Welcome to your Programme

Dear prospective student,

We would like to welcome you to the Faculty of Science and Engineering (FSE) of the University of Groningen (UG) and inform you about the most important issues regarding the start of your MSc degree programme in Physics in 2024/2025.

FSE Introduction events

Several introduction activities are organized around the start of your programme. We strongly encourage you to be present there, in order to make a solid start in Groningen and to be optimally informed about your degree programme.

All newly arriving international students are invited to attend the Welcoming Ceremony of our university on Thursday, 29 August 2024. During this festive event, you will receive important information to ensure a pleasant stay in Groningen and have the chance to sign up for the ESN Introduction week. Visit the above mentioned website for up-to-date information.

All prospective MSc students new to the University of Groningen, and other interested students, are invited to attend the general FSE Introduction on Friday, 30 August 2024. At this event, you will receive important information about studying at the FSE.

All prospective Dutch and international MSc students are invited to attend the programme-specific introduction. At this event, you will receive important information about your degree programme.

The Information Market will be held on Tuesday, 3 September in the main hallway of the Energy Academy. It offers an opportunity for you to get all the information that you may need to start your journey here at the FSE outside the standard information regarding your programme.

Registration for your MSc degree programme

Please ensure that you complete your university registration on time, including the payment of your tuition fees. You can always check the status of your registration in Studielink, or contact Student Information and Administration in case you have questions about this issue.

Accommodation

Finding somewhere to live can be daunting, especially if you are moving to the Netherlands for the first time. Around 20,000 students will all be looking for a room at the same time in Groningen so start your search as soon as possible. It is your own responsibility to find somewhere to live. The University of Groningen does NOT provide accommodation for students. We advise that you start looking for accommodation as early as possible since it will be very difficult to secure somewhere to stay if you wait too long. Tips on looking for accommodation can be found on the University website.

Personal account and computer applications

You received an email with information about your username and password (representing your personal computer account) after enrolling for the programme through Studielink. The username is identical to your student number, preceded by the letter ‘s’. Your computer account provides access to the university computer applications. Please follow the instructions in that email to activate your account, and also check if your account is working correctly. We advise you to familiarize yourself with the most important computer applications of our university, such as the Student Portal/Brightspace, Ocasys, ProgressWWW and the University email service. If you experience problems, or lose your account details, please contact the CIT service desk.

Student portal

The Student Portal serves as the primary source of information for students. When you log in, you will automatically arrive on the ‘Today’ tab. Please also visit the ‘Study Info’ tab: it provides detailed information about your degree programme and the tracks/specializations therein, course units in the programme, etc. Please use your computer account to log on to the Student Portal, and read the relevant information about your degree programme, before the start in September. We expect all students in the programme to know the contents of this information. Extensive information about the programme will also be provided during the introduction days.

We wish you a pleasant summer, and hope to welcome you in August/September 2024!

Best Regards,

Maxim Pchenitchnikov (Programme Director)

Niels Bos (Programme Coordinator) - niels.bos@rug.nl

Bo Slot (Academic Advisor) - academicadvisor.msc.physics@rug.nl

Rebecca Parent (Management Office Assistant) - physics.sse@rug.nl