Astronomy & Astrophysics – (M.Sc.)

The postgraduate courses in Astronomy and Astrophysics at Queen Mary, University of London, provide a unique opportunity for graduates to pursue the subject in depth, either for personal interest or as a first step towards a professional career in astronomy. The MSc course has been running since 1972 and around 200 degrees have been awarded. About 40 graduates have subsequently taken a PhD and some now hold academic posts including Professorships at UK Universities.

Lectures cover such diverse topics as the origin of the universe, dark matter, the life and death of stars, black holes, extrasolar planets and space weather. Students also write a dissertation, which may be a critical review of an astrophysical topic or a project of an observational, theoretical or computational nature.

The Postgraduate Certificate in Astronomy and Astrophysics is available for study on a part-time basis, with lectures being held on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. The programme's syllabus is substantially the same as that for the first year of the part-time MSc in Astrophysics.

Students successfully completing the Postgraduate Certificate programme at a sufficiently high level may enter into the second year of the part-time MSc in Astrophysics. The Certificate can therefore be a route to the MSc for candidates who do not initially meet the entry requirements for the MSc course.