“I have only good things to say about the University,” says Lorenzo Pisani, who recently graduated from DCU. Lorenzo, originally from Milan, had completed an undergraduate and a Master’s in Engineering in Italy before deciding that his real passion lay in exploring a new dimension: Astrophysics and Relativity.  

In researching his options, he found that the Master’s offered by DCU was one of the few that didn’t insist that students have a degree in physics. “I really liked the course,” he says. “It was not mandatory to have this huge background in physics to start with, but as long as you had a background in mathematics, it was fine.”

Lorenzo found that the course curriculum gave students an excellent introduction to the subject. “We had this big course in General Relativity, starting from scratch, that really helped,” he says. He describes the subject as “mind-opening” and says he greatly enjoyed getting to grips with the concepts underpinning this field.

While the course content was challenging, Lorenzo noticed a big difference between the DCU approach to teaching and learning and his previous higher education experience. Class sizes were much smaller than the ones he was used to in Italy, and he observes that the “lectures sometimes feel more like a conversation.” He felt that “the professors care about you and care about your understanding.”

The continuous assessment approach on the MSc was also new to Lorenzo, who felt that it helped to guide his studies. “I felt that was really helpful, because you were not passive, but active,” he says. 

As well as his postgraduate studies, Lorzeno enjoyed the social side of DCU’s clubs and socs. He joined the Rock Climbing Club along with some of his classmates. He says he appreciated the opportunity this gave him to widen his social circle, away from the academic setting.

After completing the course, Lorenzo successfully applied for an Irish Research Council  scholarship to pursue a PhD at DCU. He admits that doctoral research “is hard and it's different than doing something that is more structured like a Master’s.” But he is greatly enjoying his research, which is in the area of Quantum Field Theory in Curved Spacetime (QFTCS). “I'm really happy,” he says.

Asked for his advice to students considering a postgraduate at DCU, Lorenzo cites the atmosphere and the University’s supportive approach: “The thing that I like the most about this DCU is the environment,” he says. “It's not a big university but at the same time it still has a lot to offer.”

DCU Prospectus - MSc in Astrophysics and Relativity