Bachelor’s programme
The "Optics" degree programme · the E5 "Physics and Astronomy" speciality · 3 years 10 months, full-time
What the bachelor’s programme at the Department of Optics is
Four years after which you can do more than recite the theory of light – you can work with it: assemble an optical setup, take a spectrum, process raw data and prove the result is right. The first year and a half is the same strong physics-and-mathematics foundation as the rest of the faculty. Then optics proper begins: lasers, spectroscopy, polarisation, semiconductors, fibre, programming an experiment.
The main difference from most physics programmes: you enter the laboratory in your second year and work on the same equipment on which dissertations are done – a Raman microscope, an ellipsometer, an X-ray diffractometer, cryostats, lasers. Not on training replicas.
What the four years look like
- Year 1 – mechanics, molecular physics, mathematical analysis, linear algebra. The foundation without which nothing else holds.
- Year 2 – electricity and magnetism, optics, the first lab practicums. For the first time you align a setup yourself and understand why the signal disappears.
- Year 3 – quantum mechanics, electrodynamics, elective optics courses, programming. A term project in a research group.
- Year 4 – your own experiment and the thesis. The results are presented at conferences, including our international SPO symposium.
Optical technologies for defence and security
A thermal imager, a laser rangefinder, a target recognition system, the optics of a reconnaissance drone – it is the same physics you study in your second and third years. The only difference is that here it works at night, in the rain and at ranges of kilometres.
The department runs this direction as a separate set of elective courses. It is not a “general interest” extra: after them you understand why one sensor sees a person at two kilometres and another at two hundred metres – and what you can do about it with your own hands.
- Infrared optics and thermal imaging technology – how to see heat: the 3–5 and 8–14 µm bands, sensor arrays, optics transparent to infrared and opaque to visible light, the sensitivity limit of a device.
- Fundamentals of computer vision – how a machine tells one object from another in a noisy frame.
- Fundamentals of laser physics – from the resonator to the finished beam: rangefinders, target illumination, laser communication channels.
- Introduction to analogue electronics in optics – the chain from the photodetector to a signal you can actually read.
- Fundamentals of microcontroller programming – so the device runs on its own, not “under the supervision of an operator with a laptop”.
- Fundamentals of digital optoelectronics – signal processing in digital form, directly in the device.
Where this leads. Graduates of the department work as optical engineers and researchers at aerospace and defence enterprises. The department’s branch at the Arsenal Special Instrumentation Plant has operated since 1984 – our students do their placements there.
Who should come here
Those curious to understand how a device works inside, not just how to use it. Those who want to combine physics with programming and hands-on work. And those who have not yet made a final choice between research and industry: optics keeps both paths open – our graduates go to academic institutes and to companies working in photonics, computer vision, sensors and instrumentation.
How to apply
“Optics” is a separate admission track, not “the Faculty of Physics in general”. In the list you look for: Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv → Faculty of Physics → the E5 “Physics and Astronomy” speciality → the “Optics” degree programme. The competition is for this programme specifically, not for all physics programmes together.
- Last year the programme had 15 state-funded places. The number is reviewed annually – see the current figure in the admission listing at vstup.knu.ua.
- The admission score for the faculty’s physics programmes last year stayed within 130–135.
- The national admission test (NMT) covers four subjects: Ukrainian, mathematics, history of Ukraine and one elective. Choose physics – among the electives it carries the highest weight in the admission score.
The step-by-step admission calendar is on the Bachelor admission page. Questions specifically about optics are best sent straight to the department: optics.phys@knu.ua, +38 067 451 39 02.
Where next
After the bachelor’s – the “Optics and Laser Physics” master’s programme at this same department, doctoral studies, or work in the field. Part of the master’s courses are taught in English, and there are double degree programmes and internships abroad.
The full description of the “Optics” programme – aims, course list, competences and career directions. How to apply · Documentation and course syllabi · Scholarships and grants