M2-PSA - Informations pratiques/Practical information

Master supported by the French excellence initiative IdEx and included in the Graduate School QMAT and Magistere MdPF

• Welcome meeting on Friday 1 September 2023 at 9:00 to 12:00 (amphitheatre Grünewald, IPHC building 25), and first lecture in the afternoon.
• For applying to QMat for the semester beginning in September 2024, submit via the online form  before  February 2024 (All students). A second call specifically for European students will open in April 2024.

Public URL to the calendar below can be found here

After the 1^st semester lectures focused on knowledge and before the master thesis, the 2^nd semester starts with projects to strenghten scientific and technical skills. Students benefit from a rich choice of possibilities listed below .
Projects are evaluated by a panel of scientists in a similar way as the future master thesis. A short 2-page report is expected in the format of a standard scientific publication. Then students defend their projects for 15’ in front of the committee, after which 15’ of questions follow.

• Solving a physics problem with computing (TIPP) By group of two, students receive a simplified problem related to a research topic conducted in one of the IPHC groups. The game is to solve the problem with a computer program written from scratch and inspired by the statistical data analysis lecture. The program is elaborated from scratch, based on the tools seen during the first semester : ROOT, PYTHON, possibly GEANT4.
  The project span over 3-4 weeks and students are followed by a tutor for technical help. Results are then discussed with the research group and summarized in the form of a short scientific paper followed by a defense.

• Performing a real subatomic experiment (EX²) Thanks to the Excellence Initiative of the University of Strasbourg, various advanced experimental platforms allow students to perform real subatomic experiment on a small scale, under the supervision of a research group at IPHC. These platforms feature state-of-the-art detectors used for research. For a list, consult the EX2 site
  Within 3 to 4 weeks, each student group should elaborate and conduct their experiment, analyse the data and obtain the measurement a physical observable. In addition, a partial or complete simulation of the experiment might be implemented to allow a robust data interpretation. Results are then discussed with the research group and summarized in the form of a short scientific paper followed by a defense.
  Exam : 2-page paper and oral defense

• QMAT Graduate School project For QMAT students, initiative proposed in the context of the Graduate School (experimental projects, new lectures, schools, ...) can be validated.
  Exam : 2-page paper and oral defense

• European School in Instrumentation (ESIPAP) ESIPAP is a European school proposed advanced lectures on instrumentation for particle and astroparticle physics with specialists of the fields and hands-on practice at CERN.
  Student might participate to the first module of the ESIPAP school with other master students from all over Europe, instead of taking part to a project.
  Course details on the ESIPAP page.
  Exam : follows the examination rules of the ESIPAP school

The internship or master thesis is an essential part of the graduation process, allowing all students to have their first research experience. About 65% of our students continue with a PhD thesis.

Students can pick various thematic and locations for their internships and thesis. This is a distribution of their choices over the past ten years (see also the map below) :

• Internships and thesis IPHC :
  Each year, the lab hosting the M2-PSA propose a dozen of internships and thesis. Past and current subjects can be consulted on this dedicated page.

• Proposals outside Strasbourg :
  The list of all external proposals and research labs in France and abroad is updated in the private site accessible to our student on Moddle.

The M2-PSA has a long history dating back from the 20^th century, in the last ten years about 150 students graduated. Our alumni formed a group on the Linkedin network, from which you will extract valuable contacts and information for your future career.