If you’re planning to study MSc Astrophysics with us here at Queen Mary, you’ve probably got a good idea of what you’re going to learn in your lectures and tutorials. With ten elective modules to choose from, we offer one of the broadest ranges of higher-level astrophysics modules in the UK. This allows you to explore different areas of Astrophysics and each of your can tailor the programme to your own interests.
But what happens outside of lectures and seminars?
What else do Queen Mary and London have to offer students looking for Astrophysics opportunities outside of teaching hours?
We’ve put together a list of 11 amazing Astrophysics opportunities available to Queen Mary students.
We’ve got our own observatory right here on campus. It’s located on the 7th floor of the G.O. Jones Building, which is home to Physics and Astronomy at Queen Mary. We have three telescopes in total, giving our students access to the state of the art technology required for astronomical observations and image capturing.
Our School is known for being involved in several cutting-edge research projects and this activity is driven by our School’s Astronomy Unit - known locally as the AU.
In addition to being actively involved in the AU’s research projects, our MSc Astrophysics students are encouraged to join two different research seminars: The Astronomy Unit Seminar on Fridays and the London Relativity and Cosmology Seminar on Wednesdays. We invite researchers from other universities to come and talk about their work, giving our student community the opportunity to learn about new areas of Astrophysics and to start developing research links outside of Queen Mary.
Your research project is going to make up a large part of your studies and your final grade. For many of you of, it’s also going to be your favourite part of the degree because you’ll get to apply a lot of your knowledge and skills to a real-life project. Some of our students' MSc research projects have looked at exploring the sun's atmosphere with Parker Solar Probe or measuring proper motions with HST and JWST. After completing the taught component of the degree, we know that you’ll have the skills to make valuable contributions to our School’s research and this really excites us.
Queen Mary has a society for pretty much everything you can imagine, and Physics and Astronomy are no exception. PsiStar is a student-led society that welcomes anyone with an interest in Physics, Technology, or just Science in general, to come together in an entertaining and educational environment. Membership is only £8 per year and it’s a really great way to meet people if you’re new to Queen Mary.
You can’t come to London and not visit the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. This is an important pilgrimage for all astrophysicists. The Royal Observatory is home to The Great Equatorial Telescope, which is the largest of its kind in the UK. In addition to planetarium shows and permanent exhibitions, you’ve also got really great views of London from Greenwich.
Sticking with the exhibits at the Royal Observatory, you will not want to miss this. With a new series of photos every year, this is a collection of breath-taking images from around the world, showcasing the best in space photography. Who knows... you might even want to submit your own photo taken using our School’s telescopes.
Located in London’s Museum District, the Science Museum is a huge space that celebrates everything we love about Science. They have a really cool replica of the Apollo 10 command module that you won’t want to miss. What we love about the Science Museum is all the historical artefacts they have. You’ll be able to see first-hand what tools were used by early astronomers and how different it is to the technology we use today.
Any self-confessed science lover in London will probably already know the Royal Institution. It is the home of science in our city with permanent exhibitions open to the general public. They also host several talks throughout the year in their lecture space and they recently ran a series of talks dedicated to Astrophysics. The talks were all led by Queen Mary researchers and recordings of the talks will be available on the RI YouTube channel over the coming weeks. You can watch the first one here: At the limits of astrophysics – with Katy Clough
The Institute of Physics (IOP) is the professional body and learned society for physics in the UK and Ireland and they run great events throughout the year. There are talks and public lectures like you’d see at the RI, but they also run special interest events that you can attend. These might be research seminars or networking events to discuss career opportunities with key influencers in the world of Physics. IoP is a great resource for students and one you should definitely take advantage of.
There are loads of amateur astronomy clubs across the UK and here are the London ones. This is a great way to connect with people from outside the university who share your passion for astronomy. Some clubs might be more active than others so it’s a good idea to check with them first.
London is the city of opportunity and there is so much to see and do for Astrophysics students that you’ll never be bored. If you’ve done it all and still haven’t got your fix, why not look at getting an internship or some work experience with one of the organisations listed above? A lot of postgraduate students choose to work part time alongside their studies and what better experience than something directly related to your degree.
We hope you enjoyed this blog and if you've got any suggestions for our list, get in touch at spcs@qmul.ac.uk.