20382 Advanced Physics Project I 1

Credits: 3 advanced seminar credits in Physics

Prerequisites: 36 credits in the Sciences. Students must also fulfill all English requirements and take bibliographic instruction in the Library. Additional requirements will be determined depending on the nature of the project. Students may enroll in this course only after consulting with a member of the Open University Physics faculty and with the approval of the course coordinator.

The purpose of this course is to enable students to undertake a research project under the supervision of physicists from the Open University or other institutions. In the course of the research, students gain experience in the independent study of a new topic, use of libraries and professional literature, data analysis and formulation of a research report.

Structure: In the first stage, the student receives material related to the research topic, studies the topic, submits a written summary and passes an oral examination. In the second stage, the student conducts the project under the supervision of a tutor. In the third stage, the student analyzes the data and summarizes the paper.

The project is only open to students with high academic achievements, subject to the availability of Open University faculty each semester and to the student’s area of prior knowledge. For this reason, a student can only enroll after advance approval. Note: In the first stage, students enroll only in this course. In the second stage, students can expand on their research topic and enroll in Advanced Physics Project II (20383). Students accumulate a total of 6 credits for both courses.

Sample topics: Thermoluminescence of crystals, topics in quantum mechanics, electronic systems, electronic medical instrument engineering, telescopic observations in astronomy, topics in science education.


1In the framework of degree studies, students may take only one of the following special seminar courses: in Geology (20591), Chemistry (20592), Life Sciences (20590), or the Advanced Physics Project I (20382).