Free for every physics student at the University of Southampton and you're automatically a member.

The University of Southampton Physics Society is an organisation that is free for every physics student, with the added benefit that you’re automatically a member. That means there’s no paperwork or sign-up process involved and there are a host of potential benefits, both while you’re studying and beyond.

What do we do? 
Well, we’re a departmental society and our central role is to help provide opportunities, social events and welfare support to all members, but specifically our physics students. Our committee members have a wealth of knowledge and their job is to make your time with Physoc the best it can possibly be.

So what do you have to do? 
Well, get involved! What you don't have to do is pay.

Undergraduate mentoring

Everybody finds the transition from school to university difficult. If you’d like some extra support with your studies, try out the undergraduate mentoring scheme.

This scheme is run by undergrads for undergrads. If you sign up, you’ll be assigned a 3rd or 4th year mentor with whom you can meet every week or so. These students have been where you are – they’ve taken the same exams, done the same problem sheets and can show you how they got to grips with the most challenging parts of the course.

If you’d like to sign up to be mentor or mentee this year you'll need to fill the following form out. 

Alternatively, you can send us an email at mentoring@physoc.org.uk.

Wednesday afternoon drop-in tutoring

If you’d like some support with one of your modules, help with a difficult problem sheet or just someone to ask all of your wacky (physics) questions, then come along to one of these sessions.

They’re run by two physics postgrads like a small-group problems class. Just bring your work or a question and someone will be able to help you out. You can find them in the Physics Library between 2pm and 5pm every Wednesday. You don’t have to come along for the whole session, you can arrive whenever you like and leave whenever you’re done.

Outreach

Physoc also extends beyond the university to run outreach activities, such as collaborating with local schools to perform experiments designed to both collect some nice data and also get younger children interested in science. We've also run evening lectures, free to the public, for people of all ages to come along and learn something new. We're also involved with the Soton Astrodome, a mobile inflatable planetarium taken out to schools and public events.

On the student side of things, the outreach programmes are a great way to get out into the world and use your knowledge for good, learning employable skills and making contacts along the way.