With the expertise in basic research that you will gain in the programme, you might pursue a career in research. You will also acquire proficiency in the use of mathematical methods, IT tools and/or experimental equipment, as well as strong problem-solving and logical deduction skills. These will qualify you for a wide range of positions in the private sector.
After completing the programme, you will:
The scope of the Master’s programme is 120 credits (ECTS), which can be completed in two years. The degree consists of:
In addition, your studies include a personal study plan as well as career orientation and planning. You might also take part in a traineeship, elective studies offered by the Master’s Programme in Particle Physics and Astrophysical Sciences, or studies offered by other degree programmes.
The Master’s programme includes two study tracks:
The Master’s programme is multilingual. The primary language of instruction is English. You can also complete courses and your thesis in Finnish or Swedish, unless the nature of the teaching requires otherwise. In this programme, you will be part of an international student and research community.
Basic research forms the main part of teaching in the Master's Programme in Particle Physics and Astrophysical Sciences. Basic research conducted at the University of Helsinki has received top ratings in international university rankings. The in-depth learning offered by international research groups will form a solid foundation for your lifelong learning.
The programme includes two study tracks: elementary particle physics and cosmology and astrophysical sciences. The courses have been compiled into course packages and both study tracks contain a mandatory core package that includes a research seminar. The study tracks are divided into specialisations that focus on astronomy, space physics, particle physics or cosmology. Courses typically include lectures, exercises, group work and research literature and end in examinations and/or final assignments. In addition, some studies can be completed as book examinations.
You can find the
The Master’s programme is multilingual. The primary language of instruction is English. You can also complete courses and your thesis in Finnish or Swedish, unless the nature of the teaching requires otherwise. In this programme, you will be part of an international student and research community.
The University of Helsinki also offers
The Master’s degree programme culminates in a Master’s thesis, which demonstrates your familiarity with scientific thought as well as your command of the necessary research methods, knowledge of your thesis topic and ability to communicate scientifically in writing in accordance with the practices of the scientific community. The scope of the Master’s thesis is 30 credits.
In your thesis you will define and formulate relevant scientific questions, place the research problem in the appropriate context by reviewing the relevant research literature, and answer the research questions using theoretical, numerical, observational and/or experimental methods. You can also complete your thesis as part of a larger research project, provided that your independent input can be clearly verified and assessed. However, you must complete the written component of your thesis independently.
Your thesis project will be supervised by your appointed supervisor, who will meet with you regularly to ensure that your work is progressing on schedule. The target duration of the Master’s thesis project is one term. Many students complete their theses as part of a research group, which enables you to participate in top-level research during your Master’s studies.
Below is a list of recent MSc theses of the degree programme. You can find them in the University of Helsinki's
| Name of the student | Title of the thesis | Supervisor(s) |
| Mäki, Mika | The effect of sound speed on the gravitational wave spectrum of first order phase transitions in the early universe | Mark Hindmarsh |
| Pukarinen Pyysaari, Julia | ICME sheath fluctuations and their transmission into the magnetosphere | Lucile Turc |
| Suomalainen, Noora | A miniature auxiliary X-ray diffraction setup for a synchrotron beamline end station | Simo Huotari |
| Heiskanen, Roosa | The Influence of Stellar Feedback on the Merging Time-Scales of Supermassive Black Holes | Peter Johansson, Ruby Wright |
| Rissanen, Susan | Cosmological parameter inference from cosmic shear using COSEBIs | Elina Keihänen |
| Mäki-Ikola, Jere | Sensitivity to a heavy $H^\pm$ decaying to $\tau^\pm\nu_\tau$ in the fully hadronic final state using Run 2 CMS data | Sami Lehti |
| Laitila, Rilla | Radial Motions of Gas and Formation of Stellar Clusters in Simulations of Merging Dwarf Galaxies | Jessica Hislop, Peter Johansson |
| Soininen, Sonja | Cosmological Simulations with Resolved Supermassive Black Hole Binary Dynamics and Accretion | Dimitrios Irodotou, Peter Johansson |
| Eriksson, Noora | Water in asteroids | Mikael Granvik |
