Optics and Electronics

Introduction

The two-year Master’s degree programme in optics and electronics at the University of Aarhus targets students from tertiary education institutions in Denmark and abroad. The degree programme is both practical and research-oriented and is aimed at the business community, research institutions and the public sector. The degree programme is also flexible and shaped to match your academic interests, and you can therefore specialise in a particular subject area while at the same time acquiring general competences in optics and electronics.

You do not need to have knowledge of the Danish language before commencing the degree programme. At the University of Aarhus, the teaching is in English unless all participants speak Danish.

The teaching at the university is greatly influenced by the research conducted here, as the teachers are active researchers. As a Master’s degree student, you have excellent opportunities for working with researchers from both the university and the Engineering College of Aarhus (IHA) and you can also complete a project in collaboration with a private company.

The Master’s thesis written during the last year of the degree programme carries considerable weight and, in this context, you benefit from the down-to-earth, informal atmosphere between staff and students. When you write your thesis, you have excellent opportunities for being associated with a group of researchers. In this way, you participate in the group’s research projects, academic discussions and articles. You can specialise in a topic within a broad area, including one of the areas of optics in which the University of Aarhus has particular strength or in one of the areas of electronics in which the IHA has particular strength. You can also choose a project that involves collaboration between the two institutions.

• Nanooptics
• Integrated optics and cleanroom technology
• Laser optics
• Electrooptical measuring systems
• Electronic and optical signal processing
• Implementation of electrooptical systems

Competence profile

With a Master’s degree in optics and electronics, you have the following competences:

• You have general knowledge of optics and electronics and detailed knowledge of key disciplines, methodologies, theories and concepts within engineering applications of optics and electronics.
• You can independently plan, manage and implement projects and apply the results in scientifically relevant decision processes.
• You can assess the applicability and appropriateness of theoretical, experimental and practical methodologies for the analysis and solution of scientific questions and issues.
• You can structure your own competence development independently and critically.
• You are able to systematically and critically familiarise yourself with new subject areas.
• You can communicate academic questions and issues to both a scientific and a general audience.
• You can collaborate constructively on an engineering basis to solve subject-related issues.

Job profile

The University of Aarhus educates engineers for the regional, national and international job markets. Graduates from the Department of Physics and Astronomy find work in a wide range of fields and institutions. Most jobs, however, are within research, administration and consultancy, as well as teaching and communication in the private or public sectors.

Optics and electronics engineers find work in a wide range of fields from basic engineering or science research in joint projects involving research institutes, ATS (approved technological service) institutes and the industrial sector to research and development projects in the industry, as well as jobs as production engineers. Many optics and electronics engineers also work as consultants at ATS institutes or patent agencies.

If you have a burning desire to communicate about optics and electronics, you can teach at training colleges and different forms of adult education. The degree does not directly target jobs at upper secondary school, but if you wish to become an upper secondary school teacher, you can obtain the necessary teaching competences by choosing the right optional subjects.

Finally, some optics and electronics engineers work with communication of knowledge within the media and publishing worlds and in the banking and finance sectors. An optics and electronics degree is the key to many different types of jobs throughout society.