Minor Research

English
VUB Main Campus Etterbeek
120
 ECTS
2 years

The Master of Science in Physics and Astronomy: minor Research is composed of 30 ECTS compulsory courses, 30 ECTS master thesis, 10/12 ECTS external mobility courses and 50/48 ECTS minor Research electives. We suggest different elective courses depending on the two possible orientations: High Energy Physics and Complex Systems. The descriptions of the orientations can be found here.

Master of Science in Physics and Astronomy: minor Research

Compulsory courses

Master year 1 - Semester 1

High-Energy Astrophysics
6
Computational Physics
6
Quantum Field Theory
6
General Relativity
6

Master year 1 - Semester 2

Subatomic Physics II
6

Master year 2

You do your master thesis and choose between 10 - 12 ECTS of mobility courses*

Master Thesis Physics and Astronomy
30
External Mobility A
6
External Mobility B
6

Electives: year 1 & year 2

You choose a total of 48 credits of courses from the following options**

Suggested computational electives for both orientations

Object Oriented Programming (C++) for Physicists
6
Statistical Foundations of Machine Learning
6

Suggested electives for the High Energy Physics orientation

Advanced Field Theory
6
Astroparticle Physics
6
Early Universe Cosmology
6
Electroweak and Strong Interactions
6
Evolution of Stars and Stellar Systems
6
Experimental Techniques in Particle Physics
6
Extensions of the Standard Model
6
Simulation of Physics Phenomena and Detectors in Modern Physics
6
Capita Selecta in Particle Physics (A)
3
Capita Selecta in Particle Physics (B)
3

Suggested electives for the Complex Systems orientation

Complexity and Criticality - UGent - see hyperlink below*
6
Lasers
4
Modeling complex systems
6
Quantitative Cell and Tissue Biology
5
Optical materials
6

General UGent electives - 1st semester

Atomic and Molecular Physics
6
Nanomagnetism
6
Modelling and engineering of nanoscale materials
6
Nuclear Instrumentation
6
Physics and Chemistry of Nanostructures
6
Plasma Physics
6
Plasma Technology and Fusion Technology
6
Computational Materials Physics
6
Cosmology and Galaxy Formation
6
History and Philosophy of Sciences: Physics and Astronomy
6
Introduction to the Dynamics of Atmospheres
6
Radioactivity and Radiation Dosimetry
6
Symmetry Groups
6
Optical Spectroscopy of Materials
4

General UGent electives - 2nd semester

Capita Selecta Solid-state Physics
6
Continuum Mechanics
6
Hadrons and nuclei from a theoretical perspective
6
Luminescence
6
Medical Physics
6
Nuclear Methods in Material Research
6
Observational Techniques in Astronomy
6
Quantum Computing
6
Radiative Transfer Simulations in Astrophysics
6
Strongly Correlated Quantum Systems
6
Many-body Physics
6
Nuclear Astrophysics
6
Quantum Black Holes and Holography
6
Quantum Electrodynamics
6
Structural Analysis Techniques in Solid State Physics
6

* External mobility is very flexible but we highlight here a few “local” external electives from KUL: For the Complex Systems orientation, we strongly suggest  “Advanced Statistical Mechanics” from KUL and would recommand also “Advanced Soft and Biomatter Physics” and “Computational Physics: Molecular Dynamics Simulations / Advanced Monte Carlo Methods”, see KUL programs Master of Physics and Master of Astronomy and Astrophysics.

** You can take VUB courses from other programs upon the agreement of the jury of the master program.

The full program of UGent can be find here: Master of Science in Physics and Astronomy.

Total number of ECTS
120