Please note: This page is aimed at prospective students. Are you already a student at Radboud University? You can find your current study programme in the Course catalogue.
Curriculum of Particle and Astrophysics
The Master’s specialisation in Particle and Astrophysics has a course load of 120 EC (two years). The programme consists of compulsory courses, supplemented by electives. You end the programme by writing a Master's thesis.
About this study curriculum
The list below illustrates the basic organisation of the Master's specialisation Particle and Astrophysics, which consists of the following elements:
- Compulsory courses (23 EC)
- Elective courses (24 EC) (or choose a Synergy track in Gravity+ or Computational and Data Science)
- Free electives (13 EC)
- Master's thesis (60 EC)
Provisional overview for prospective students
This overview provides an indication of the study programme of the academic year 2026-2027 and is aimed at prospective students. It is subject to change and no rights may be derived from it. Already a student at Radboud University? View your current study programme in the Course catalogue.
- P1
- P1
- P1
- P2
- P1
- P2
- P1
- P2
- P3
- P3
- P4
Electives
The compulsory courses are supplemented by a set of specialisation electives. You need to choose at least 24 EC worth of electives from the Physics and Astronomy Master's courses. In the list above are suggested elective courses for the Particle and Astrophysics specialisation.
- Particle Detection (3 EC)
- Advanced Stellar and Binary Evolution (6 EC)
- Black Holes and Accretion (6 EC)
- General Relativity (9 EC)
- Monte Carlo Techniques (6 EC)
- Quantum Field Theory (6 EC)
- CDS: Numerical Methods (3 EC)
- Data Analysis (3 EC)
- Experimental Particle Physics (6 EC)
- Quantum Gravity (6 EC)
- Quantum Geometry (6 EC)
- CDS: Advanced Programming (3 EC)
- Gravity+ Club (3 EC)
- Astronomical Instrumentation & Data Analysis (6 EC)
- Astroparticle Physics (6 EC)
- Formation and Evolution of Galaxies (6 EC)
- Foundations and Frontiers of Gravitational Wave Astrophysics (6 EC)
- Foundations of Gravitational Waves & Black Hole Pert. Theory (6 EC)
- Instrumentation in Particle Physics (6 EC)
- Interstellar Matter (6 EC)
- Lie Algebras in Particle Physics (6 EC)
- Machine Learning in Particle Physics and Astronomy (6 EC)
- Nuclear Physics (6 EC)
- Quantum Field Theory 2: Standard Model (6 EC)
- Theoretical Foundations of Quantum Field Theory (6 EC)
- Gravitational Wave Astrophysics: Statistics and Data Analysis (3 EC)
- Projects in Particle Physics (3 EC)
You can also choose to do a synergy track in Gravity+ or Computational and Data Science. You can find more information about this track at the bottom of this page.
Free electives
A small part of the elective space (13 EC) can also be filled with courses from other degree programs, even at other faculties. This gives you the opportunity to further specialise or broaden your programme as you see fit.
- P1
- P2
- P3
- P4
Specialisations
The synergy track Gravity+ reflects the unique Radboud expertise on the role of gravity in the universe, from the largest to the smallest length scales. This track brings together the worlds of physics, mathematical physics and astronomy, covering a wide range of topics that encompasses classical and quantum gravity, the mathematical foundations of general relativity, and (observational) astrophysics.
About this study curriculum
This track can be followed as part of the Master's specialisations in Particle & Astrophysics. The aim is to bring our students to the forefront of international research in gravity, to which the Radboud research programme is a key contributor, exemplified by the recent breakthroughs in black-hole imaging through the Event Horizon Telescope.
The synergy track consists of a 12 EC core curriculum, which you extend to at least 18 EC with dedicated electives based on your interests.
- P1
- P2
- P1
- P2
- P2
- P3
- P2
- P3
- P3
- P3
- P4
- P4
Data science and computational methods play an increasing important role in modern science as well as in industry and society. This is why we offer a synergy track Computational and Data Science (15 EC) in this Master's programme, where we use the synergy of different disciplines in the Faculty of Science that are engaged in computational modeling and data science.
About this study curriculum
This track intersects with the Master's specialisations in Particle and Astrophysics, Quantum Matter, Neurophysics and Physical Chemistry.
The synergy track consists of a 9 EC core curriculum, that covers fundamental aspects of computing and data science. This core curriculum should be supplemented by dedicated electives to at least 15 EC based on your specialisation. Please check the course guide for the current information.
- P1
- P2
- P3