Prospectus

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Astronomy and Science Communication and Society

Master

Structure of the Programme

The Science Communication and Society (SCS) specialisation concerns science communication in a broad sense. It prepares students for a career in popularisation of science, for example, as a science communicator, a science policymaker or a public relations officer, or for a career as a scientist with a communicating mind-set. The 2-year programme consists of an Astronomy component, to be followed in the first year, and a Science Communication and Society component, to be followed in the second year:

Programme first year: Astronomy (60 EC)

Level EC
Courses
Astronomy Core Courses, at least 500 12
Astronomy Courses of any type 400-500 6-12
Non-Astronomy Courses 400-500 6-12
Research Project
Master's Research Project in Astronomy 600 30

Programme second year: Science Communication and Society (60 EC)

Level EC
Courses
SCS Fundamentals 400 19
Scientific Narration and Visualization 500 4
Electives
SCS Electives 400-600 0-20
Astronomy Courses 400-600 0-20
Internship and Research
SCS Project Proposal 600 3
SCS Internship 600 14-34

Master Study Plan

At the start of the master’s programme, students are required to draw up the Master Study Plan: a complete list of planned courses and projects for two subsequent academic years in consultation with the Study Advisor Astronomy. To select courses, consult the course list for academic year 2017-2018 (see below) and the preliminary course list for academic year 2018-2019.

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Courses 2017-2018

Course EC Semester 1 Semester 2

Astronomy Core Courses
Origin and Evolution of the Universe 6
Galaxies: structure, dynamics and evolution 6
Interstellar Medium 6

General Astronomy Courses
Computational Astrophysics 6
Large Scale Structure and Galaxy Formation 6
Star and Planet Formation 6

Instrument-related Astronomy Courses
Astronomical Telescopes and Instruments 6
Astronomy from Space 3
Detection of Light a 3
Detection of Light a + b 6
High Contrast Imaging 3
Project Management for Scientists 3

Specialist Astronomy Courses
Astrochemistry 3
Compact Objects and Accretion 3
Databases and Data Mining in Astronomy 3

Inter-faculty Electives
Science and the public: contemporary and historical perspectives 6
Science Methodology (SCM) 4

Non-Astronomy Courses

These courses can be selected from the courses offered by the following Leiden University master's programmes:

Science Communication and Society Programme

For more information on courses and programme, please see the SCS e-prospectus and the SCS website

Career Orientation

Career orientation
During the Astronomy master’s education programme, we support you in making choices that are relevant to your future career. You will be stimulated to think about your ambitions and potential and to reflect on how to reach your goals. By actively exploring the possibilities, you enable yourself to make motivated study and career choices.

We organise various activities to help you think about questions like:

  • What are my strong skills and what skills can I still learn?

  • In which subjects do I want to specialise?

  • What subject will I choose for my Master Research Project?

  • Which electives fit my future ambitions?

  • Which type of job would I like to do after my Astronomy master’s?

  • What kind of employer would I like to work for?

Events Click here for the Astronomy career event calendar. This calendar contains an up-to-date overview of all career events relevant to Astronomy master’s students, including:

LU Career Zone
The Leiden University Career Zone is a website that offers support to Leiden University students and alumni, both during their studies and career. It offers advice, information and tools, including professional tests to draft your personal profile and job aplication tips.

Soft skills
In the Astronomy course descriptions in this e-Prospectus, behaviour-oriented skills are listed for each course. Although these soft skills cannot be measured like course objectives, being aware of the skills you acquire is important. They determine how you approach your work and your life and are therefore highly relevant to shaping your study path and future career.The soft skills you will come across in the Astronomy course descriptions include:

  • Problem solving - recognizing and analyzing problems, solution-oriented thinking

  • Analytical skills - analytical thinking, abstraction, evidence

  • Structured thinking - structure, modulated thinking, computational thinking, programming

  • Complex ICT-skills - data analysis, programming, simulations, complex ICT applications

  • Project management - planning, scope, boundaries, result-orientation

  • Responsibility - ownership, self-discipline, bear mistakes, accountability

  • Motivation - commitment, pro-active attitude, initiative

  • Self-regulation - independence, self-esteem, aware of own goals, motives and capacities

  • Verbal communication - presenting, speaking, listening

  • Written communication - writing skills, reporting, summarizing

  • Collaboration - teamwork, group support, loyalty, attendance

  • Flexibility - adaptability, dealing with change, teachability, eagerness to learn

  • Critical thinking - asking questions, checking assumptions

  • Creative thinking - resourcefulness, curiosity, thinking out of the box

  • Integrity - honesty, moral, ethics, personal values

Contact
Questions about your study and/or career path? Make an appointment with the Astronomy Study Advisor.