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

<a href="https://www.ung.si/sl/vpisi/vpis-ii-stopnja/fizika/

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 second cycle programmes at the University of Nova Gorica. To be admitted to the second year of the Master's programme in Physics and Astrophysics, students must have accumulated at least 48 ECTS in the required courses in the first year of studies. Students may re-enrol in the first year of the programme if they have earned at least 30 ECTS from courses in that year. Students may repeat a year only once during their programme of study. A student whose student status is terminated retains the right to complete the remaining degree requirements of the final year of enrollment for two years after termination of student status.

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.