Physics Where Can I Study Particle Physics in Australia?

AI Thread Summary
A year 11 student in Australia is seeking information on universities in Victoria that offer courses in particle physics. The discussion highlights that while options in Victoria are limited, the University of Melbourne is noted as a top choice due to its strong particle physics program and involvement in significant research collaborations like ATLAS. Other universities mentioned include the University of Sydney and the University of Adelaide, which have smaller, more theoretical particle physics groups. It is emphasized that aspiring particle physicists typically start with a general physics undergraduate degree before specializing in graduate school. Additionally, the Australian National University (ANU) is recognized for its nuclear physics offerings, although it has less focus on particle physics compared to the University of Melbourne. Overall, the conversation underscores the importance of foundational studies in physics and mathematics before pursuing specialized courses.
Junii1
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Hey!
I am a year 11 student from Australia and I am wanting to take course(s) in particle physics at university/college after high school. I am just wondering where I can do this as I haven't found many universities (In Victoria) that offer this. If anyone has experience from overseas I would love to hear it. Thanks
 
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Junii1 said:
Hey!
I am a year 11 student from Australia and I am wanting to take course(s) in particle physics at university/college after high school. I am just wondering where I can do this as I haven't found many universities (In Victoria) that offer this. If anyone has experience from overseas I would love to hear it. Thanks
A quick view on Sidney didn't look too bad. They offer courses where at least the foundations of the topic are taught. To me it seems to be a good starting point. Further information will automatically show up if you will be in such an environment. Until then there's a lot of work left to do, including classical physics and a lot of math (the kind of that is usually not being taught at school).
http://sydney.edu.au/
 
Particle physics isn't something you start with. All of the particle physicists I now started out with an undergraduate degree in physics and then specialized in graduate school.
 
Choppy is right. (And Fresh 42, Sydney isn't in Victoria - it's in New South Wales; Victoria universities would be Melbourne and Monash)
 
Vanadium 50 said:
Choppy is right. (And Fresh 42, Sydney isn't in Victoria - it's in New South Wales; Victoria universities would be Melbourne and Monash)
I know. I just looked up a university I was quite sure of it has a good physics department. And it's still closer than "overseas".
 
Junii1 said:
Hey!
I am a year 11 student from Australia and I am wanting to take course(s) in particle physics at university/college after high school. I am just wondering where I can do this as I haven't found many universities (In Victoria) that offer this. If anyone has experience from overseas I would love to hear it. Thanks
Melbourne university is The Place To Be in Australia for particle physics. They have a rather large, vibrant group that works on the ATLAS collaboration (ETA amongst other things, including BELLE II and theory stuff). Most of COEPP is there, and there are plenty of undergraduate opportunities for research. http://www.coepp.org.au/
There are also particle physics groups at USyd, and at Adelaide, though they are smaller and more theoretically focused. Further, Uni Melb and the ANU are getting together to do a direct dark matter detection experiment in Stawell, Victoria, to follow on from DAMA/LIBRE.

As far as "general" physics degrees in Australia goes, I'd go for ANU, Uni Melbourne, University of Queensland and USyd, in decreasing order of preference. But Uni Melbourne has more particle physics than ANU (ANU, on the other hand has much more nuclear physics than Uni Melbourne.)

ETA: And I can assure you that Uni Melb has a nuclear/particle physics course in undergrad, taught by particle physicists. As does ANU. But others in this thread are correct: most people who do particle physics in graduate school do a general physics undergraduate degree.
 
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