Description of Cambridge’s Math with Physics [url=<a href=“http://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/mathematics%5Dhere%5B/url”>http://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/mathematics]here[/url]
Description of Cambrdidge’s Natural Sciences course [url=<a href=“http://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/natural-sciences%5Dhere%5B/url”>http://www.undergraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/courses/natural-sciences]here[/url]
You will find detailed descriptions of the modules on the course.
Admissions requirements for Natural Sciences: 2 or 3 (depends on the college) APs or IBs in Physics, Bio, Chem, and/or Calc BC plus enough additional APs to total at least 5; a strong SAT (they don’t say but 2100/2200 seems to do the trick); for Maths with Physics you have to have Calc BC.
Description of Oxford’s Physics course [url=<a href=“http://www2.physics.ox.ac.uk/study-here/undergraduates/the-courses%5Dhere%5B/url”>http://www2.physics.ox.ac.uk/study-here/undergraduates/the-courses]here[/url]
Admissions requirements: SAT 2100, AP scores of 5 in Physics, Calc BC and one more quantitative course, and a strong performance on the Physics Aptitude Test (PAT).
Note that both Oxford and Cambridge have a rigorous interview process that is a combination of a tutorial (lesson) and an oral exam.
As an example, here is what the 1st year of Physics looks like at Oxford (the same detail is available for all years; similar info for the Cambridge courses will be found on the links above:
First Year
Four compulsory subjects plus one elective, and practical work (labs):
=> Two subjects cover fundamental areas of ‘classical’ physics: the mechanics of particles, special relativity, and the physics of electric and magnetic fields.
=> The third subject covers differential equations, waves and elementary optics.
=> The fourth subject is mathematical methods, including vectors and calculus.
=> The fifth subject is chosen from a range of possible Short Options, such as topics such as quantum ideas, additional mathematics and subjects from other physical sciences.
Practical work: one day each week working in pairs in the practical laboratories, on practicals such as: computing, electronics, optics and general physics. A new course on computer programming and numerical methods combines lectures with hands-on work in the computing laboratory.
Exams (Prelims)
At the end of first year there are five papers (exams), one in each subject.
This is the top end, but all UK and Irish universities will be similar: you study one subject (or joined subjects) exclusively. They all rely on standardized testing, and beyond the very top tier if you have the test scores you are likely to get the place. However, the details of the courses vary (though less for physics / math than for other courses), so be sure to read the course descriptions carefully)