MSc by Research

We have an active research masters programme for self-funded students. Masters students carry out an independent research project with support from a member of academic staff, which is assessed on the basis of the examination of a thesis after one year of research (part time study is also possible). Students are expected to attend advanced undergraduate and postgraduate lecture courses in relevant subjects, and follow courses of directed reading, but the emphasis of the programme is on research rather than the taught element.

A limited number of University MSc studentships of £5k are available for the MSc programme, but applicants must provide the remaining funding. For information on fees and funding, please visit the Postgraduate Study - Fees and Funding page, see also the Postgraduate Study pages.

To apply for an MSc, please use our online application form, and select “Physics (MSc by research)” as the programme. At the top of your personal statement, please state clearly that you are applying for an MSc by research in astrophysics, and state which of our research areas you are interested in (you may list as many as you like). Applications received by 19 January 2027 will receive full consideration, but we will accept applications after this date. Shortlisting will occur in March/April 2027.

Listed below are MSc projects available this year. Please feel free to contact the associated academic if you have questions about the projects. If you have a specific area of interest, and it aligns with the research undertaken by a member of staff, please feel free to contact that staff member directly to express your interest.

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Project 1: DRUID, GELSA, and Supermassive Black Holes (Supervisor: Dr Sotiria Fotopoulou)

This project will exploit data from ESA's Euclid space telescope combining the power of high resolution optical images along with near-infrared spectroscopy. We will focus on three populations of actively accreting super massive black holes: identified from their X-ray, mid-infrared and optical broad-line emission. We will first use DRUID, a persistence homology python code, to trace the light profile on the Euclid images. Then, using DRUID's output we will use GELSA to extract Euclid's near infrared spectra. We will search for evidence of broad emission lines, measure black hole masses, and confront the unified model of active galactic nuclei emission.

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JWST Exoplanet Studies (Supervisor: Dr Hannah Wakeford)

JWST has caused a paradigm shift in our ability to measure and interpret exoplanet atmospheres and better understand their climates. Spectroscopic observations of transiting exoplanets, systems aligned such that the planets orbit takes it in front of and behind the star from our point of view, are vital to measure the chemical abundances of gases, the distribution and composition of clouds, and to measure the thermal structure of the distant atmosphere. We are offering two potential MScR projects working with JWST observations. First, in the analysis of JWST data to extract planetary spectra from raw uncalibrated observations from the telescope. Second, in the interpretation of planetary spectra using a variety of modelling techniques.

Project 2: JWST Exoplanet Time-series Characterisation

You will work with observations from JWST to analyse and extract planetary spectra from time series measurements. This work involves the use of statistics, data analysis in python, and you will gain an understanding of spectroscopy.

Project 3: JWST Exoplanet Atmospheric Modelling and Interpretation

You will use open-source modelling codes to generate a suite of models to fit to exoplanet atmospheric spectra. This work involves atmospheric physics, coding in python, and and you will gain an understanding of chemistry.