phd in astrophysics in usa

Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics

Phd program in astronomy and astrophysics.

Our faculty have been at the forefront of astronomy for over a century, shaping its course since the founding of our department by George Ellery Hale in 1892. Hale pioneered the big glass in telescopes that ushered in a new age in astronomy; Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar defined the agenda of theoretical astrophysics for fifty years; Eugene Parker revolutionized our view of the sun and the role of magnetic fields in the cosmos; and David Schramm brought together particle physics and cosmology.  Our students have been just as influential.  Edwin Hubble solved the puzzle of the nebulae and discovered the expansion of the Universe; Nancy Grace Roman made the Hubble Space Telescope a reality; Carl Sagan advanced our understanding of the solar system and how to share the excitement of what we do with the public; and Jeremiah P. Ostriker’s manifold contributions have made him the leading theorist of his generation.

Today graduate students in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics have multiple opportunities to engage with our pre-eminent faculty and their research groups on short- or long-term projects to complete pre-candidacy requirements and doctoral theses. Research fields span a wide range, with close integration between theory and experiment, and are enhanced by our connections to the Enrico Fermi Institute , the Departments of Physics and the  Geophysical Sciences , and the Kavli Institute for Cosmological Physics at the University of Chicago. We have strong partnerships with premiere facilities including  Argonne National Laboratory and  Fermilab , and we are a founding member of the 25-meter Giant Magellan Telescope, the world's largest optical telescope now under construction in the Chilean Andes. 

The PhD in Astrophysics is a year-round, full-time doctoral program on the academic quarter system, which encourages students to explore a range of courses, engage with more faculty, and challenge themselves in a fast-paced and academically rigorous environment. 

Program Overview

• full-time scholastic residence of at least 300 units of coursework per quarter, including summer
• completion of required core graduate courses
• completion of one to three pre-candidacy research projects
• successful completion of a two-part candidacy exam
• completion of the teaching practicum
• identification of a thesis advisor
• formation of a thesis committee
• thesis research and preparation
• final examination

Please refer to the  Graduate Announcements for detailed program requirements and courses.

Each admitted student is assigned a mentor who will help the student navigate graduate school by guiding them to achieve academic and professional goals and supporting their well-being and personal development. The mentor can guide students in course selection, assist in navigating difficult situations when they arise, provide coaching when preparing for oral exams, and counsel regarding postdoc placement or other career options. 

Financial Support

Graduate students in the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics receive full financial support from a combination of University and departmental fellowships, teaching assistantships, and research assistantships. Students are also encouraged to seek out external fellowships, as these provide students with both financial support and the flexibility to focus on research goals of individual interest. A two-quarter practicum as a teaching assistant is required of all graduate students, typically in the first year of study. Teaching assignments include instructing lab sections for non-science majors, and collaborative teaching with the faculty instructor of lecture courses in the Major in Astrophysics program.

Students with questions may contact

• Fausto Cattaneo (Deputy Chair for Academic Affairs),
• Laticia Rebeles (Graduate Student Affairs Administrator),
• Bahareh Lampert (Dean of Students in the Physical Sciences Division),
• Amanda Young (Associate Director, Graduate Student Affairs) in UChicagoGRAD.

Related Links

• Graduate Program Requirements and Courses
• Information for International Students
• Online Application

• Utility Menu

Department of Astronomy

• Thesis Colloquium Talks (videos)
• Financial Aid

Graduate Program

Astronomy Department graduate students (September 2022)

The Department of Astronomy offers a rich and varied program in theoretical, observational and experimental graduate work leading to the PhD in Astronomy and Astrophysics. Students are not accepted for a separate master's degree program. Research is carried out at the  Harvard College Observatory , which shares buildings and general facilities with the  Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory . Together the two observatories constitute the  Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics —a large and diverse research setting which provides opportunities in nearly every branch of astrophysical work, from atomic physics to cosmology, using the full range of techniques from gamma ray detectors through radio antennas. Follow these links to learn more about  facilities  and  research areas .

Over 360 PhD scientists are engaged in work at the Center for Astrophysics (CfA), providing students with an unusually wide choice of thesis topics and stimulating opportunities for both formal and informal learning through courses and seminars. Graduate students at Harvard benefit from this diverse environment, have access to extensive facilities, and pursue their work in a supportive and stimulating setting.  We hold ourselves accountable to fostering a respectful and inclusive work environment for all students, as outlined in our Graduate Student Community Values.

The program of graduate study is designed to make Harvard PhD students first-rate researchers with a broad knowledge of astrophysics and competence in teaching. To do this, we have constructed an advising program and a set of requirements to help students develop their astrophysical understanding, and to carry through a successful thesis in a timely way.

The  Director of Graduate Studies and the Committee on Academic Studies  are in charge of the graduate program.

See pictures from the grad student Astro 214 class trip to Arizona to learn how to use the Whipple Observatory.

• Undergraduate Program
• Financial Support
• Requirements
• Committees and Advising
• Thesis Topics

Astrophysics, PHD

On this page:.

At a Glance: program details

• Location: Tempe campus
• Second Language Requirement: No

Program Description

Degree Awarded: PHD Astrophysics

The PhD program in astrophysics develops creative scholarship in students and prepares them for professional careers in astrophysics, astronomy or related fields.

Students in this program take graduate-level courses in stars and interstellar media, galaxies and cosmology; obtain quantitative skills through analysis and modelling; may have observing opportunities through regional and international telescope observatories; and conduct independent, fundamental astrophysical research. Graduate students work closely with a research advisor on a wide range of topics including theoretical physics, cosmology, galaxy dynamics, stellar evolution, exoplanets, and the development and building of instrumentation.

Graduate students in astrophysics become leaders in observational and theoretical research. They participate in NASA- and NSF-funded space missions and study topics such as how stars are born and die, how galaxies interact and evolve, and how the universe changed as it developed from its earliest beginnings.

