How the masterclass works
A 12-week educational program that runs entirely online: one unit per week, a quiz to close each week, and a final exam for the certificate.
The universe, one unit per week
Most online courses hand you a library of videos and leave you alone with it. The A&A Masterclass works the other way round. It gives you one clearly defined piece of work per week and tells you when you have mastered it.
Every unit is a chapter written for this program: 6 to 10 pages with worked examples, derivations set apart in boxes, figures, and a spotlight on current research. You read it on the website or as a PDF. There are no live sessions, so the program works in every time zone and next to school, university or work.
Image: NASA/Chris GunnYour way through the program
Create your account
All you need is your email address. We send you a link, and you are signed in. There is no password to remember.
Choose your masterclass
Foundation (8 units), Advanced (12 units) or Advanced + Cosmology (16 units). You pay the tuition fee once.
Confirm your details
Enter your name as it should appear on your certificate, and a few details about yourself. Then your program starts.
Unit 1 arrives at once
With it comes your personal plan: the dates on which the following units will reach you, always on a Monday.
Study the unit
Plan for about four hours a week: reading, following the examples with pen and paper, and looking into the further reading.
Take the weekly quiz
Ten multiple-choice questions, open book, no time limit. Your answers are saved as you go. Submitting the quiz unlocks the next unit.
Keep your rhythm
The next unit comes on Monday. Busy week? The program waits. In a hurry? Ask for the next unit sooner.
Final exam
50 questions across all units, 60 minutes, open book. You pass with 70% and have 3 attempts.
Certificate
You receive your certificate and transcript, both with a verification ID, and your personal verification link.
The benefits of the program
Real understanding
You learn to estimate, to derive and to calculate: why stars shine, how we weigh a black hole, how we know the age of the universe.
Contact with research
Every unit links to current papers that are free to read, and presents the work of a leading astrophysicist in a research spotlight.
A verifiable certificate
Certificate and transcript document your achievement for applications to universities, scholarships and summer schools.
A pace that fits your life
The weekly rhythm keeps you going, and nothing is lost if you pause. You decide when to take each quiz.
Material to keep
All units and reading lists are yours as PDF. Your account keeps them available after you have finished.
A community
As a past participant you are invited to A&A-Connect and hear about scholarships and opportunities in astronomy.
Good to know
- Schedule
- Unit 1 on the day you start. Every further unit on the Monday after the previous one was sent.
- Quiz
- Ten questions per unit, open book, no time limit, one submission. Results with explanations follow at once, on the page and by email.
- Next unit
- Sent on its Monday if the previous quiz is submitted. If you submit later, the unit is sent immediately.
- Faster
- After a quiz you may ask for the next unit ahead of schedule, at the earliest 24 hours after the previous unit.
- Slower
- No deadlines and no penalties. Reminder emails help you pick up the thread.
- Final exam
- 50 questions drawn individually from a larger pool, 60 minutes, open book, pass mark 70%.
- Retakes
- Up to 3 attempts in total, with 3 days between attempts and new questions each time.
- Certificate
- Certificate and transcript as PDF, verification ID, public verification page.