Presentazione

Study plan

The master degree in Astrophysics and Cosmology is organized in two curricula:

  • theory and modelling (A),
  • observations, experiments and interpretation (B).

All course units are on a 6 ECTS (48 h lectures) basis. The first semester of the first year aims at providing students with the basis of modern physics/astrophysics and applied mathematics.
Mandatory courses include: General Relativity,  Mathematical and Numerical Methods, Astrophysics Lab, Fundamentals of Modern Physics or Fundamentals of Astrophysics and Cosmology (depending on the student background at the Bachelor level).
These are supplemented by a specific course according to the chosen curriculum. During the second semester the student will take a total of five courses, two chosen in list of three for each curriculum, two from a broader list plus an entirely free option. This will ensure that in constructing the his/her own study plan, the student has enough freedom to follow at best his/her interests and inclinations.
In the final year all courses are placed in the first semester and the second is entirely devoted to the master thesis.
One course, different for the two curricula, is mandatory, another one is to be picked up from a suggested list and the remaining one is a free option.
Students are required to pass a final examination at the end of each course, usually in the form of an interview. The final thesis consists in a written essay which must contain original contributions in a research field chosen by the student among those suggested by researchers at  Department of Physics and Astronomy or at  affiliated research institutions.

Important Notice related to the compulsory course  Astrophysics Laboratory 1:
We call attention that the compulsory course  Astrophysics Laboratory 1 is split into two channels.
Students must choose one of the two options according to their preference (not depending on any alphabetic criterion).
Please refer to the detailed syllabus (https://en.didattica.unipd.it/off/2019/LM/SC/SC2490) to guide your choice.

 

 

List of Course units

First semester

  • Mathematical and Numerical Methods
  • General Relativity
  • Astrophysics Laboratory I
  • Advanced Astrophysics (curriculum A) OR Observational Astrophysics (curriculum B)
  • Fundamentals of Modern Physics OR Fundamentals of Astrophysics and Cosmology

Second semester

Two course units among:

  • Theoretical Cosmology(curriculum A)
  • Radiative Processes in Astrophysics(curriculum A)
  • Theoretical Physics  (curriculum A)
  • Stellar Astrophysics (curriculum B)
  • Astrophysics of Galaxies (curriculum B)
  • Observational Cosmology (curriculum B)

Two course units among:

  • Multimessenger Astrophysics
  • Astroparticle physics
  • Gravitational Physics
  • Nuclear Astrophysics
  • Celestial Mechanics
  • Subnuclear Physics
  • Astronomical Spectroscopy
  • Planetary Astrophysics
  • Galactic Dynamics
  • Astronomical Interferometry

Second year

  • Compact Object Astrophysics (curriculum A) OR Astrophysics  Laboratory II (curriculum B)

One course unit among:

  • Fluid and Plasma Dynamics
  • Exoplanetary Astrophysics
  • Cosmology of the Early Universe
  • Astrophysics of the Interstellar Medium
  • Astrophysics of High Energy
  • Astro-statistics and Cosmology

One free-choice course unit

Master Thesis (42 CFU-ECTS)