The program's world-class faculty have research expertise across the full breadth of astrophysics including the solar system, stars and galaxies from the Milky Way and the most distant galaxies in the universe. Current ASU research applies both computational and observational approaches to the exploration of a range of topics such as fundamental cosmology and whether there is life on exoplanets.

Degree Requirements

Curriculum plan options.

• 84 credit hours, a written comprehensive exam, an oral comprehensive exam, a prospectus and a dissertation

Required Core (1 credit hour) SES 502 Exploring SESE Research (1)

Electives or Research (53 credit hours)

Other Requirements: Astrophysics Sequence (9 credit hours) AST 521 Stars and Interstellar Medium I (3) AST 522 Stars and Interstellar Medium II (3) AST 591 Seminar: Astrophysics (2) SES 501 SESE Colloquium (1)

Other Requirements: Galaxies and Cosmology Sequence, pick one (3 credit hours) AST 531 Galaxies and Cosmology I (3) AST 532 Galaxies and Cosmology II (3) AST 533 Galaxies and Cosmology III (3)

Other Requirements: Exoplanets and Planetary Science Sequence, pick one (3 credit hours) AST 598 Topic: Origins of Solar Systems (3) AST 598 Topic: Exploring Exoplanets (3) SES 598 Topic: Water in the Solar System (3)

Other Requirements: Instrumentation and Techniques Sequence, pick one (3 credit hours) AST 552 Astronomical Instrumentation and Data Analysis (3) SES 598 Topic: An Introduction to Astro-statistics (3) SES 598 Topic: Spectroscopy for Astrophysics (3) SES 598 Topic: Introductory Radio Astronomy (3)

Culminating Experience (12 credit hours) SES 799 Dissertation (12)

Additional Curriculum Information When approved by the student's supervisory committee and the Graduate College, this program allows 30 credit hours from a previously awarded master's degree in a related field to be used for this degree.

Substitutions for Other Requirement courses may be made per department approval.

Admission Requirements

Applicants must fulfill the requirements of both the Graduate College and The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Applicants are eligible to apply to the program if they have earned a bachelor's or master's degree in any field from a regionally accredited institution.

Applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in the last 60 hours of their first bachelor's degree program, or they must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in an applicable master's degree program.

All applicants must submit:

• graduate admissions application and application fee
• official transcripts
• statement of purpose
• three letters of recommendation
• proof of English proficiency

Additional Application Information An applicant whose native language is not English must provide proof of English proficiency regardless of their current residency.

Next Steps to attend ASU

Learn about our programs, apply to a program, visit our campus, application deadlines, career opportunities.

Professionals with expertise in astrophysics are in high demand across all sectors and industries, including remote sensing, data science, instrument building, computational science, defense industries and scientific research. Coding and numerical modeling skills translate across many domains, even beyond astrophysics. Skills in the measurement and analysis of data related to the physics, chemistry and structure of the universe and exoplanetary systems are valuable to businesses and institutions relying on data-driven strategies to explore beyond the Earth and solar system.

A doctoral degree in astrophysics is required for some careers in post-secondary education and research.

Career examples include:

• astrophysics professor
• data scientist
• instrument builder
• project manager
• research astronomer
• telescope operator

Program Contact Information

If you have questions related to admission, please click here to request information and an admission specialist will reach out to you directly. For questions regarding faculty or courses, please use the contact information below.

• [email protected]
• 480/965-5081

Department of Astrophysical Sciences

Graduate Program

Our Department hosts one of the top graduate programs in astronomy and astrophysics in the world.  The most recent Assessment of Doctoral Programs by the National Academy of Sciences  ranked Princeton as #1 overall, #1 in Research Activity, and #1 in Student Support and Outcomes.  Students have a great deal of freedom to pursue research projects using theoretical, computational, and observational approaches.  Students work directly with the faculty from the moment they arrive in our lively and congenial Department.  They have access to cutting-edge computational facilities, and involvement in many exciting observational projects including the Simons Observatory, the Subaru Hyper-SuprimeCam survey, the Rubin Observatory, and the HAT-PI variability survey.

Graduate Students 2023

Graduate Students 2022

Graduate Students 2021

2018 Graduate Students

2017 Graduate Students

2016 Graduate Students

Meeting with incoming graduate students after Bent Spoon ice cream, 2016

Snowball Warriors 2017

Chinese New Year Celebration... Year of the Rooster

Bottomless Sushi Birthday Celebration

Graduate students promoting science at the 16th annual Young Women’s Conference in STEM

Director of Graduate Studies and Graduate Admissions:

Joshua winn professor of astrophysical sciences.

Office Location:  125 Peyton Hall E-mail: [email protected]

• Program in Plasma Physics

Astrophysics PhD

The Department of Astronomy offers a graduate program aimed at the PhD degree in astrophysics. Entering students need not have majored in astronomy, although some background in astronomy is desirable. A strong background in physics, however, is essential.

Research is a major part of the PhD program, and the department offers opportunities in a wide variety of fields, including theoretical and observational astrophysics; infrared, optical, and radio astronomy; time-domain astronomy; high-energy astrophysics and cosmology; discovery and analysis of exoplanets; star formation and stellar evolution.

The department has established six years as the normative time to degree. Normative time is the elapsed calendar time in years that under normal circumstances will be needed to complete all requirements for the PhD, assuming a student who enters without deficiencies, who is engaged in full-time uninterrupted study, and who is making desirable progress toward the degree.

Contact Info

[email protected]

501 Campbell Hall #3411

Berkeley, CA 94720

At a Glance

Department(s)

Admit Term(s)

Application Deadline

December 2, 2024

Degree Type(s)

Doctoral / PhD

Degree Awarded

GRE Requirements

Astronomy and Astrophysics, PhD

Zanvyl krieger school of arts and sciences, research and advising.

