Prospectus

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Astronomy and Data Science

Master

Structure of the programme

This two-year programme focuses on the big-data aspects of both astronomy as a data-rich science and computer science. It prepares as much for a career in astronomy as in computer science, for careers in research as well as outside research, in academia or elsewhere in society. It consists of advanced Astronomy courses, two research projects in Astronomy, and selected courses from the Computer Science master's programme. This specialisation is offered by Leiden Observatory in collaboration with the Leiden Institute of Advanced Computer Sciences (LIACS). Students who want to follow this specialisation must be proficient in programming, in particular in the Python language.

Programme (120 EC)

EC Level
Mandatory Astronomy Course
Modern Astrostatistics 3 500
Electives
Astronomy Core Courses, at least 18 500
Instrumentation-related Astronomy Courses , at least 3-6 400-500
Astronomy Courses of any type * 9-12 400-500
At least 4 of the following Astronomy and Computer Science Courses:
Simulation and Modeling in Astrophysics (AMUSE) 6 500
Numerical Recipes in Astrophysics 6 500
Advances in Data Mining (Computer Science) 6 500
Introduction to Deep Learning (Computer Science) 6 500
Advances in Deep Learning (Computer Science) 6 500
Reinforcement Learning (Computer Science) 6 500
Research Projects
First Research Project 30 500
Master's Research Project 30 600

* One of the two inter-faculty electives listed below may also be chosen as a general, specialist or instrumentation-related Astronomy course.

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 2020-2021 (see below) and the preliminary course list for academic year 2021-2022.

Learn more

For more information on the specific requirements of this specialisation, see the appendix of the Course and Examination Regulations.

Courses 2020-2021

Course EC Semester 1 Semester 2

Astronomy Master's Research Projects
First Research Project 30
Master's Research Project 30
Astronomy Student Colloquium -

Mandatory Astronomy course
Modern Astrostatistics 3

Astronomy Core Courses
Interstellar Medium 6
Large Scale Structure and Galaxy Formation 6
Origin and Evolution of the Universe 6
Stellar Structure and Evolution 6

General Astronomy Courses
Galaxies: structure, dynamics and evolution 6
Simulation and Modeling in Astrophysics (AMUSE) 6
Star and Planet Formation 6

Instrumentation-related Astronomy Courses
Astronomical Telescopes and Instruments 6
Detection of Light a 3
Detection of Light b 3
High Contrast Imaging 3

Specialist Astronomy Courses
Exo-planets: Interiors and Atmospheres 3
Gravitational Lensing 3
High-energy Astrophysics 3
Observational Cosmology 3

Choice of four of the following six courses (24EC total)
Advances in Data Mining 6
Advances in Deep Learning 6
Introduction to Deep Learning 6
Numerical Recipes for Astrophysics 6
Reinforcement Learning 6
Simulation and Modeling in Astrophysics (AMUSE) 6

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

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 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.

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

Course levels

Level 100
Introductory course, builds upon the level of the final pre-university education examination.
Characteristics: teaching based on material in textbook or syllabus, pedagogically structured, with
practice material and mock examinations; supervised workgroups; emphasis on study material and
examples in lectures.

Level 200
Course of an introductory nature, no specific prior knowledge but experience of independent
study expected.
Characteristics: textbooks or other study material of a more or less introductory nature; lectures, e.g. in
the form of capita selecta; independent study of the material is expected.

Level 300
Advanced course (entry requirement level 100 or 200).
Characteristics: textbooks that have not necessarily been written for educational purposes; independent
study of the examination material; in examinations independent application of the study material to
new problems.

Level 400
Specialised course (entry requirement level 200 or 300).
Characteristics: alongside a textbook, use of specialist literature (scientific articles); assessment in the
form of limited research, a lecture or a written paper. Courses at this level can, to a certain extent, also
be on the master’s curriculum.

Level 500
Course with an academic focus (entry requirement: the student has been admitted to a
master’s programme; preparatory course at level 300 or 400 has been followed).
Characteristics: study of advanced specialised scientific literature intended for researchers; focus of the
examination is solving a problem in a lecture and/or paper or own research, following independent
critical assessment of the material.

Level 600
Very specialised course (entry requirement level 400 or 500)
Characteristics: current scientific articles; latest scientific developments; independent contribution (dissertation research) dealing with an as yet unsolved problem, with verbal presentation.

The classification is based on the Framework Document Leiden Register of Study Programmes.