Visits to major facilities
At Sheffield we find ways to bring your learning experiences to life. Through our network of global partners, you'll have opportunities to visit leading institutions like CERN, Boulby and the Canary Islands Observatory.
This gives you the chance to experience the workings of a major research centre first-hand – talking to physicists at work or using state-of-the-art equipment.
Astronomy observing trip to Tenerife
Our most popular dual degree is Physics with Astrophysics. Students have access to two state-of-the art telescopes on the roof of the physics building, one of which can be accessed remotely via the web.
Each year up to 10 astronomy students have the opportunity to join a subsidised field trip to the observatory on Tenerife. Here they benefit from access to large-scale telescopes – the 0.5m Mons and 0.8m IAC telescopes. At 2,400m above sea level, these telescopes are situated in a near ideal environment for astronomy.
The Large Hadron Collider at CERN
Our department's particle physics group has been actively involved in developing the ATLAS detector – one of three particle physics detectors at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. They are now using this detector to look for the Higgs Particle and new particles beyond the standard model of particle physics.
Through our links with CERN, students have the chance to see this major international facility in operation and talk to physicists working on the LHC.
The Boulby Underground Laboratory
Scientists from our particle physics group work at the Boulby Underground Laboratory. The laboratory lies 1,100m below ground in a working potash mine in Northern England. It provides a low radiation background environment where physicists run high sensitivity detectors aiming to discover dark matter and study the effects of cosmic rays on cloud formation.
Students start their journey to the laboratory with a descent of 1,100m as they travel down the mine shaft, followed by a walk along a network of tunnels cut into a salt bed over 200 million years old.
You can find out more on the Boulby website.