The principal goal of graduate study is to train the student to conduct original research. Therefore, physics and astronomy graduate students at Johns Hopkins are involved in research starting in their first semester in the program.

First and Second-Year Research Requirement

By the end of September, the student chooses their first research advisor among the professorial faculty and starts working on the first-semester research project. If the proposed research advisor does not hold a primary appointment as a tenure-track or research faculty member in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, the form must be co-signed by a PHA faculty member, who will provide mentorship  (relevant department faculty members list) . This requirement holds for all semesters of research. The first-semester project continues through intersession in January. The spring-semester research project continues until the end of the spring semester. The summer semester lasts from June through August. Students may continue with one advisor through the entire first year, or they may choose to cycle through several different research advisers from one semester to the next.

This system of semester projects continues during the first two years of the program, when students also complete required coursework. The nature of these first- and second-year research projects varies from student to student, from advisor to advisor and from one sub-field of physics to another. Some may be self-contained research projects that lead to published scientific papers and may or may not be related to the thesis research in later years. Others may comprise reading or independent-study projects to develop background for subsequent research. In other cases, they may be first steps in a longer-term research project.

This system accommodates both the students who have chosen the direction of their thesis work before graduate school and those who would like to try a few different things before committing to a long-term project. As students get more familiar with the department and the research opportunities, they zero in on their thesis topic and find a thesis advisor. This may happen any time during the first two years, and students are required to find a thesis advisor by the beginning of the third year.

Thesis Research and Defense

Securing a mutual agreement with a thesis advisor is one of the most important milestones of our graduate program. Students must find a thesis advisor and submit the thesis advisor form before the first day of their 3rd year. The form represents a long-term commitment and serious efforts in planning and communication between the student and the advisor. If the proposed thesis advisor does not hold a primary appointment as a tenure-track or research faculty member in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, the form must be co-signed by a PHA faculty member, who will serve as the departmental advisor of record  (relevant department faculty members list) .

Students should start their thesis planning no later than the beginning of the summer after the second year. By this time in the program, many students have identified projects and advisors of interest during their research rotations in the 1st and 2nd years. In these cases, students should discuss with their prospective advisors their mutual expectations for the scope and the timeline of the thesis and when an agreement is reached, submit the thesis advisor form. If by the summer after their 2nd year, the student does not have a clear idea of who they want to work with for their thesis, they should reach out to different faculty of interest, to 1st / 2nd year academic advisors, and/or to the Chair of the graduate program committee (Director of graduate studies). In these cases the student’s goal for the summer is to identify a thesis advisor and to reach an agreement regarding a thesis topic. In all cases, the thesis advisor form must be submitted before the 1st day of the 3rd year.

Admission Requirements

A complete application will include:.

• Statement of purpose. We look for a thoughtful, well-written statement that shows the ability to overcome challenges, dedication to attain chosen goals, a capacity for creativity, an understanding of physics and/or astronomy, and any other indication of potential for research.
• Three letters of recommendation. Recommendation letters should help us evaluate your capacity for research, the most important criterion for admission.
• Transcripts of all previous work. Transcripts submitted with the application may be unofficial transcripts. Successful applicants who accept the offer of admission must supply an official transcript before they can begin the PhD program at JHU. In the case of students in the final year of their bachelors program, the official transcript must show completion of all coursework required for the degree.
• TOEFL or IELTS for international students. A reproduction is acceptable. Johns Hopkins prefers a minimum score of 600 (paper-based) or 250 (computer-based) or 100 (Internet-based) on the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).
• $75 non-refundable application fee. The application fee may be waived .

Note: submission of General GRE and Physics GRE scores is optional.

Successful applicants applying in the last year of their Bachelor’s program will need to demonstrate the completion of their Bachelor’s degree program before they can begin the Ph. D. program at JHU.

Program Requirements  

The Ph.D. program has strong emphasis on early and active involvement in graduate research. Thus, students are required to have a research advisor and file a research summary every semester they are enrolled in the program, starting with the first one. Furthermore, students must complete the required courses with a grade of B- or better; the coursework is typically done over the first two years. In the beginning of the second year, students complete the research examination, and in the beginning of the third year – the University’s Graduate Board Oral examination, both of which are based on completed or proposed research. During the first two years, students are typically involved in introductory research projects, which may or may not be related to their thesis work, and sometimes work with several different advisors, but they must identify (and have an agreement with) a thesis advisor no later than the beginning of their third year in the program, after which point students focus on their thesis research. The thesis is to be completed by no later than the end of the 6th year, ending with an oral presentation of the thesis to a faculty committee.

Course Requirements

Ph.d. in physics.

Students must complete the following courses:

Ph.D. in Astronomy and Astrophysics

Students in both programs must receive at least a B- in each required course; graduate courses may only be retaken once.

The department offers a wide range of graduate physics, astrophysics, mathematical methods and statistics classes, and while only five are required, the students are encouraged to use the flexibility of the graduate program and the available classes to design programs of study that best prepare them for their chosen area of research. In addition to the required courses listed above, below is the list of the graduate courses that have been taught in recent years:

Students in both programs must receive at least a B- in each required course, or they will be required to retake the specific course once more and pass it.  Graduate courses my only be retaken once.

Astrophysics

About the Program

The Department of Astronomy offers a graduate program aimed at the PhD degree in astrophysics. Entering students need not have majored in astronomy, although some background in astronomy is desirable. A strong background in physics, however, is essential.

Research is a major part of the PhD program, and the department offers opportunities in a wide variety of fields, including theoretical and observational astrophysics; infrared, optical, and radio astronomy; time-domain astronomy; high-energy astrophysics and cosmology; discovery and analysis of exoplanets; star formation and stellar evolution.

The department has established six years as the normative time to degree. Normative time is the elapsed calendar time in years that under normal circumstances will be needed to complete all requirements for the PhD, assuming a student who enters without deficiencies, who is engaged in full-time uninterrupted study, and who is making desirable progress toward the degree.

