The School of Physics and Astronomy has a long and distinguished history dating back to the University's inception, over 100 years ago. In 1874, the Yorkshire College of Science (the forerunner to the University of Leeds, which was granted a royal charter in 1904) began teaching experimental physics.
The School's excellent reputation continues to grow. Its research has achieved a very high national and international standing and it was awarded the highest rating of 5 in the 2001 Research Assessment Exercise. The School also excels in its teaching - in the 2000 Teaching Quality Assurance Assessment, it was awarded the highest possible score of 24/24, and has been placed 3rd in the UK for Physics in the 2009 Guardian League Table.
The School occupies a modern building with well-equipped teaching and research laboratories. It has over 30 members of academic staff including 10 professors, around 40 other postdoctoral staff and around 120 postgraduate students. There are typically 300 undergraduates on its degree programmes at any one time.