Curriculum
Source: https://www.utwente.nl/en/education/master/programmes/applied-physics/specialisations/quantum-physics/curriculum/ Parent: https://www.utwente.nl/en/education/master/programmes/applied-physics/specialisations/quantum-physics/
During your Master’s in Applied Physics (AP), you will collect a total of 120 EC within two years. In addition to the compulsory courses of the Master’s in Applied Physics, you will follow additional courses within the specialisation in Quantum Physics. Your second year consists of an internship and your final master’s assignment.
Choose your direction
Within this specialisation, you can go in the direction of quantum optics or quantum electronics. So, next to two compulsory courses related to this specialisation, you will follow elective courses within either one of these directions. If you want to join a specific research group for your master’s assignment, you need to follow courses related to that specific direction.
European Credit Transfer System
Student workload at Dutch universities is expressed in EC, also named ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System), widely used throughout the European Union. In the Netherlands, each credit represents 28 hours of work. The recognition of credits is at the discretion of your Master's.
Structure
| Number of EC | ||
|---|---|---|
| Compulsory courses Mandatory for all AP students | 20 EC | - Quantum Mechanics 2 - Mathematical and Numerical Physics - Heat and Mass Transfer - Small Signals and Detection - Ethical and Cultural Awareness |
| Specialisation courses For the specialisation in Quantum Physics, you will follow two mandatory courses and two/three elective specialisation courses related to one of the two directions within this specialisation. | 20-25 EC | Mandatory courses - Quantum Information - Advanced Quantum Mechanics Quantum Optics (15EC) - Fundamentals of Photonics - Quantum Optics - Integrated Optics Quantum Electronics (10EC) - Introduction to Superconductivity - Nanophysics - Theoretical Solid-State Physics - Introduction to High Energy Physics - Nano-Electronics - Introduction to the Physics of Correlated Electrons - Electronic Structure Theory |
| Elective courses | 5-20 EC | You can fill up your elective space with courses that match your interests and ambitions. You can choose any master’s course offered at UT, both from the Master’s in Applied Physics and other master’s. There is a maximum of 10EC for non-physics/technical courses. |
| Internship | 20/30 EC | In the first quartile of your second year, you will do an internship. |
| Master’s thesis | 40 EC | You will finish your Master’s in AP with your master’s thesis (40 EC). For the specialisation in Quantum Physics, you need a quantum topic for your master’s thesis. |
| Total EC | 120 EC |
Do you want in-depth information about these courses?
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Internship
During your Master’s in Applied Physics, you will gain practical experience by doing an internship for approximately three months. Within the specialisation in Quantum Physics, there are many options open to you when it comes to choosing your internship. The University of Twente has connections with a large number of companies and research institutes where you can do your internship.
Examples of internships students previously took on:
- Investigating photonic applications for optical quantum computing at Quandela in Paris, France
- Researching quantum dot devices with very long coherence times at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia, which is famous for their work on spin qubits.
- Investigating a new semiconductor in combination with a superconductor at the world-famous lab of IBM in Zürich, Switzerland, in which they also investigate topological qubits.
Master's thesis
You will complete your Master’s by writing your master’s thesis. The choice of your graduation subject is largely up to you, and you will write your thesis under the supervision of a professor of one of the research groups. You might, for example work on the fabrication and manipulation of quantum bits (spin qubits, superconducting qubits, topological qubits). Or you could focus on improving the accuracy of measurement devices using quantum principles, leading to more sensitive sensors, which could impact fields like navigation, medical imaging, and environmental monitoring.
Your master’s thesis could involve undertaking projects such as:
- Inducing superconductivity in an intrinsic magnetic topological insulator to make a platform that would host Majorana states for topological quantum computing
- Realising and characterising a quantum photonic processor with 20 input/output modes
- Simulating superionic behaviour in fluorite compounds using machine-learned force fields