Girton College University of Cambridge

Undergraduate Common Room

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Natural Sciences (Physical)

Fellows

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Natural Sciences at Cambridge

In Cambridge most science subjects are taught within the framework of the Natural Sciences Tripos. This encompasses a wide range of both the physical and the biological sciences and the history and philosophy of science. The majority of the biological scientists and some of the physical scientists take a three-year (BA) course which is divided into three parts: IA, IB and II, one for each of the three years. Four-year (BA and MSci) courses are available in the physical sciences (Astrophysics, Chemistry, Geology, Materials Science & Metallurgy and Physics) and Biochemistry – the fourth-year course is called Part III.

Students in Natural Sciences have the choice of three (out of eight) science subjects in Part IA, taking these along with one of three Maths courses. Physical scientists take the course entitled Mathematics which provides the mathematical and computational techniques used in the Part IA Physical Sciences courses. In Part IB students choose three subjects to study in more depth and in Part II they will normally specialise in one subject. The decision about the four-year course is made at the end of the second year.

In the first two years, all lectures take place in central lecture theatres, either in the New Museums Site, the Downing Site or the Chemistry Department. Practicals are run in the teaching labs in the relevant departments, all of which – except for the Physics Department – are in the same central area; Physics practicals take place in the Physics Department which is on the West Cambridge site, a mile and a half from the city centre. In the third and fourth years, all lectures, projects and practicals take place in the relevant departments.

Typically, a student attends two lectures (each lasting 50 minutes) a day, five or six days a week. In addition, in the first two years, they attend two or three practicals a week. In Parts II and III the practical and project work take up a substantial portion of a student’s time.

Studying Physical Sciences at Girton

You will have a Director of Studies, who is responsible for the academic side of your life. The Director of Studies has been involved in Admissions, and has the role of advising you about which courses to take, arranging supervisions, writing references and dealing with many other work-related aspects of life at Girton. You will also have a personal tutor for pastoral matters.

In the first two years you will have weekly supervisions from Girton Fellows or research workers in each of your subjects (including Maths). These supervisions are generally in small groups of two or three and provide the personal contact and individual attention which is not possible in a lecture. Supervisions provide you with the opportunity to explore the subjects you are learning about in the lectures and practicals, to clarify anything you are not clear about and to practice problem-solving and essay-writing skills. In most physical sciences, the work for a supervision is usually based on example sheets given out the by the lecturer. You work on problems selected from the sheet and hand your work in before the supervision. The supervisor marks the work and then goes over it in the supervision, helping you with questions you cannot do and sometimes suggesting alternative methods for those completed. Supervisions may take place in the main college building or at Wolfson Court, but some groups meet in research departments.

In the third (and fourth) year the courses are so specialised that individual colleges cannot cover them all. Supervisions are therefore organised by, or through, the departments.

We take about 12 undergraduates a year to read physical sciences at Girton, the majority of whom will do the four-year course. There are therefore usually about 45 physical scientists in residence. There are enough students each year to provide lots of company, stimulus and peer-group academic support.

Although students are admitted to the Natural Sciences Tripos at Girton under the broad headings of Physical and Biological Sciences, the decision is not irrevocable, and after trying out a range of subjects in the first year some students do change the emphasis of their studies. The decision to allow such a transfer is dependent on the receiving Director of Studies.

Admissions in Physical Sciences at Girton

If you want to apply to read Physical Sciences at Girton, Mathematics and either Physics or Chemistry at A2 level are essential. It is beneficial – but not essential – to take Further Mathematics at AS or A2 level. Students studying for Scottish Advanced Highers would also be expected to be taking Mathematics and either Physics or Chemistry. For students taking the International Baccalaureate we expect Mathematics and either Physics or Chemistry at Higher Level.

We interview nearly all the candidates who apply to Girton (plus those open applicants who are assigned to the College). You will have two subject interviews, lasting 30 minutes each, with the Director of Studies and Fellows in Physical Sciences. We aim to find out how you approach science questions, how responsive you are to the type of teaching you will receive here and how strongly motivated you are to take the Natural Sciences course. The questions are intended to test potential rather than knowledge; some are on familiar material but will have an unusual twist, while others are on material which it is unlikely you have seen before – in those cases, you are presented with the background needed and are then required to develop it.

In each interview you will be asked to solve problems in the subject indicated. (Most of you will be doing all three subjects at A2 level. However if you are not, for example, doing Chemistry the interviewer will be aware of this and will alter the questions to take account of this.) You will sit beside the interviewers at a table and are provided with paper and pencil since you will need to write things down as you are going along. We will ask you to discuss what you are doing as we go through the questions, and if you get stuck will give you hints about how to proceed from there -the questions are demanding so it is not unusual for someone to get stuck and we are interested in how well you pick up and respond to our hints. In order to get as full a picture of your abilities as possible it is important for us to see how you respond to a variety of different problems - we therefore try to get through questions on several different topics in the limited amount of time available in each interview, so you should not worry if the interviewer stops you before you get to the end of a question and moves onto a different problem.

We aim to attract students from all backgrounds, all types of schools and all regions of the UK, as well as from different countries – we usually have a number of overseas students, both from the European Union and from further afield. We are happy to consider students who wish to take a gap year – however if you are thinking of doing this you must be aware that you will have to work hard in the month or so before coming up to Cambridge as, after a year without studying science and maths, you will be distinctly ‘rusty’.

Enquiries

If you would like more information about Physical Sciences at Girton, please contact the Tutorial & Admissions Office at admissions@girton.cam.ac.uk.