Courses Course selection & study guidance for my Masters program

AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers on a user preparing to begin a Master's degree in Astrophysics, seeking guidance on two main issues. First, they require recommendations for reference materials and tutorials for a mandatory computer science course, as their programming skills are minimal. They have already contacted the course instructor but have not received specific information yet. Second, they are looking for advice on course selection for their first semester, aiming to balance observational and theoretical courses. They express concern about the lack of academic advising available at their institution in France and share their interest in Galactic-Stellar Evolution within Theoretical Astrophysics, with aspirations to pursue a PhD and an academic career. Participants in the discussion suggest reaching out to the CS department for course materials and emphasize the importance of clarifying research interests and long-term goals for effective course selection.
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I will be beginning my Masters degree in Astrophysics in the coming months. My thread deals with 2 aspects:

1. I have a mandatory CS course & want to request suggestions/recommendations on reference materials, textbooks, tutorials etc. on how to tackle it. For context, my programming skills & computational knowledge as such is extremely poor, mostly because of my own lack of efforts. So, I am starting at a rookie level & need appropriate guidance in context of this course. I have attached a screenshot of the said course.
1718746049104.png


2. In the approaching weeks, I would also need to make a course selection for my 1st semester. My general idea would be to balance courses belonging to both Observational & Theoretical factions to give a well-rounded edge. But this is my idea, and I am not exactly sure if it is appropriate/I believe some guidance in this regard might be pertinently useful. I have attached 2 screenshots below for the same.
1718746471710.png

1718746678758.png
 
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Hello all. I am extremely disheartened to not receive any responses..😓
Some guidance in this regard would have really made a big difference..

On other note, could anyone reading this post please share other forums/avenues where I might raise my query, I will be very grateful🙏🏻.
 
* For (1), why don't you simply contact the instructor (if listed) or CS department representative, and ask them what texts will be used for the course?

* For (2), will the department be assigning you an academic advisor to assist you in your choices?
 
CrysPhys said:
* For (1), why don't you simply contact the instructor (if listed) or CS department representative, and ask them what texts will be used for the course?

* For (2), will the department be assigning you an academic advisor to assist you in your choices?
Thank you for responding.

In case of (1): I've already reached out to them & I was told that it will be updated in a month-2 months time before the session starts, since any info conveyed would have to be in an official capacity & therefore improper before it is released formally. In this situation, I had nowhere else but to direct this query here so that I could start brushing up on my basics.

(2): No, there would not be any such assigning, ultimately leading me here to a possible recourse/informed discussion over my choices..
 
It's unlikely that the program would provide no guidance on course selection at all. I presume this is a university in France?

In any case how should we advise? You haven't said in which field/topic of research your interests lie, what your long term goals are, or what your level of undergraduate preparation is.
 
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gwnorth said:
It's unlikely that the program would provide no guidance on course selection at all. I presume this is a university in France?

In any case how should we advise? You haven't said in which field/topic of research your interests lie, what your long term goals are, or what your level of undergraduate preparation is.
Yes it is a French institution.

Sorry for not stating it earlier, I'll do so now- I'm inclined to work on Galactic-Stellar Evolution & would like to be in Theoretical Astrophysics over Observational (I understand that in many cases, a person needs deft know-how of both). My long term goals are to eventually take up a PhD & try to enter academia in Galactic-Stellar Evolution only. I would characterise my UG prep at 7.5/10, with a decent grip on overall topics, of course some being my strengths & some where I'm a bit weak.
 
Hey, I am Andreas from Germany. I am currently 35 years old and I want to relearn math and physics. This is not one of these regular questions when it comes to this matter. So... I am very realistic about it. I know that there are severe contraints when it comes to selfstudy compared to a regular school and/or university (structure, peers, teachers, learning groups, tests, access to papers and so on) . I will never get a job in this field and I will never be taken serious by "real"...
Yesterday, 9/5/2025, when I was surfing, I found an article The Schwarzschild solution contains three problems, which can be easily solved - Journal of King Saud University - Science ABUNDANCE ESTIMATION IN AN ARID ENVIRONMENT https://jksus.org/the-schwarzschild-solution-contains-three-problems-which-can-be-easily-solved/ that has the derivation of a line element as a corrected version of the Schwarzschild solution to Einstein’s field equation. This article's date received is 2022-11-15...
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