WELCOME TO THE COURSE
Welcome to Umeå University and the Department of Physics. You have been admitted to the Master’s Programme in Physics. As a student on the programme you are offered individual study counselling and can to a large extent choose courses according to your own interests and ambitions. The programme is finished of with an (at least) one-semester long master’s thesis.
As a new student, you need to activate your user account (your Umu-id) approximately two weeks prior to the start of the semester.
With your user account you can:
If you are a new student, you will automatically receive a user account when you are admitted, but you will need to activate it for it to function properly. You will not be able to activate it until approximately two weeks prior to the start of the semester.
Install MFA for a more secure login
To increase security and reduce the risk of unauthorised access to your information or account, students must enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) to log in to various systems, such as Canvas and the Student Web.
I want to activate my user account and install MFA
If you are an exchange student or tuition fee paying student, you will receive an email with instructions on how to activate your account.
If you are having problems activating your account or logging in, please contact our Servicedesk. You will find answers to common questions, and can submit enquiries.
When you got admitted to the programme you also got admitted to all advanced physics courses offered by the Department of Physics during the first semester. In order to register to the programme all you need to do is register to one or more of your courses. To register to a course, you just need to attend one of the first few lectures and sign the list passed around by the lecturer.
Friday 28 August 2020
Time: 09.00
Location: Room Bottenhavet, Physics building, Umeå University
To kick off the programme there will be an info meeting on Friday August 28, at 09.00 in Bottenhavet, second floor in Fysikhuset.
During this meeting you will receive some general information about studying on the programme, how to choose courses, where to find information, computer labs etc. The actual start of the studies depends on which courses you choose, but most courses will start on the week beginning on September 31.
Schedule to all master’s level courses during the first semester:
The Master’s Programme in Physics is an international programme and is therefore given in English. The programme provides a lot of freedom and you are allowed to choose very freely among the courses. You can find all physics courses available here:
You can also choose to study courses in related subjects given by other departments, e.g. radiation sciences, mathematics, and computer science.
There are large variations, but a typical 7.5 ECTS credits course includes about 18 two-hour lectures and 6 two-hour problem solving sessions. The students are expected to do most of their studies on their own. During most of the programme you will study two courses simultaneously (50 percent study pace for each course). With a few exceptions the extent of the courses is one study period (half a semester). Typically the students study 15 ECTS credits (two courses) each study period. The courses are normally finished off by a written examination. Many courses also include laboratory experiments, computer labs or other projects, for this, a written or oral report is required as part of the examination.
To find out which courses are available, please refer to the the course list:
The programme is usually finished off with a one-semester long Master’s thesis, but you have the options to do up to a year long project. The thesis work is usually done in one of our research groups, but it is also possible to do it in a company or at another university, even abroad. The latter alternatives usually have to be arranged by the students themselves.
Checklist for admitted students
Follow this simple list of things to complete your enrolment at Umeå University. It includes: how to secure housing, getting a residence permit (for citizens from outside the EU/EEA and Switzerland), tuition payment (if applicable), travel directions and more.
The Student web
The website for current students has all sorts of information about services, support, legal and practical matters at Umeå University. You can sign in to the learning platforms, see your schedule and course overview, get a study certificate, apply for a degree or sign up for an examination.
Recommended arrival times
International students are recommended to arrive at least a few days before the start of the regular semester, preferably prior to the Orientation. If you fail to arrive on time, you have to contact the study counselor as soon as possible, but no later than one week ahead of the course start, or you may not be able to register for the programme or course.
If you will have student housing through the Housing Office at Umeå University you will receive information about your arrival in your offer of housing.
Don't forget - Umeå has cold winters, so pack accordingly with a warm jacket, warm shoes, gloves and hat.
Orientation
Moving to a new country with an unfamiliar language, culture and customs can be a challenge. We would like to help you and ease that challenge so that you can focus on your studies. Therefore, we would like to offer you the possibility to take part in our Orientation, which begins a few days before the start of the semester (Autumn) or the same day as the semester starts (Spring).
Welcome Fair
Are you a new student at Umeå University? Visit the Welcome Fair – a perfect opportunity to learn what our university and Umeå can offer. The fair normally takes place in the beginning of each semester.
Get your UmU card
When you are on Campus Umeå, Umeå Arts Campus or Campus Örnsköldsvik, you will need a UmU card. The card has the following functions:
To get the card, you need to apply for it. Here’s how to apply for the UmU card.
Join a student union
There are three student unions at Umeå University:
They are actively involved so that fellow students have a high quality of education, good working environment, and fun leisure time.
Access to Microsoft Office 365
Students at Umeå University have free access to the programmes of Microsoft Office 365. This means that you have access to Teams, Word, Excel, Powerpoint, Whiteboard Forms, your student email and other services which can facilitate your studies and your collaboration with other students. To access Office 365 you need to activate your UmU-id.
Learn more about Office 365 and how to install it on your computer