M.Sc. in Computational Science (Joint Degree UvA-VU)

The master’s programme in Computational Science takes two years to complete. You will follow a compulsory core and you will also be given the flexibility to specialise and create your own profile.

The programme has three types of courses:

• Compulsory core courses reflect the central body of knowledge in Computational Science such as modelling, simulation, and computing. Four courses are compulsory for all students in the programme.
• Restricted-choice elective courses allow you to either deepen your knowledge on core topics or to broaden your scope.
• Free-choice elective courses give you the freedom to select courses in the different application domains. These are an ideal way for you to expand your knowledge in an application domain in which you would like to conduct your master’s thesis project.

Specialise in one or more domains

Not only will you develop knowledge of the core concepts of Computational Science, but you can also specialise in one or more of the application domains, such as:

• Computational Finance/Economics
• Computational Biology
• Computational Biomedicine
• Computational Chemistry
• High Performance Computing
• Computational Earth Sciences
• Scientific Computing, Numerical Math

These application domains are not official specialisation tracks that will appear on your diploma, but they areas in which you can specialise through your selection of courses, projects and research topics.

You can also choose to compile your own personalised curriculum, as long as it is approved by the Examinations Board.

The first year of the Computational Science master’s programme is dedicated to compulsory core courses (24 EC), which cover topics such as:

• computing & algorithms
• modelling & simulation
• massive-data processing
• multidisciplinary collaboration

You will also choose 30 EC from the restricted-choice elective courses:

• Evolutionary Computing
• Introduction to Systems Biology
• Large Scale Data Engineering
• Programming Large-scale Parallel Systems
• Performance of Networked Systems
• Stochastic Simulation
• Agent-based Modelling
• Biosystems Data Analysis
• Computational Finance
• Experimental Design and Data Analysis
• Scientific Computing
• Computational Biology
• Data Mining Technique
• Distributed Algorithms

The second year is dedicated to the master’s thesis project (42 EC) and free-choice elective courses (24 ECTS).

Master’s thesis project

The master’s thesis project is a mandatory part of the Computational Science programme. You will carry out independent research, guided by a member of our academic staff.

Free-choice elective courses

These elective courses allow you to further specialise in a wide range of domains. You can also choose to complete an individual project for up to 12 of the 24 free-choice elective credits. Your selection of courses and project needs to be approved by the Examinations Board.