Welcome to your Programme

Dear prospective physics 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 BSc degree programme in Physics in 2024/2025.

Kick-off Week

To help you make a great start here at the Faculty of Science and Engineering at the University of Groningen and specifically in your programme, we have organized a number of activities around the start of your programme, collectively called the ‘Kick-off Week’. We strongly encourage you to attend these.            

• All newly arriving international students are invited to attend the Welcoming Ceremony of our university on Thursday, August 29th. Visit the above mentioned website for up-to-date information.
• On Friday August 30, there will be a welcoming event for the programmes BSc Astronomy, Physics and Applied Physics. Between 10:00-11:00, there will be a welcoming speech by the programmes and the study associations, and from 11:00 onwards there will be a guided campus tour with lunch. You can show up at the entrance of the Feringa Building between 9:30-9:45. You will be then guided to the room where the speech takes place (main lecture hall).

• The FSE organizes introduction events for all first-year Bachelor’s degree students. During the Kick-off Week, and other introductory activities in the weeks thereafter, you will be introduced to the faculty, the degree programme, the study association, and most of all, to your fellow students. Please check the schedule and the ‘Kick-off activities’ of your degree programme for the details of your kick-off events and additional introductory activities.

Introduction camp

Another great way to get to know your fellow students as soon as possible, is the Introduction camp, organized by the study association of your degree programme. Details and instructions to sign up are provided here.

Registration for your BSc 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.

Accomodation

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 accomodation can be found on the University website .

Start of the programme

Your bachelor degree programme will officially start on Monday September 2, 2024. You can  find all locations of our Faculty online. Time tables will be published online as well, usually from 15 July onwards.

Study books

It is possible to order your study books via the study associations. Relevant information is provided here.

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: you can log on to the computer applications   mentioned  in a separate document in the information package. Please  use the same document 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.

Academic advisor

Academic advisors assist students in finding solutions to any problem encountered while studying  and provide information about the degree programme. They are here to help you find your  way in and around your degree programme. The academic advisor is also available for assistance, in case you have questions about (the preparation for) your degree programme. She will be personally available during the Introduction day and can be contacted by email as well: academicadvisor.physics rug.nl . Note that she is not always available during the summer holidays. If you encounter problems or have questions during the summer, please first check our online contact information to find out how/where you can find a solution or answer.

Mentor

Each student is assigned to a mentor group, led by a senior student of the programme. Your mentor is there to help you adjust to life at university and your programme in particular, with (group) mentor meetings, individual talks and social activities.  During the first half year of the programme there will be several meetings where you can ask them anything! You will receive more information about this during the summer break.

Safety instructions

All first-year students receive safety instructions during the second lecture week. Depending on your degree programme, the safety instructions consist of one or two parts. Students from all degree programmes must participate in the theoretical part. Students from degree programmes with laboratory practicals, e.g. Biology, Biomedical Engineering, Life, Science and Technology and Pharmacy, also must participate in the practical part. Time tables will provide information about when and where you will receive the safety instructions.

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

Best regards,

Prof.dr. Diederik Roest

Director of the bachelor’s degree programmes in Physics and Applied Physics

Niels Bos

Degree programme Coordinator bachelor Physics and Applied Physics

Anna de Koster

Academic Advisor bachelor Physics and Applied Physics