Course + Year: NTU Bachelor of Science (Hons) in Applied Physics Y3
Physics is an interesting course where you get to explore most of the physics concepts and learn how to apply them in your future career. It also involves big data and the skills you learn can also be used in different industries in today’s world.
I was from JC and I took the hybrid combination: Physics, Chemistry, History and Economics.
I considered Accountancy, Business, Computer Science and other generic courses. However, I eventually chose to do Physics because I wanted to do something tangible and go into the finance industry. I did not choose Business because you will be surprised that the finance industry wants students from different courses. This is because, for example, Banking students will give textbook answers while Physics students will give different answers along the lines of coding because of their coding experience when learning Physics.
I’m not doing a double major/degree because I considered the workload. Doing a double degree definitely has its perks but I prefer to not take up too much work when studying in university.
I did consider NUS and NTU but I felt that NTU was more technical. NUS only offers pure Physics but NTU offers an undergraduate degree in Applied Physics which NUS doesn’t. Considering the fact that I preferred doing Physics that was more applied then pure, I chose NTU instead.
The first year is quite similar to JC Physics where some content is similar to A levels. However, the 2 years of Physics learnt during your JC days is crammed into 3 months. That being said, our daily timetable is still quite chill. Most lessons are OTOT (Own Time, Own Target) so if some tutorials are not useful for you, you can choose whether to attend them or not. On top of that, there is a lot of independent learning required.
Our assignments are done individually most of the time. As compared to other courses, we have fewer group assignments so you don’t really have to worry about people snaking you and free-loading.
Yes. NTU has thirteen weeks of study but after week 7, you will have one recess week to take a break. During pre-Covid days, after thirteen weeks, you will have some time to study for finals. However, for now, you might have exams during week 13 because of the Covid-19 arrangements.
Like what I said earlier, a day in the life of a Physics student is rather chill. When creating your timetable, you can choose morning or afternoon lessons. Usually for me, if I have lessons in the afternoon, I will clear some work beforehand. It is really flexible and unlike in JC, there really is no fixed timetable. There are times when I don’t even need to go to school because I have no lessons or activities on that day.
There are definitely practical assessments which happen in the Physics Lab. However, it does not take up a large component of your exams. That being said, these examinations are still important. Usually, lab assessments will require students to come up with a report at the end and there will also be a component where you need to reflect and fill in what you have learnt.
For written examinations, some modules have finals while some do not. It is usually up to the professors teaching that module. Speaking about professors, most of them are understanding so if you have any clash of important deadlines, they will usually be very flexible and change the deadline, not just for you but for everyone. Leeway will be given in terms of late submissions if your professors are in a good mood.
Generally, if you take note of your own timetable, plan well and follow it, our workload is manageable. For example, if you do not wait till the last minute to finish your reports, your workload will consistently be manageable. There is usually not a lot of stress regarding the bell curve because there is, in fact, not that many Physics students. It really depends on the professors whether they set a bell curve or not.
To be fair, most things, especially hard skills, can be learnt independently. However, university prepares you by exposing you to some cases and problems, and allows you to experience answering and handling them before you go into the working world. Imagine stepping foot into the working world with no experience solving any basic cases! It will definitely be a daunting experience for you. Additionally, university also allows you to analyse other ideas that were proposed before and create new ideas with like-minded peers to understand the different perspectives while approaching the same problem. You get to learn quantitative thinking and you will be encouraged to think of and present ideas that have never been proposed before.
We do not have specialisations but we have concentrations in nanotechnology, for example, where you choose modules that are related to the broad topic that you are interested in. Students will usually choose a concentration related to the industry that they are aiming for. However, I am not doing any specialisation or concentration because I am working towards the finance industry. For me, I am just focusing on building the right skill sets and preparing to use it in the finance industry.
Most of the professors are quite chill and are quite approachable. Some of them are even on my FaceBook, so I guess you can say we have quite good professor-student relationships! There are no class points so you don’t have to worry whether the professors like you or not. At the end of the day, it is quite fair. Most people in the faculty are quite nice and open. Some people are scared that there may be a different working culture which might not suit them. However, everyone here is passionate about physics, so if you would like to ask a question, they will be very happy to share their opinions with you.
Those in NTU Physics can choose either to take a Final Year Project (FYP) or a professional internship as their graduation requirement. However, if they would like to do both, there are also arrangements for that. In fact, our professors will welcome you to do a FYP and you don’t have to do one that is only related to your course.
Relativity and Quantum Physics is my favourite because it introduces to you the basic concepts of Quantum Physics. Quantum Physics is a very big concept, so this module helps you to develop interest in it and you get to learn about things that you didn’t know existed after getting some experience in it. Classical Electrodynamics is my least favourite but the professors are trying to make things more interesting for you.
The fact that you have to do independent learning was something I did not expect from the course, or rather, university in general. For us in JC, most of the curriculum and timetable are planned for you but in university, it’s really up to you to decide what you want to achieve out of your course. That also means that you are expected to take ownership of your own learning and not depend on someone else to path your university journey for you.
The hands-on experience and the openness of university surpassed my expectations. As compared to JC, there is a belief that there are no wrong answers so you have the right to argue for your opinions.
Although many people think that physics graduates will end up as tuition teachers, you will be surprised that many end up doing other professions like engineering, coding and even joining the finance sector. Other than that, most physics graduates also end up working with data.
Sometimes you will regret and that’s normal but at the end of the day, you will realise everything has its pros and cons. You will one day realise that there is a purpose in attending these modules.
For my batch, no one switched out because there is a lot of support for you. Some students will help each other out with work and there is a strong support system for students.
Students should actually have an interest in Physics. You should also be able to learn independently as you cannot just rely on your professors. You must be comfortable with putting in effort to learn, for example, finding your own solutions to the problems, reading the required materials and so on.
The good thing about Physics is that it’s a general degree which equips you with a lot of relevant skill sets. You can enter most jobs that you are interested in, as long as you are able to find ways to enter that course. After all, it boils down to whether you want to make an effort to get your desired job or not.
I did consider teaching and professorship and there are a lot of physics students that go on further to pursue professorship. Otherwise, you can make money by helping professors do some research and editing. Before I started university, I didn’t know that I wanted to go into finance. However, through career talks inside the school and other university experiences, my interest in the finance industry grew slowly.
I have only had an internship since year 3. The school has given a lot of opportunities but it’s up to every student to decide whether they want to do it or not. In the event that you do decide to do an internship, the school will support you all the way.
Yes. I stayed in hall 3. Some friends do stay and some don’t, so it depends.
The school culture is independent and chill. For me, I only focused on one CCA, NTU Piano Ensemble and I paced myself. Prospective students do not need to worry much about fitting in because the school culture is diverse. However, in order to enjoy your university journey, you need to have an open mind and other than that, there is actually not much to take note of.
I didn’t really explore external commitments but there are a lot of opportunities, such as entrepreneurship. There are also a lot of short-term and long-term overseas exchanges. You can also take modules and transfer it over to another university if you are considering transferring elsewhere.
As mentioned, do go in with an open mind and try to reflect and find out what you want to achieve in your few years of university.
The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the interviewees and do not reflect the official policy or position of any institution. They are also not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, class, individual or organisation.
The information contained in this website is intended to provide general guidance only. It should not be relied upon as professional advice and does not 100% guarantee admission into any course.
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