The curriculum and courses

Together with the track coordinator, you will tailor an individual course load with a focus on either theoretical physics, particle physics or astrophysics.

GRAPPA offers the following core courses to give you a solid foundation:

• General Relativity
• Cosmology
• Extreme Astrophysics
• Particle Physics I and II
• Astroparticle Physics

For detailed information regarding the curriculum and courses, please see the UvA Course Catalogue via the link below.

Master's thesis

The second year of the GRAPPA programme focuses on your chosen research project. You will work with one of the academic staff members on a timely and relevant topic, and apply the skills you developed during your courses to work on original research. Topics can range from fairly theoretical (such as cosmology) to experimental (such as building astroparticle physics detectors). Your total thesis work is worth 60 EC.

International experience

Within GRAPPA you can gain international experience in an educational setting, by:

• attending the CERN summer-school
• doing a project at the La Palma observatory
• attending an international school
• arranging your own astroparticle physics related international activity.

Extra scholarships available

For Physics and Astronomy only, we have in addition to our regular Amsterdam Science Talent Scholarships, extra scholarships available for excellent (non-Dutch) EU/EER students. The Amsterdam Physics and Astronomy Scholarship.

Pre-Master's programme

If you lack the required knowledge and skills to be admitted to the Master’s programme Physics and Astronomy, you can close the gap in our pre-Master's programme.

Majors and minors

At the UvA  you can choose to do your Master's programme with a society-/ business-oriented major or minor that focuses on other skills than doing research. In this case you will follow the programme of your chosen scientific discipline during the first year of your Master's (although slightly adjusted), and a society-/ business-oriented major or minor during the second year. You will graduate as a Master of Science. If you have the ambition to do a professional specialisation make sure to inform about conditions early in your Master's programme.   

Accreditation and title

GRAPPA is a track or specialisation within the UvA Master's programmes Physics and Astronomy. This is a joint degree programme of the University of Amsterdam and  VU University Amsterdam. Courses are taught at the two Faculties of Science. Graduates receive a diploma accredited by both universities. Therefore, as a Physics and Astronomy student you benefit from the expertise, networks and research projects at both universities.

Bring your own device

All students enrolled in the Physics and Astronomy Master's programme are requested to bring their own laptop. More information on specific system requirements can be found here.