Visit Department Website

Admission to the University

Applying for graduate admission.

Thank you for considering UC Berkeley for graduate study! UC Berkeley offers more than 120 graduate programs representing the breadth and depth of interdisciplinary scholarship. The Graduate Division hosts a complete list of graduate academic programs, departments, degrees offered, and application deadlines can be found on the Graduate Division website.

Prospective students must submit an online application to be considered for admission, in addition to any supplemental materials specific to the program for which they are applying. The online application and steps to take to apply can be found on the Graduate Division website .

Admission Requirements

The minimum graduate admission requirements are:

A bachelor’s degree or recognized equivalent from an accredited institution;

A satisfactory scholastic average, usually a minimum grade-point average (GPA) of 3.0 (B) on a 4.0 scale; and

Enough undergraduate training to do graduate work in your chosen field.

For a list of requirements to complete your graduate application, please see the Graduate Division’s Admissions Requirements page . It is also important to check with the program or department of interest, as they may have additional requirements specific to their program of study and degree. Department contact information can be found here .

Where to apply?

Visit the Berkeley Graduate Division application page .

Admission to the Program

In addition to the application, transcripts of undergraduate work and letters of recommendation are required. The GRE is no longer required nor accepted. If applicable, the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) may be required too. 

Detailed information concerning admission, financial aid, and degree requirements may be found on the department's website

If you have further questions on admission to our program, you can send e-mail to  [email protected] .

Doctoral Degree Requirements

The requirements for the astrophysics phd degree as follows:.

• ASTRON 290A and 290B (a seminar)
• A total of 6 graduate (or equivalent) courses, 3 of which are from the Astronomy Department
• Examinations (Preliminary and Qualifying)
• Thesis (signed by committee)

University Registration

When available, this Introduction to Current Research seminar is required of all students in their first year. This consists of weekly lectures by different faculty members and research staff, and introduces the student to current research being carried out in the department and nearby labs. (This course is not a preliminary exam topic.)

 These courses are offered based on interest.

All candidates for the Ph.D. in Astrophysics must acquire two semesters of teaching experience during their graduate career.

It is desirable that this requirement be satisfied early in the graduate career, but it may be delayed for those international students who have not acquired adequate command of English, or other reasons, at the discretion of the Chairperson. The requirement may be waived for transfer students who have acquired similar teaching experience elsewhere.

Examinations

All candidates must pass two oral examinations administered by the faculty. The preliminary examination should be completed by the end of the second academic year of study and focuses on basic competency in three subfields selected by the student. The qualifying examination should be completed by the end of the fourth academic year of study and is composed of a review of a thesis topic and an examination of a student’s competency in his or her research subfield. Students entering with a Master’s Degree or its equivalent may have the preliminary examination requirement waived subject to the discretion of the Chair.

The thesis is an original piece of research carried out by the candidate under the supervision of a thesis advisor and two other faculty members (one of whom must be from another discipline). The Graduate Division has published  guidelines for dissertations and theses.

Registration is required of all students making any use of University facilities, including access to faculty. A student is required to be registered, or pay the filing fee, whichever is applicable for the semester in which the degree is conferred. To be eligible for filing fee status the student must have been continuously registered since entering (allowing for one year of approved withdrawal), and registered in the term immediately preceding the one in which the Filing Fee is requested. You must register each semester before the end of the third week of classes.

Master's Degree

Students are normally not admitted for the master’s degree only, but may find it worthwhile to add to their record en route to the PhD. Once these requirements have been fulfilled, the student should see the student affairs officer to obtain an Application for Candidacy for the master’s degree.

In order to earn the master's, students are required to pass the preliminary exam and must complete 24 units of upper division and graduate courses, including 12 units of “non-research” (lecture) courses.

ASTRON 201 Radiation Processes in Astronomy 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2012, Fall 2011, Fall 2010 An introduction to the basic physics of astronomy and astrophysics at the graduate level. Principles of energy transfer by radiation. Elements of classical and quantum theory of photon emission; bremsstrahlung, cyclotron and synchrotron radiation. Compton scattering, atomic, molecular and nuclear electromagnetic transitions. Collisional excitation of atoms, molecules and nuclei. Radiation Processes in Astronomy: Read More [+]

Rules & Requirements

Prerequisites: Physics 105, 110A; 110B concurrently; open to advanced undergraduates with GPA of 3.70

Hours & Format

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture per week

Additional Format: Three hours of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.

Additional Details

Subject/Course Level: Astronomy/Graduate

Grading: Letter grade.

Instructors: Chiang, Quataert

Radiation Processes in Astronomy: Read Less [-]

ASTRON C202 Astrophysical Fluid Dynamics 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023 Principles of gas dynamics, self-gravitating fluids, magnetohydrodynamics and elementary kinetic theory. Aspects of convection, fluid oscillations, linear instabilities, spiral density waves, shock waves, turbulence, accretion disks, stellar winds, and jets. Astrophysical Fluid Dynamics: Read More [+]

Instructors: Chiang, Kasen, Ma, Quataert, White

Also listed as: PHYSICS C202

Astrophysical Fluid Dynamics: Read Less [-]

ASTRON 203 Astrophysical Techniques 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2021, Spring 2019, Spring 2018 Introduction to the flow of astronomical signals through telescope optics and into detectors; subsequent calibration, deconvolution of instrumental artifacts, and analysis. A broad wavelength approach is maintained with focus on shared fundamental concepts. Students "adopt a wavelength band" for assignments and presentations. Analysis and simulation of astronomical signals, noise, and errors. Astrophysical Techniques: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: 201 and 290A; 290B must be taken concurrently

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of lecture and 1 hour of laboratory per week

Additional Format: Three hours of lecture per week and frequent laboratory work plus observatory visits.

