Physics

Overview

Introduction

The physicist possesses great capacities of reasoning and abstraction. He.she continually asks questions about the physical world around him.her in order to understand how it works. He.she observes, makes assumptions, formalizes concepts, and writes and solves the equations governing them in order to confront them with observations and experience. Thanks to his.her advanced and versatile scientific training, he.she contributes to the great challenges of the Society of today and tomorrow. He.she is involved in cutting-edge research and the resolution of important questions related to the genesis and evolution of the Universe, fundamental interactions between elementary particles, quantum optics, statistical physics, origins of the Earth, global climate change, sustainable development, energy choices, etc.

The skills developed by the physicist as part of his.her training, including his.her ability to model and characterize large data sets, can be valued in many professions specific to the realms of today’s physics, such as superconductivity, instrumentation and metrology, laser physics, nuclear physics, nonlinear physics, cosmology, astrophysics, astronomy, planetology, geophysics, meteorology, climatology, oceanography and glaciology, or fields as diverse as medical sciences, space sciences and signal processing, but also actuarial sciences, finance, consultancy, banking and all areas where statistical methods, IT and tools related to artificial intelligence are important. Through his.her teamwork skills, the physicist also develops skills in communication, scientific popularization and management. His.her various skills enables him.her to contribute to the creation of tomorrow’s jobs.

Its purpose is to enable you (1) to completely master the fundamental laws and essential tools of today's physics, (2) to specialize in a field of physics, (3) to acquire disciplinary skills and cross-cutting essential to exercise a professional activity related to physics, and (4) to train you, depending on the chosen focus, for a specific job. Three focuses are proposed: the research focus, the specialized focus on medical physics, which trains you for the profession of hospital physicist, and the teaching focus.

Your future job

The training in physics aims at mastering advanced physical and mathematical tools. It develops skills such as curiosity and scientific rigor, the capacity for abstraction, the modeling of complex physical problems, the sense of precision and experimental measurement as well as the ability to work in a team and to communicate.

Thanks to this versatile training, there are many career opportunities.

One main track is to start a career in research (university laboratories, private laboratories, European Organization for Nuclear Research - CERN, Atomic Energy Commission, Institute for Space Aeronomy of Belgium, Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium, Royal Observatory of Belgium , etc.) or in secondary or higher education (high schools).

Physicists also find jobs in the private or financial sector. Some of them work in the medical area as a hospital physicist, in the high technology industry (telecommunications, optics, aeronautics, space industry, medical equipment, etc.), in the field of energy, in the area of information technology (big data processing, design of calculation programmes, etc.), for banks and insurance companies, in the field of environmental consultancy and in the sector of scientific communication and popularization.

Your programme

The programme of the Master in Physics  from Université Catholique de Louvain (UCL), which can be completed in two years, offers :

• an advanced and specialized training in physics that prepares you for the job of researcher, teacher or hospital physicist, depending on the focus chosen.
• a deepening of the fundamental theories of physics,
• a learning of the most advanced experimental and modeling techniques of today's physics,
• teaching units taught, for most of them , in English,
• a lot of practical works (exercises, laboratories, and personal or group projects),
• the possibility to conduct research within the Master’s thesis in one of the research institutes of UCLouvain, one of the federal scientific institutes in which academic members of the School of Physics work, a private company or a hospital,
• the possibility to follow part your studies in a foreign university.