Location, Location, Location – Why I chose to study Physics at King’s

By Amber Inman, MSci Physics, Department of Physics

For me it was all about location. When considering university, I think people often forget that the city you go to university in is also the city you’re going to call home for the next three years. After spending my teenage years in a sleepy northern village, it was always going to be London. I wanted to meet as many people as possible and a city of almost 9 million seemed the perfect place for that. Yes, you do have put up with truly terrible traffic but what price is that to pay for David Attenborough turning up in your library and Bridget Jones being filmed just outside campus?

I think it’s so important to love the location of your university. After all, no one likes 9am lectures but the view of the Thames as I crossed Waterloo Bridge made them just about bearable for me.

The second thing I looked at was the research going on in the department. At 18 I had no idea what I wanted to focus on within physics, however what I did know was that I wanted options. It might not be the first thing you think of when choosing an undergraduate course, but the areas of active research at a university are going to determine the kind of final year projects available to you.  The Department of Physics at King’s has four different groups: Biological Physics & Soft Matter, Photonics & Nanotechnology, Theory & Simulation of Condensed Matter and Theoretical Particle Physics & Cosmology. Now you might think that might cover everything a young physicist could possibly want to study but the options don’t stop there. You’re not limited to the department or even the university. My friends take part in interdisciplinary projects with the robotics, chemistry and mathematics departments. In the fourth year of the MSci course you can choose from modules at UCL, QMUL and RHUL. My final year project ended up being at the Institute of Cancer Research, an experience which has been so valuable and rewarding.

All in all, I think I chose King’s for the opportunities it could provide me with. Opportunities I couldn’t have got anywhere else and opportunities I will always be grateful for.