Instructor: Graham

Astrophysical Techniques: Read Less [-]

ASTRON 204 Numerical Techniques in Astronomy 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2011, Spring 2010, Spring 2008 Methods of data analysis, model fitting, and data display, all oriented towards the detailed analysis of astronomical observation data and/or numerical results from simulations. Specific topics include probability density functions, error propagation, maximum likelihood, least squares, data and function fitting, Fourier transforms, wavelets, principal components analysis, color images. The software language used is the Interactive Data Language (IDL). Numerical Techniques in Astronomy: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Mathematics 54

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of seminar per week

Additional Format: Three hours of Seminar per week for 15 weeks.

Instructor: Heiles

Numerical Techniques in Astronomy: Read Less [-]

ASTRON C207 Radiation Processes in Astronomy 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2023, Fall 2022, Fall 2021 An introduction to the basic physics of astronomy and astrophysics at the graduate level. Principles of energy transfer by radiation. Elements of classical and quantum theory of photon emission; bremsstrahlung, cyclotron and synchrotron radiation. Compton scattering, atomic, molecular and nuclear electromagnetic transitions. Collisional excitation of atoms, molecules and nuclei. Radiation Processes in Astronomy: Read More [+]

Instructors: Chiang, Kasen, Quataert

Also listed as: PHYSICS C207

ASTRON 218 Stellar Dynamics and Galactic Structure 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2023, Fall 2021, Fall 2019 A basic course. Structure and kinematics of the galaxy; stellar population concepts; dynamics of stellar systems with and without encounters. Stellar Dynamics and Galactic Structure: Read More [+]

Instructors: Blitz, Davis, Graham

Stellar Dynamics and Galactic Structure: Read Less [-]

ASTRON C228 Extragalactic Astronomy and Cosmology 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2022, Spring 2021, Fall 2016 A survey of physical cosmology - the study of the origin, evolution, and fate of the universe. Topics include the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker model, thermal history and big bang nucleosynthesis, evidence and nature of dark matter and dark energy, the formation and growth of galaxies and large scale structure, the anisotropy of the cosmic microwave radiation, inflation in the early universe, tests of cosmological models, and current research areas. The course complements the material of Astronomy 218. Extragalactic Astronomy and Cosmology: Read More [+]

Instructors: Holzapfel, Lee, Ma, Seljak, White

Also listed as: PHYSICS C228

Extragalactic Astronomy and Cosmology: Read Less [-]

ASTRON C249 Solar System Astrophysics 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2019, Fall 2018, Fall 2017 The physical foundations of planetary sciences. Topics include planetary interiors and surfaces, planetary atmospheres and magnetospheres, and smaller bodies in our solar system. The physical processes at work are developed in some detail, and an evolutionary picture for our solar system, and each class of objects, is developed. Some discussion of other (potential) planetary systems is also included. Solar System Astrophysics: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: 149, 169, C160A or consent of instructor

Instructors: Chiang, de Pater

Also listed as: EPS C249

Solar System Astrophysics: Read Less [-]

ASTRON 250 Special Topics in Astrophysics 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2022, Fall 2021 Topics will vary from semester to semester. See department for announcements. Special Topics in Astrophysics: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Consent of instructor

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit without restriction.

Special Topics in Astrophysics: Read Less [-]

ASTRON 252 Stellar Structure and Evolution 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2022, Spring 2020, Fall 2017 Equations of stellar structure, radiative transfer and convection, thermonuclear reactions and stellar energy generations; stellar models, degenerate configurations, evolutionary sequences, supernovae, neutron stars, black holes, nucleosynthesis. Stellar Structure and Evolution: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: Physics 110A-110B, 112, 137A-137B

Instructor: Filippenko

Stellar Structure and Evolution: Read Less [-]

ASTRON C254 High Energy Astrophysics 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2024, Spring 2023, Spring 2022, Fall 2018 Basic physics of high energy radiation processes in an astrophysics environment. Cosmic ray production and propagation. Applications selected from pulsars, x-ray sources, supernovae, interstellar medium, extragalactic radio sources, quasars, and big-bang cosmologies. High Energy Astrophysics: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: 201 or consent of instructor. 202 recommended

Instructors: Boggs, Quataert

Formerly known as: Physics C254, Astronomy C254

Also listed as: PHYSICS C254

High Energy Astrophysics: Read Less [-]

ASTRON 255 Computational Methods in Theoretical Astrophysics 3 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2020, Spring 2018, Spring 2016 A broad in-depth survey of state-of-the-art numerical approaches to astrophysical self-gravitational gas dynamics with application to large scale simulation of coupled non-linear astrophysical flows. Finite-difference approaches for Lagrangian and Eulerian astrophysical hydrodynamics and coupled radiation-hydrodynamics. N-body gravitation techniques including direct N-body, P-M, P3M, and hierarchical Tree. Particle gas dynamics methods such as smooth particle hydrodynamics (SPH), adaptive SPH and unification of SPH, and gravity tree hierarchies (TREE-SPH). Advanced techniques such as higher order Godunov finite difference methods with adaptive mesh refinement (AMR). Applications of these approaches in three broad areas: cosmology, high energy astrophysics, and star formation and the interstellar medium. Computational Methods in Theoretical Astrophysics: Read More [+]

Instructor: Klein

Computational Methods in Theoretical Astrophysics: Read Less [-]

ASTRON 256 Astronomy Data Science Laboratory 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Fall 2022, Spring 2021 This course features 3 data-centric laboratory experiments that draw on a variety of tools used by professional astronomers. PhD students will learn to procure and clean data (drawn from a variety of world-class astronomical facilities), assess the fidelity/quality of data, build and apply models to describe data, learn statistical and computational techniques to analyze data (e.g., Bayesian inference, machine learning, parallel computing), and effectively communicate data and scientific results. There is a heavy emphasis on software development in the Python language, statistical techniques, and high-quality communication (e.g., written reports, oral presentations, and data visualization). Astronomy Data Science Laboratory: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: This class assumes that you have completed introductory astrophysical instruction (at the Astro 7A and 7B level) as well as knowledge of calculus (e.g. similar to Math 53) and linear algebra (e.g., similar to Math 54 or Physics 89).You should have proficiency or fluency in the Python programming language. This class heavily emphasizes software development, and is not the place to learn Python for the first time

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 3 hours of laboratory per week

Additional Format: Three hours of laboratory per week.

