State Physics	5 ECTS

If Physics is chosen as the main area of study:
Students are required to register for 32 ECTS credits from the list of compulsory study-units, and 8 ECTS credits from the list of Elective Stream linked to their project area to a total of 40 ECTS credits.

If Physics is chosen as the other area of study:
Students are required to register for 12 ECTS credits from the list of compulsory study-units and 8 ECTS credits from the list of Elective Stream of their choice to a total of 20 ECTS credits.


Year (This/these unit/s start/s in Semester 1 and continue/s in Semester 2)

Compulsory Units (All students must register for this/these unit/s)

PHY3200*	Physics Project	18 ECTS	(NC)
PHY3208	Short Review Paper and Philosophy of Science	6 ECTS
PHY3209*	Seminar	2 ECTS
PHY3232	Nuclear and Particle Physics	6 ECTS

Elective Stream A: Space Sciences.

PHY3289	Advanced Astrophysics and Cosmology	4 ECTS

Elective Stream B: Electromagnetics.

PHY3277	Bioelectromagnetism	4 ECTS
PHY3279	Applied Electromagnetism	4 ECTS


Semester 1

Elective Stream A: Space Sciences.

PHY3287	Computational Astronomy	4 ECTS

Elective Stream C: Quantum Physics.

PHY3227	Quantum Optics	4 ECTS


Semester 2

Elective Stream C: Quantum Physics.

PHY3229	Modern Quantum Theory	4 ECTS

*Study-units PHY3200 and PHY3209 are only for students taking Physics as their main area.

Statistics and Operations Research

In addition to the compulsory study-units, students who have Mathematics, Computing Science, Biology, Chemistry, Physics as their other area of study are required to choose study-units to the value of 2 ECTS credits from the elective study-units on offer during the year.

No elective study-units in the Statistics and Operations Research area are to be taken by students choosing Banking and Finance as their other area of study.


Year (This/these unit/s start/s in Semester 1 and continue/s in Semester 2)

Compulsory Units (All students must register for this/these unit/s)

MAT1212*	Introductory Analysis	6 ECTS
SOR1110	Probability	4 ECTS	(NC)
SOR1222	Statistical Computing	8 ECTS	(NC)
SOR1310	Optimization	4 ECTS	(NC)
SOR1320	Linear Programming	4 ECTS	(NC)
SOR1450**	Principles of Financial Mathematics and Life Policies	4 ECTS


Semester 1

Compulsory Units (All students must register for this/these unit/s)

SOR1250***	Official Statistics and Demography	4 ECTS

Elective Units (Elective units are offered subject to availability, a minimum number of student registrations and time-table constraints)

CIS1044	SQL for Statisticians	2 ECTS
ELP1062	English Proficiency	2 ECTS


Semester 2

Compulsory Units (All students must register for this/these unit/s)

MAT1116****	Introduction to Vector Spaces	2 ECTS

* MAT1212 is for students not taking Mathematics as the other area.
** SOR1450 is for students taking Mathematics or Banking and Finance as the other area.
*** SOR1250 is for students taking Mathematics as the other area.
*** MAT1116 is for students not taking Mathematics or Banking and Finance as the other area.


Year (This/these unit/s start/s in Semester 1 and continue/s in Semester 2)

Compulsory Units (All students must register for this/these unit/s)

SOR2120	Convergence and Limits in Probability	4 ECTS	(NC)
SOR2211	Families of Random Variables and Random Vectors	6 ECTS	(NC)
SOR2221	Statistical Inference 1	6 ECTS	(NC)
SOR2230	Time Series 1	4 ECTS
SOR2250	Sampling 1	4 ECTS
SOR2330	Nonlinear Programming	4 ECTS	(NC)


Semester 1

Compulsory Units (All students must register for this/these unit/s)

SOR2110	History and Philosophy of Probability and Statistics	2 ECTS

In addition to the compulsory study-units, students are required to choose study-units to the value of 4 ECTS credits from the elective study-units on offer during the year.


Year (This/these unit/s start/s in Semester 1 and continue/s in Semester 2)

Compulsory Units (All students must register for this/these unit/s)

SOR3110	Stochastic Processes 1	5 ECTS	(NC)
SOR3210	Multivariate Analysis 1	5 ECTS	(NC)
SOR3221	Regression Models	4 ECTS	(NC)
SOR3243	Bayesian Statistics	4 ECTS
SOR3350	Combinatorial Optimization	4 ECTS
SOR3500	Computational Methods in Statistics and Operations Research	4 ECTS

Elective Units (Elective units are offered subject to availability, a minimum number of student registrations and time-table constraints)

SOR3411	Risk Modelling in Insurance and Finance	4 ECTS
SOR3430	The Mathematics of Financial Markets: Discrete Models	4 ECTS


Semester 1

Elective Units (Elective units are offered subject to availability, a minimum number of student registrations and time-table constraints)

CIS1044	SQL for Statisticians	2 ECTS
SOR3242	Robust Statistics	2 ECTS
SOR3250*	Design of Experiments	2 ECTS
* Study-unit SOR3250 cannot be taken by Biology and Statistics and Operations Research students.

