MSc in Cosmology

Full-time and part-time study

Choose to study this course full time or part-time, to fit around your work and personal life.

On the full-time course, you study core modules and options in the autumn and spring terms. You work on the project throughout the year. In the summer term, you focus on examinations and project work. Modules for the full-time course are listed below.

On the part-time course, you take the core modules in the autumn and spring terms of your first year. After the examinations in the summer term, you begin work on your project. Project work continues during the second year when you also take options. For details about the part-time course, contact us.

We regularly review our modules to incorporate student feedback, staff expertise, as well as the latest research and teaching methodology. We’re planning to run these modules in the academic year 2022/23. However, there may be changes to these modules in response to COVID-19, staff availability, student demand or updates to our curriculum. We’ll make sure to let our applicants know of material changes to modules at the earliest opportunity.

We’ll do our best to provide as much optional choice as we can, but timetabling constraints mean it may not be possible to take some module combinations. The structure of a small number of courses means that the order of modules or the streams you choose may determine whether modules are core or optional. This means that your core modules or options may differ from what’s shown below.

Core modules

Core modules are taken by all students on the course. They give you a solid grounding in your chosen subject and prepare you to explore the topics that interest you most.

All year

• Project (MSc Cosmology)

Autumn teaching

• Cosmology
• General Relativity
• Quantum Field Theory 1

Spring teaching

• Advanced Cosmology

Options

Alongside your core modules, you can choose options to broaden your horizons and tailor your course to your interests. This list gives you a flavour of our options, which are kept under review and may change, for example in response to student feedback or the latest research.

While it’s our aim for students to take their preferred combinations of options, this can’t be guaranteed and will be subject to timetabling. Options may be grouped and if so, students will be able to choose a set number of options from the selection available in any particular group.

Autumn teaching

• Data Analysis Techniques
• Further Quantum Mechanics
• Galactic Astrophysics
• Programming in C++
• Programming through Python

Spring teaching

• Astrophysical Processes
• Frontiers in Particle Physics
• Monte Carlo Simulations
• Quantum Field Theory 2
• Stellar and Planetary Physics

MSc project

Your project can take the form of placement in the industry but is usually supervised by faculty. Supervisors and topics are allocated, in consultation with you, at the start of the autumn term. Often the projects form the basis of research papers that are later published in journals.

Most of our graduates have gone on to study for a research degree in a closely related field.