Instructor: Bloom

Astronomy Data Science Laboratory: Read Less [-]

ASTRON C285 Theoretical Astrophysics Seminar 1 Unit

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023, Fall 2022 The study of theoretical astrophysics. Theoretical Astrophysics Seminar: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1 hour of lecture per week

Additional Format: One hour of Lecture per week for 15 weeks.

Grading: Offered for satisfactory/unsatisfactory grade only.

Instructor: Quataert

Also listed as: PHYSICS C285

Theoretical Astrophysics Seminar: Read Less [-]

ASTRON 290A Introduction to Current Research 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2021, Fall 2020, Fall 2019 Professional Skills and Directed Reading (a.k.a. "how to be a professional astronomer") Introduction to Current Research: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2 hours of seminar per week

Additional Format: Two hours of seminar per week.

Instructor: Lu

Introduction to Current Research: Read Less [-]

ASTRON 290B Introduction to Current Research 1 Unit

Terms offered: Spring 2020, Spring 2019, Spring 2018 Continuation of 290A. Study of a research topic with an individual staff member. Introduction to Current Research: Read More [+]

Instructor: de Pater

ASTRON C290C Cosmology 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023, Spring 2022 Cosmology: Read More [+]

Additional Format: Two hours of Seminar per week for 15 weeks.

Instructors: White, Cohn

Formerly known as: Physics C290C, Astronomy C290C

Also listed as: PHYSICS C290C

Cosmology: Read Less [-]

ASTRON 292 Seminar 1 - 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 In addition to the weekly colloquium, the Department offers seminars in advanced topics, several of which are announced at the beginning of each semester. A maximum of 5 units may be taken per semester with a limitation of 2 in any one section. Seminar: Read More [+]

Seminar: Read Less [-]

ASTRON C292 Planetary Science Seminar 1 Unit

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023, Spring 2023 The departments of Astronomy and Earth and Planetary Science offer a joint research seminar in advanced topics in planetary science, featuring speakers drawn from graduate students, postdoctoral researchers, faculty, and visiting scholars. Topics will span planetary interiors; surface morphology; atmospheres; dynamics; planet formation; and astrobiology. Speakers will vary from semester to semester. Meetings will be held once a week for 1 hour each, and the schedule of speakers will be determined on the first day of class. To pass the class, participants will be required to give a 30-minute presentation, either on their own research or on recent results from the literature. Planetary Science Seminar: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-1 hours of seminar per week

Additional Format: Participants will be required to give at least one 30-minute presentation, either on their own research or on recent results from the literature

Also listed as: EPS C292

Planetary Science Seminar: Read Less [-]

ASTRON 298 Directed Group Study 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2021, Fall 2020, Fall 2019 Tutorial for groups of two or three students. Directed Group Study: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 0 hours of independent study per week

Additional Format: Tutorial.

Directed Group Study: Read Less [-]

ASTRON 299 Advanced Study and Research 2 - 12 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2024, Spring 2024, Fall 2023 Advanced Study and Research: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 2-12 hours of independent study per week

Additional Format: Two to Twelve hours of Independent study per week for 15 weeks.

Advanced Study and Research: Read Less [-]

ASTRON 301 Undergraduate Astronomy Instruction 1 - 2 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2004, Fall 2003, Fall 2002 Open to a limited number of highly qualified undergraduate students interested in astronomy teaching at the college level. Students will participate in a seminar on educational methods and engage in tutorial or laboratory teaching under supervision of a faculty member. Undergraduate Astronomy Instruction: Read More [+]

Prerequisites: An elementary astronomy course and consent of instructor

Repeat rules: Course may be repeated for credit up to a total of 4 units.

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1 hour of lecture and 3-6 hours of laboratory per week

Additional Format: One hour of Lecture and Three to Six hours of Laboratory per week for 15 weeks.

Subject/Course Level: Astronomy/Professional course for teachers or prospective teachers

Grading: Offered for pass/not pass grade only.

Undergraduate Astronomy Instruction: Read Less [-]

ASTRON 602 Individual Study for Doctoral Students 1 - 8 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2015, Fall 2014, Fall 2013 Individual study in consultation with the major field adviser, intended to provide an opportunity for qualified students to prepare themselves for the various examinations required of candidates for the Ph.D. (and other doctoral degrees). May not be used for unit or residence requirement for the doctoral degree. Individual Study for Doctoral Students: Read More [+]

Fall and/or spring: 15 weeks - 1-8 hours of independent study per week

Additional Format: One to Eight hour of Independent study per week for 15 weeks.

Subject/Course Level: Astronomy/Graduate examination preparation

Individual Study for Doctoral Students: Read Less [-]

Contact Information

Department of astronomy.

501 Campbell Hall

Phone: 510-642-5275

Fax: 510-642-3411

Department Chair

[email protected]

Graduate Student Affairs Officer

Yasasha Ridel

501D Campbell Hall

[email protected]

Department Manager

501E Campbell Hall

Phone: 510-643-5040

[email protected]

Print Options

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Physics and Physics: Astrophysics

The Physics PhD program and Physics: Astrophysics PhD Program offer a full range of graduate level courses and research opportunities in astronomy, biophysics, condensed matter physics, cosmology, elementary particle physics, and quantum information. The Tufts Physics faculty have international reputations in a broad range of subjects, and collaborations between department members and members of other departments with differing research interests are common. 

