Department of Physics

This Postgraduate Study Program leads, upon successful completion of the postgraduate curriculum, to the award of a Diploma of Postgraduate Studies (MSc) in “Physics”, with specialization in one of the following areas:

• Physics of Materials
• Nuclear and Particle Physics
• Astrophysics

Admission to the MSc program is granted to holders of a BSc degree in Physics or in a closely related scientific field. If the degree is issued by a foreign University, it must be recognized by DOATAP, the Hellenic National Academic Recognition and Information Center (Hellenic NARIC). Admission is also granted to holders of scholarships and members of the Special Teaching Staff, Laboratory Teaching Staff, and Laboratory Technical Staff, in accord with paragraph 8 of article 34 in Law No. 4485/2017 of the Greek State.

Calls for applications to the MSc program are announced and posted on the Departmental and University sites during the Spring semester. Applications, accompanied by all required documents and certificates, must be submitted to the Department’s Secretariat before the deadline cited in the announcement.  In exceptional cases, the call for applications may be launched later in the year, in September.

The duration of the MSc program, including the time needed for the dissertation, is three (3) academic semesters. Extensions of an additional semester, up to the examination period of the Spring semester of the second year of study, can be granted upon application by the student.

Students who work at least ten (10) hours per week, as well as non-working students who cannot meet the demands of full-time attendance due to personal reasons, including health or family issues, or military service, may opt for part-time attendance. In such cases, the maximum duration of the MSc studies is six (6) academic semesters.

Postgraduate students facing extraordinary issues, e.g., of a personal nature or health issues, may apply for a temporary hold to their studies of up to two consecutive academic semesters, which are not included in the maximum number of semesters allowed for completing the MSc program.

All postgraduate students are assigned an Academic Faculty Advisor who follows their progression and provides advice throughout the duration of their MSc studies.

Each academic year is divided in two semesters, a Winter semester, and a Spring semester, each with thirteen (13) weeks of instruction and three (3) weeks of examinations. Attendance to course lectures is obligatory: Participation in the examinations is contingent upon absences not exceeding 30% of the total number of instruction hours of each course. The examinations are held at the end of the semester of instruction of each course, i.e., in February and June. A repeat examination for the courses of both semesters is held in September of each academic year. Grades are assigned on a scale of 1 through 10, with 10 being the maximum (best) possible grade. A grade of six (6) or higher is required for successful completion of a course.

Students may choose to be examined in any course up to two (2) times, one of which is at the end of the semester of the course. In the event of a no-show in this first examination, a grade of zero is assigned and the students may choose to take the examination only once, in September of the same year as the normal examination.

Students may also select to substitute up to two (2) courses among those offered in the Physics Department MSc program with courses of similar content from another recognized MSc program.

A MSc dissertation (thesis) should be completed during the third semester.  Students may commence their dissertation work upon completion of all coursework of the first year of study (or the second year, in the event of part-time attendance), i.e., either in June or in September. Each dissertation is assigned a three-member examination committee, with one member acting as the Thesis Advisor (paragraph 4, article 34, in Law No. 4485/2017 of the Greek State). Theses must be defended in the presence of the examination committee in a public presentation, which takes place after the February or June examination periods. The final dissertation, after inclusion of all corrections and editing requests made by the committee, must be posted on the Institutional Repository “PERGAMOS”. Graduates of the MSc program must also commit to obtaining the written consent of their Thesis Advisor prior to making any further use of all data and results within their MSc thesis.

The final MSc degree grade is determined as the weighted average of all course grades, which carry a weight factor of one (1), and the thesis, which carries a weight factor of three (3). The degree lists grades with a precision of two (2) decimal places and the designation Excellent (8.5–10), Very Good (6.5–8.49) or Good (6–6.49). The degree is accompanied by a Diploma Supplement, which is written in Greek and in English, and is attached to the degree.