If Statistics and Operations Research is chosen as the main area of study:
Students are required to register for 22 ECTS credits from the list of Electives and 18 ECTS credits assigned to a project study-unit to a total of 40 ECTS credits.

If Statistics and Operations Research is chosen as the other area of study:
Students are required to register for 20 ECTS credits from the list of Electives.


Year (This/these unit/s start/s in Semester 1 and continue/s in Semester 2)

Compulsory Unit Either

SOR3101	Project in Statistics and Operations Research: Probability	18 ECTS	(NC)

Or

SOR3201	Project in Statistics and Operations Research: Statistics	18 ECTS	(NC)

Or

SOR3301	Project in Statistics and Operations Research: Operations Research	18 ECTS	(NC)

Or

SOR3401	Project in Statistics and Operations Research: Financial and Actuarial Mathematics	18 ECTS	(NC)

Elective Units (Elective units are offered subject to availability, a minimum number of student registrations and time-table constraints)

SOR3121	Stochastic Processes 2	6 ECTS
SOR3211	Generalized Linear Models	4 ECTS
SOR3222	Nonlinear and Nonparametric Regression Analysis	4 ECTS
SOR3231	Time Series 2	4 ECTS
SOR3311	Stochastic Programming	6 ECTS
SOR3351	Dynamic Programming and Optimal Control	4 ECTS
SOR3411	Risk Modelling in Insurance and Finance	4 ECTS
SOR3430	The Mathematics of Financial Markets: Discrete Models	4 ECTS


Semester 1

Elective Units (Elective units are offered subject to availability, a minimum number of student registrations and time-table constraints)

SOR3241	Survival Analysis	4 ECTS
SOR3242	Robust Statistics	2 ECTS
SOR3250*	Design of Experiments	2 ECTS
* Study-unit SOR3250 cannot be taken by students taking Biology and Statistics and Operations Research.

This programme of study is governed by the General Regulations for University Undergraduate Awards, 2019 and by the Bye-Laws for the award of Bachelor of Science - B.Sc. and Bachelor of Science (Honours) - B.Sc.(Hons.) under the auspices of the Faculty of Science.

Physics

By the end of the course, you will:

Demonstrate a refined and intricate understanding of the concepts and fundamentals of physics principles.

Communicate physics reasoning effectively in the oral and written form.

Solve complex physics problems through the use of sophisticated mathematical techniques.

Statistics and Operations Research

At the end of the course you will be able to:

deal competently with the notions of uncertainty and randomness in a logically valid and mathematically sophisticated way
know which branch of relevant theory should help in understanding practical problems involving probabilistic, statistical and operations research contexts
be confident in the use of software commonly used in the numerical solution to problems in the relevant areas.

Non EU Applicants:

Fee per academic year: Eur 10,800

You are viewing the fees for non EU nationals. Switch to EU nationals if you are a national of any country from within the EU/EEA.

Physics

As a physicist, you will be the most versatile of scientists, capable of tackling a variety of both every-day and specialist problems. You may find employment in government departments, with private industry, with public authorities, as teachers in state and private or church schools and research laboratories, both locally and abroad.

The physics programme equips you to join postgraduate courses (both locally and abroad). Such courses may range from taught and/or research Masters to M.Phil. and Ph.D.

Statistics and Operations Research

Career opportunities in this area have so far included:

National Statistics Office
Other government departments and authorities (e.g. NAO, MFSA, Central Bank, MFSS, Communications Authority)
Finance (e.g. banks, insurance, investment)
Manufacturing companies
Airline industry
Communications industry
Lottery and Betting companies
Education

The course also gives access to further postgraduate studies and research positions, both at the University of Malta and overseas, and a number of our former students have pursued Masters, Doctorate and Post-doctorate positions, both locally and abroad. The course has also served as a good background for other specialized courses required by specific areas in the job market.

Every effort has been made to provide information that is current and accurate. However, as the content is being constantly updated, users are advised to verify the details contained in these web pages with the relevant University office or authority before making decisions based on the published information.