As a student in the program, you'll collaborate closely with faculty and work with them on research and projects. You may also pursue research in related departments, such as biomedical engineering, electrical engineering, and mathematics.

Program Outcomes

As a doctoral student in Physics, you will deepen your understanding in fundamental areas of physics, including Classical Mechanics, Electricity, Magnetism, and Quantum Mechanics, as well as a selected specialized area of physics or astrophysics, including the tools and techniques of research in the field. You will carry out independent, original research and hone your ability to communicate scientific ideas and results effectively to peers.

Application Requirements

• Application fee
• Personal statement
• Official TOEFL, IELTS, or Duolingo English Test, if applicable
• Transcripts
• Three letters of recommendation

Tuition and Financial Aid

See Tuition and Financial Aid information for GSAS Programs.

Tracks and Research Areas

• Physics: Astrophysics
• Physics: Chemical Physics

Physics: Physics Education

Research areas.

• Astronomy and astrophysics
• Condensed matter physics
• General relativity
• Particle physics
• Physics education

Explore Physics Research at Tufts

Program Spotlights

Olivia Gaunt’s Reach for the Stars

Timothy Atherton

Research/Areas of Interest: Condensed Matter Physics, Soft materials, Colloids, Liquid Crystals, Computational Physics, Physics Education Soft matter physics is the study of matter that is all around us in everyday life: soaps, oil, foods, sand, foams, and biological matter. All of these are readily deformable at room temperature and combine properties of both fluids and solids. Despite their ubiquity, these materials are extremely complicated. Unlike simple fluids like water, they have rich internal structure; unlike crystalline solids they are typically not periodically ordered. Moreover, they exist in long-lived metastable states far from equilibrium and respond to stimuli such as applied electric and magnetic fields, temperature and pressure. My work seeks to understand how these materials respond to shape: how they self-organize on curved surfaces or in complex geometries and how this knowledge can be used both to sculpt desirable shapes at the microscopic scale and create shape changing systems like soft robots. We use high performance computing to simulate and predict these behaviors and work closely with experimentalists at Tufts and beyond.

Pierre-Hugues Beauchemin

Research/Areas of Interest: Experimental High Energy Physics My research focuses on the discovery of new fundamental particles of nature, as well as on the understanding of the behavior of the known particles. To do this, I participate in the ATLAS experiment, one of the two general-purpose detectors at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN. My work currently consists in analyzing data in order to: Perform precision measurements leading to a better understanding of the strong interaction within the QCD theoretical framework; Search for new physics in events involving large amount of missing energy, typical signature of new particles that interact very weakly with normal matter such as dark matter candidate; Develop and estimate the performance of the ATLAS trigger system. This last aspect of my work also involves software development and a participation in the detector operation. I'm focusing my efforts on the Missing Energy trigger. The Standard Model of particle physics, despite being very successful, cannot be the end of the story. It contains a certain number of theoretical dissatisfactions. Of all the possibilities, I believe that dark matter is one of our best guess. Its existence is based on experimental facts, and the mass scale of dark matter particles, in the case where it is the right explanation, should be accessible at the LHC. Its existence would be inferred by the observation of missing energy in subset of all collected events. Looking for excesses of events involving large amount of missing energy over expectations is a promising way to look for dark matter at the LHC. My approach is to carry such search by performing precision measurements of Standard Model quantities, to optimize the sensitivity of the analysis to such new particles. Predictions using quantum chromodynamics (QCD) implies many approximations, assumptions or simplifications at various levels. These could lead to large systematic uncertainties on various Standard Model predictions, possibly leading to significant limits in our sensitivity to new phenomena. My research try to determine which of the simplifications and approximations are acceptable at the level of precision needed for a new physics discovery. To this end, I investigate events that contain a vector boson and jets, as they are sensitive to such physics and yet provide a clean enough environment to allow for high precision measurements. These are also the most important background to a wide range of new physics signature. As a side, I am also interested in the philosophy of physics, focusing on epistemological aspects of experiments and simulations as used in High Energy Physics.

Bruce Boghosian

Research/Areas of Interest: Applied dynamical systems, applied probability theory, kinetic theory, agent-based modeling, mathematical models of the economy, theoretical and computational fluid dynamics, complex systems science, quantum computation Current research emphasis is on mathematical models of economics in general, and agent-based models of wealth distributions in particular. The group's work has shed new light on the tendency of wealth to concentrate, and has discovered new results for upward mobility, wealth autocorrelation, and the flux of agents and wealth. The group's mathematical description of the phenomenon of oligarchy has also shed new light on functional analysis in general and distribution theory in particular. Secondary projects include new directions in lattice Boltzmann and lattice-gas models of fluid dynamics, kinetic theory, and quantum computation.

Research/Areas of Interest: Condensed Matter Physics

Lawrence Ford

Research/Areas of Interest: Theoretical cosmology, quantum field theory, models for quantum gravity effects My current research involves several related topics in quantum fluctuation phenomena, with applications to gravitation and cosmology. One topic is the study of energy density fluctuations for quantum fields such as the electromagnetic field. My collaborators and I have shown that large vacuum energy density fluctuations are more probable than previously expected. These large fluctuations can drive quantum fluctuations of gravity and provide insight into effects in quantum gravity, an area which is not well understood. Energy density fluctuations may also produce observable effects in atomic or condensed matter systems, and may play a role in the evolution of the early universe. I am also working on analog models for quantum gravity, in which quantum fluctuations in a nonlinear optical material might produce fluctuations in the speed of light, analogous to an effect expected in quantum gravity.

