Physics and Astrophysics 1st cycle

Programme description

Undergraduate study program »Physics and astrophysics« is in its essence research-oriented. The curriculum of the undergraduate study program »Physics and astrophysics« aims to deliver the essential theoretical knowledge as early as possible, providing the basis for research activities. In addition to basic mathematical and physical contents, students get familiar with experimental methods that are used in physical laboratory in their first year. In the second and third year, the courses increasingly focus on specific core areas of astrophysics and solid state physics, and are complemented by research work. Students complete the program with a Bachelor seminar in the third year. Graduates have acquired competences and skills to further specialize through our master program »Physics and astrophysics«, by choosing one of the two modules it offers (the Astrophysics or Solid State Physics), or by pursuing master level studies at other universities.
During their studies, students have the opportunity to become involved in actual research work in five state-of-the-art research laboratories and centers of the UNG: Center for Astrophysics and Cosmology, Center for Atmospheric Research, Laboratory of Organic Matter Physics, Materials Research Laboratory and Laboratory for Quantum Optics.

Admission requirements

Check the enrollment requirements at the Student Office

Criteria for the recognition of knowledge and skills acquired prior to enrolment
Completion of an ECTS-weighted course of study at a university, higher, post-secondary educational institution, or within the framework of lifelong learning may be transferred up to a maximum of 10 ECTS and validated as a completed study obligation. In accordance with Article 9 of the Accreditation Criteria, the University of Nova Gorica may, on the basis of a documented request to the School's study programme committee recognize a student's knowledge acquired prior to enrollment, even to the extent of more than 10 ECTS. Each request will be considered on its own merits.
The School’s study programme committee shall refer the application to the holder of the course in question, who shall assess whether the knowledge, competencies or skills acquired correspond, in terms of content and complexity, in whole or in part, to the competencies specified in the course syllabus. If they match in whole or in a proportion greater than 70%, the student is awarded the examination. The acquired competences can be recognized if they fully correspond to the standards of the University of Nova Gorica in terms of complexity. According to this regulation it is also possible: (i) take into account certificates and other documents of knowledge acquired outside the higher education sector, (ii) evaluate products, services and publications created by the student before enrollment, (iii) recognize part of the requirements of the study programme (tutorials, seminar papers, project). The above options for recognition of skills acquired prior to enrollment are not provided as a criterion in the admission requirements or as a selection criterion in the admission restriction.

Conditions for progressing through the programme (Pogoji za napredovanje po programu)
Student obligations at the degree programme level are specified in the study regulations for the first cycle programmes at the University of Nova Gorica.
The requirements for entry into the 2nd year are completion of at least 52 ECTS and completion of all requirements for Physics Laboratory I. The requirements for entry into the 3rd year are completion of all 1st year requirements, completion of at least 52 ECTS from the 2nd year, and completion of all requirements for Physics Laboratory II. Courses taken must include Quantum Mechanics. Conditions for repeating a year: the student may re-enroll to the first year if he/she has accumulated at least 30 ECTS from that year. The student may re-enrol in the second year if he/she has accumulated at least 30 ECTS credits from that year. A student may repeat a year only once in the course of his/her studies. A student whose student status is terminated retains the right to complete the remaining degree requirements of the last year of enrollment for two years after termination of student status. Extension of Student Status: upon completion of the one-year graduation period, student status may be extended for up to a maximum of one year in justified cases in accordance with Article 70 of the Higher Education Act. Student mothers who have a child during their studies have the right to extend their student status by one year for each live birth.

Educational and professional goals

The objective of the Undergraduate study program »Physics and astrophysics« of the University is to provide students with the necessary theoretical and experimental knowledge and with the initial research experience, which will enable them either for a supervised research work, or for Master studies in the fields of astrophysics or solid state physics.
General competences acquired through the program:
• Ability to investigate natural phenomena
• Ability to apply scientific methodologies
• Ability of scientific communication in the English language
• Ability to study in the international groups
• Ability to acquire data from multiple sources
• Ability to communicate the physical contents and results
• Adaptability to different experimental situations
Subject-specific competences acquired through the program:
• Developed physical approach to problem solving
• Knowledge and understanding of the fundamental laws of nature
• Management of modern information systems and experimental facilities
• Ability to link computerized data acquisition and data processing
• Ability to produce simple numerical models of real systems

Access to further studies

After finishing the Bachelor programme “Physics and astrophysics” the graduates can continue their studies at the School of Science at the Master’s degree program “Physics and astrophysics” or “Materials science” or through 2nd cycle programmes at other universities in the fields of physics, astrophysics, etc.

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

A student accumulates 60 points each year, thus to finish the studies the student is required to have successfully completed all courses and other obligations and the diploma seminar; altogether at least 180 ECTS points.
After completing the program, the student receives a Diploma, which is a recognized public document. The diploma comprises also Diploma supplement, an appendix with all important information about the study.
The conditions for completing an individual course are defined in the description of the contents of the courses and written in the study rules. if a student passes an individual exam, semester or year in accordance with the rules of another program or institution, the conditions of the program or institution there apply to the completion of this exam, semester or year.