Master step-by-step

There are plenty of reasons why pursuing your Master level studies of physics at University of Cologne is a great choice - you can read up on them here. If you have decided to apply for a Master of Science in physics at Cologne, we are looking forward to hearing from you! To apply, please follow the steps outlined here.

International students enrol through the International Office of the University of Cologne. You can find further information on the enrolment process on their respective website (move to “3. Enrolment Procedure”). 

German students must register at the Student Office ("Studierendensekretariat"). The relevant steps are described here.

Please note that the International office also provides useful advice on finding accommodation or arranging health insurance.

Lectures & courses
When you start taking courses the best advice is probably to not think about the different areas (primary area of specialization, secondary area of specialization, elective) but to focus on what courses sound interesting to you and just start with those (the assignment to the different areas in KLIPS (the UoC's campus management system) does not matter in the beginning, as it will be fixed by the course form later; see below).
Nevertheless you should first do core courses as those form the basis for the specialized courses. But this should not prevent you from also trying those if you are really interested in some very specific topic.
All in all better start with a lot of different courses than sticking to one you don't really feel like doing but also do not forget to cancel courses if you don't like them, you have too many etc. Doing everything half-heartedly is worse than doing some determinedly.

Advanced seminar
As the advanced seminar is not requiredfor starting the research phase in the end of your master and also can be done in any area it can be done at any point. Therefore it probably makes sense to first get to know which areas you want to dive into and then think about the advanced seminar.

Lab Courses
There are two different ways to approach the lab courses as they typically take some time to finish. As the experimentation and writing the lab reports is done in a group it is recommended to first look for people you can work with well and start after that as those groups mostly harmonize better. The other option is to start early but this can mean you don't know your peers well enough to form a productive group and take a lot more time to finish the lab. So do not only think about what courses you want to do but also with whom. But no matter which way you want to approach, always talk to the other people you are working with.

Master Thesis
Don't think about the Master thesis in your first semester. First of all figure out what you want to do. You will have plenty of time to contact groups in your field of interest, also the master thesis does not necessarily have to be in one of your fields of specialization (primary or secondary) although it is often connected as those also mostly reflect your interests.

Do not worry too much about KLIPS! The UoC's campus management KLIPS is only used to gain access to the e-learning platform ILIAS (see the KLIPS Guideline for further information). When you register for your course on KLIPS you don't have todecide if this course is part of your primary, secondary or elective. This will be decided once you hand in your course form to register to your oral exams. On this sheet you write the lectures your visited let them sign from the lecturer and once you hand them over to the examination office your courses will be attributed in the area you want. You can find the forms here.

For courses in Bonn you have to use BASIS and e-Campus. You will get an account a bit later in your first semester but it is also advised to contact the lecturer and tell them you're from Cologne and would like to visit this course.

There are many resources offered by the Department of Physics and the University of Cologne to help you have a smooth start in Cologne:

• Department of Physics: Your way to Cologne
• International Office of the University of Cologne: Study in Cologne, International Applications

If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact the UoC's International Office, the Physics Department's International Office, or the Bonn-Cologne Graduate School (BCGS), which the MSc in Physics is a part of.

Here in Cologne we have students from all over the world and from different backgrounds. Many problems can be solved when you ask other students first. You will notice many students learning but also spending their time in the main building of the physics department (Zülpicher Straße 77, Cologne) since we have many places where you can learn and discuss with other students, which is highly recommended. Studying physics is not something you have to do alone, just talk to other students if you feel like it.

There are several organized activities to get to know senior students or other students who are just starting into their first term of studying in Cologne. Many of those activities are organized by the Fachschaft (student council).

After your first semester you should start to think about what fields you would like to specialize in. You can choose to continue the fields you started with or start taking other core courses. You should consider your interests - physics is a huge subject and every branch has ongoing research. Also ask yourself if you like theoretical over experimental physics or vice versa and plan your specialization accordingly. 

The courses are grouped into different categories and you'll receive the credit points after everything is graded. Typically this is one oral exam per module, with one module usually consisting of multiple courses, which are tied together by the exam. The specialization is divided into a primary and secondaryarea of specialization. Here, you group lectures from the same field. Note that you can do more courses than you need, but will only receive 18 or 12 CP respectively. The electivecan contain pretty much anything you like. The only restriction is that the grade may consist of a maximum of three exams. You are mostly free to decide what you want to attribute into which category. You can choose fields you find interesting or choose a primary are of specialization and then select a secondary area of specialization and an elective that deepens your understanding of that primary are.

You can track you lectures on a sheet where you collect signatures from the lecturers who confirm you attendance. This sheet is then send to the examination office to register your exam. You have to manage this yourself, meaning you contact the lecturers, tell them which courses you would like to get credited for, and make appointments for getting the signatures.