University of St Andrews

Although small, with approximately 7000 students, the University of St Andrews is one of the UK’s foremost ancient universities, having celebrated its 600th anniversary in 2013. It is a highly international institution with a reputation for quality; it has the highest ratio of undergraduate applications to available places of any university in the UK, and the highest proportion of non-UK students.

The Condensed Matter Physics Group forms part of the university’s School of Physics and Astronomy, one of the UK’s strongest physics departments (with a ranking of joint second in the UK in the latest Research Assessment Exercise). It brings expertise in theoretical condensed matter physics, surface physics, topological protection and non-equilibrium states that are an ideal complement to research strengths in Dresden.