Physics and Astrophysics 2nd cycle

Programme description

The second-cycle Master's degree “Physics and Astrophysics” builds on the first-cycle Bachelor's degree in “Physics and Astrophysics” and provides a broad theoretical and experimental foundation for further study or employment in all areas of physics. Special emphasis is placed on scientific excellence and research, links to international research institutions, and direct contact between students and professors. In order to provide Master's students with better opportunities for further education and employment in high-tech companies in Slovenia and abroad, the programme offers additional specialised content in specific areas of physics as well as intensive and internationally oriented research work. The Master's programme “Physics and Astrophysics” is offered in two modules, Astrophysics and Solid State Physics.

Admission requirements

Educational and professional goals

The main goal of the second cycle of the Master's programme "Physics and Astrophysics" is to train versatile professionals in the field of astrophysics and solid state physics. Both orientations enable master's students to continue their studies at the doctoral level and find employment in a variety of companies, institutions and government agencies in Slovenia and abroad, either because of their specific professional skills or because of their ability to use mathematical, computational and experimental tools, their physical approach to problem solving and their ability to work and communicate in an international environment.

General competencies acquired through the programme
- Development of a scientific intuition
- Ability to investigate natural phenomena
- Ability to apply scientific methods
- Ability of scientific communication in English
- Ability to study in international groups
- Ability to obtain data from various sources
- Ability to communicate physics content and results
- Ability to adapt to different experimental situations
- Ability to abstract and analyze problems
- Ability to work independently on projects
- Ability to work in international research teams
- Ability to transfer knowledge into practise.

Subject-specific competences acquired through the programme
- Develop an approach to problem solving from a physics perspective
- Overview and understanding of fundamental laws of nature
- Mastery of modern information systems and experimental equipment
- Ability to combine computer-assisted data acquisition and data processing
- Ability to create simple numerical models of real systems
- Advanced knowledge in the field of astrophysics.

Access to further studies

After finishing the Master programme “Physics and astrophysics” the graduates can continue their studies at the Graduate School of the University of Nova Gorica and pursue a PhD in physics or materials .

Assessment

The criteria and methods for checking and assessing student learning outcomes for each subject at the School of Science, as reflected in the curricula, are uploaded on the website UNG. For each subject, students are informed about the assessment methods at the beginning of the academic year or at the beginning of the course. The forms of assessment are tailored to the needs of each course (oral exams, written exams, term papers, ....). For all forms, students receive the results directly from the instructor administering the exam. Students have access to the grades through the Study Information System of UNG, which is password protected. The grade distribution analysis is regularly carried out by the Student Office, where it is also accessible to students for comparison. The analyses are not published online by the university to protect personal data. In the University's annual Quality Assurance Report, a section of the report is devoted specifically to each school/programme ((Quality at UNG https://www.ung.si/en/university/quality-assurance/). The analysis of studies in the Faculty of Science is published in the UNG self-evaluation report and in the UNG self-evaluation report and is based on the quality assurance manual https://www.ung.si/documents/302/poslovnik_kakovosti_en.pdf.

Forms of working with students and description of the teaching process
Teaching methods depend on the course and are outlined in the syllabus. In general, teaching takes the form of lectures, tutorials, practical experiments, and independent work. The ratio between contact hours and independent work is on average 1:3. The lectures and practical experiments take place at the School of Science.

Conditions for completing the programme
The completion of the Master's degree requires the accumulation of 120 ECTS, which corresponds to the completion of all examinations in all subjects of the curriculum and the successful defence of the Master's thesis.
If a student completes a specific examination, semester or year in another degree programme or institution according to the evidence provided, the requirements of that degree programme or institution apply to the completion of that examination, semester or year.