Physics is the study of matter and motion, what the world is made of and how it works. Physicists study everything from the smallest particles to the structure of the entire universe. Physics & Astronomy degree programmes are becoming increasingly popular due to recent discoveries in astronomy. With a PhD in Physics at University College Cork (UCC) you will typically have studied in your first year two core courses, Foundations and Physics and Stuff of the Universe with interactive learning experience, and you will have been introduced to the fundamentals of quantum physics.Further study will have involved, for example, Forces, Fields and Potentials and Probability, Waves and Materials, thermodynamics, statistical mechanics, condensed matter, diffraction physics, quantum physics, electromagnetism and relativity and research methods. Further work will also have concentrated on atmospheric dynamics, macromolecular physics and general relativity.