| Koivula, Selda | Perturbed fluid equations of expanding bubbles in the early universe | Mark Hindmarsh |
| Rintamäki, Emilia | Stellar flares in TESS photometry | Thomas Hackman and András Haris-Kiss |
| Heshmati, Kian | Exploring gravitaonal waves from cosmological first-order phase transions using PTtools and simulaon benchmarks | David Weir, José Correira |
| Ojuva, Mirja | MLT-dependent Pc5 acvity in the magnetosphere | Lucile Turc |
| Routamo, Nora | How the modelling of absorpon lines affects the results of Doppler imaging | Thomas Hackman |
| Syrjärinne, Inkeri | Esmang the stellar masses of NLS1 galaxies using mulfrequency data | Anne Lähteenmäki, Peter Johansson |
| Tuominen, Elo | Asteroid masses with Gaia | Mikael Granvik, Karri Muinonen |
| Rissanen, Jouni | Effect of Inhomogeneous Medium on Infrared Emission of Photon-Dominated | Mika Juvela, Devika Tharakkal |
| Sihvonen, Lasse | Percolation of Bubbles in a Cosmological Phase Transition | Mark Hindmarsh |
| Korkeamäki, Nico | Freeze-in of scalar dark matter at stronger coupling | Oleg Lebedev |
| Kolehmainen, Meri | Modelling photometry in cometary comae | Antti Penttilä |
Related topics in the Master's programme in Theoretical and Computational methods, supervised by Joonas Nättilä:
2025 Olavi Kiuru - Compton scattering in ultra-strong magnetic fields
2025 Vertti Linho - Waves and their nonlinear interactions in ultra-magnetized plasmas
2025 Miro Palmu - Beam instabilities with GPU-accelerated particle-in-cell method
| Name of the student | Thesis title | Supervisor(s) |
| Mattero, Max | The Impact of AGN Feedback on Galaxy Formation in Gas-Rich Mergers at z∼1-2 | Peter Johansson |
| Takala, Saara | Fast radial transport of equatorially trapped particles in the Earth’s radiation belts | Adnane Osmane |
| Yu, Sicheng | A Study on Magnetic White Dwarfs from the LAMOST DR7 | Thomas Hackman |
| Lipsanen, Veera Emilia | Correlation of solar wind parameters and MLT dependent ground-based ULF wave index during large solar wind structures | Sanni Hoilijoki, Emilia Kilpua |
| Blomqvist, Sofia | Constraining twin stars with ab-initio calculations | Aleksi Vuorinen, Tyler Gorda |
| Rajala, Aatu | Lattice measurements of the static quark-antiquark potential and holographic bulk reconstruction | Niko Jokela |
| Häkkinen, Jenni | Exploring the gravitational wave power spectrum from cosmological phase transitions with PTPlot | David Weir, Deajnna Hooper |
| Turkki, Mikael | Surface Heterogeneity on Near-Sun Asteroid (3200) Phaethon Through Linear Polarimetry | Mikael Granvik, Anne Virkki |
| Pänkäläinen, Lauri | Magnetotail jet fronts as seen by a global hybrid-Vlasov simulation | Giulia Cozzani, Markus Battarbee |
| Khalil, Hossam | AXES-2MRS: a new all-sky catalogue of extended X-ray galaxy groups | Alexis Finoguenov |
| Li, Jichao | One-Point Functions in ABJM Theory and Integrability | |
| Bhandari, Shankar | Junction conditions in general relativity | Niko Jokela |
| Stadnitski, Alexi | Modeling Vector Boson Scattering in the Hadronic Final State with MadGraph5 aMC@NLO | Henning Kirschenmann |
| Tao, Shi | The Earth’s Magnetospheric Convection in Vlasiator | Minna Palmroth, Markku Alho |
| Koskela, Aurora | Galaxy morphology analysis on James Webb Space Telescope data | Alexis Finoguenov |
| Ketola, Vili-Arttu | Satellite Solar Cell Degradation Estimates for Carrington-Scale Space Weather Events | Adnane Osmane |
As a student in the Master’s programme, you can complete elective studies in disciplines offered by the Faculty of Science or other faculties at the University of Helsinki. If necessary, you can also complete studies at other Finnish universities via cross-studies agreements. Some of the courses included in the programme, for example, are provided in cooperation with the University of Turku.
Our multilingual Master’s programme is highly international. The Department hosts a large number of international students and staff members. In addition, the University of Helsinki and the Faculty of Science provide many opportunities for international engagement:
The Faculty of Science is a top research institute in its fields among European universities. Its partners include many leading international research institutes, such as the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), the European Space Agency (ESA) and the European Southern Observatory (ESO).
As a student at the Faculty of Science, you will have the opportunity to complete a research traineeship period at, for example, CERN in Geneva. By completing a traineeship at one of the internationally active research groups on campus you will be able to acquaint yourself and network with the international scientific community during your Master’s studies.
After completing your Master’s degree, you can apply for doctoral training at the University of Helsinki or other top international universities. The most relevant doctoral programme offered at the University of Helsinki is:
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