Hugh Gallagher

Research/Areas of Interest: Experimental particle physics, neutrino oscillations, neutrino interaction physics, neutrino astrophysics, computer simulations of neutrino-nucleus interactions. The main thrust of my research is the study of the neutrino. Through neutrino oscillation experiments, we are gaining insights into neutrino masses and mixing parameters. Precise measurements of these quantities may allow us to uncover the reason behind the matter-antimatter asymmetry in the universe, or point the way to a theory beyond the standard model. Precise measurements of oscillation parameters require good models of neutrino-nucleus interactions. I work on experiments that are studying neutrino oscillations (NOvA and DUNE), on experiments that are providing new data on neutrino-nucleus interactions (MINERvA), and on a widely-used software package (GENIE) that is used to simulate neutrino-nucleus interactions.

Gary Goldstein

Research/Areas of Interest: Theoretical high energy and nuclear physics, Science and society, Science education Theories of fundamental constituents of matter, Quantum Chromodynamics, tests of the Standard Model and beyond, the role of spin and angular momentum in particle interactions at medium and high energies. The role of science in public policy; non-proliferation of nuclear arms; education for peace.

David Hammer

Research/Areas of Interest: Research on learning and instruction. My research is on learning and teaching in STEM fields (mostly physics) across ages from young children through adults. Much of my focus has been on intuitive "epistemologies," how instructors interpret and respond to student thinking, and resource-based models of knowledge and reasoning.

Mark Hertzberg

Research/Areas of Interest: Theoretical Physics: Cosmology, Particle Physics, Astrophysics. My primary research is in physics at the interface between theoretical cosmology and particle physics, including astrophysics and aspects of quantum field theory. By studying the extreme conditions of the very early universe, as well as the properties of the late universe's dark constituents, and analyzing the results of various ground based experiments, we can gain insights into the fundamental laws of nature. This acts as the driving force behind much of my research, although I sometimes investigate other interesting subjects. A central focus has been on trying to understand the nature of dark matter, which forms the majority of matter in the universe. There are various interesting candidates for the dark matter, including so-called axions, which may organize into new interesting types of structures. Furthermore, I have worked on the understanding the large scale structure of the universe, which gives insights into the initial conditions of the early universe. Another focus has been on understanding cosmological inflation, which is the leading idea for the earliest moments of our universe, involving an early phase of rapid expansion. I have worked on connecting inflation to the matter anti-matter asymmetry of the universe and worked on the post-inflationary era where the universe needs to transition to a hot soup of particles. A recent interest is in pursuing a fundamental understanding of gravitation. I am interested in understanding the full set of theoretical and observational constraints that determine the structure of gravitation, including constraints from quantum mechanics. Furthermore, I sometimes investigate interesting quantum phenomena, including entanglement entropy and the Casimir effect.

Research/Areas of Interest: Quantum Information, Quantum Simulation, Adiabatic Quantum Computation, Computational Physics Quantum information faces three basic questions. Firstly, what are quantum computers good for? Secondly, how do we build one? Thirdly, what will quantum information contribute if technological obstacles to constructing a large scale quantum computer prove insuperable? The first question is the search for problems which quantum computers can solve more easily than classical computers. The second is an investigation of which physical systems one could use to build a quantum computer. The third leads to the search for spinoffs in classical computation, and the question of where the classical/quantum boundary lies. I am interested in all three questions.

W. Anthony Mann

Research/Areas of Interest: Experimental high energy physics, elementary particle interactions, neutrino oscillations, neutrino-nucleus interactions, baryon instability searches. Design and execution of experimental measurements that reveal or constrain the existence of new elementary particles, that delineate the properties of known elementary particles, and that quantify the interactions and symmetries that govern fundamental energy systems of the subatomic realm.

Danilo Marchesini

Research/Areas of Interest: Astronomy; galaxy formation and evolution; extra-galactic surveys; active galactic nuclei; near-infrared astronomy Understanding how galaxies form and evolve means understanding how the tiny differences in the distribution of matter inferred from the cosmic microwave background radiation grew and evolved into the galaxies we see today. The working hypothesis is that galaxies form under the influence of gravity, and galaxy formation can be seen as a two-step process. First, the gravity of dark matter causes the tiny seeds in the matter distribution to grow bigger with time. As they grow more massive, the gravitational attraction becomes stronger, making it easier for these structures to attract additional matter. As the dark matter structures grow, they pull in also the gas, made of hydrogen and helium, which is the primary ingredient for the formation of stars, and hence for the formation of the stellar content of galaxies. The formation of the stellar content inside these dark matter structures involves many physical processes that are much more complicated and quite poorly understood from a theoretical perspective. These physical processes include, for example, how gas cools and collapses to form stars, the process of star formation itself, merging of galaxies, feedback from star formation and from active super-massive black holes. My research activity in the past decade has focused on understanding how galaxies formed after the Big Bang, and how their properties (e.g., the stellar mass, the level of star formation activity, the morphology and structural parameters, the level of activity of the hosted super-massive black hole, etc.) have changed as a function of cosmic time. Since we cannot follow the same galaxy evolving in time, we need to connect the galaxies we observe at a certain redshift (i.e. a certain snapshot in time) to those we observe at a smaller redshift (i.e., at a later time in cosmic history) in order to infer how the properties of galaxies have actually changed and what physical mechanisms are responsible for these changes. The better we understand the galaxy properties at a certain time and the more finely in time we can probe the cosmic history, the easier it becomes to connect galaxies' populations seen at different snapshots in time, linking progenitors and descendants across cosmic time. Ultimately, my research aims at understanding what galaxy population seen at one epoch will evolve into at a later epoch, and what physical processes are responsible for the inferred changes in the galaxies' properties. In order to do this, I have adopted two different but complementary approaches. The first approach consists of statistical studies of the galaxy populations at different cosmic times; the second approach consists of detailed studies of individual galaxies to robustly derive their properties.

David Martin

Research/Areas of Interest: - Extra-solar planets "exoplanets" - Planets in multiple-star systems, including circumbinary planets - Stellar populations and fundamental parameters - White dwarfs - Black holes - M-dwarfs - Stellar activity (spots and flares) - Celestial mechanics, including the Kozai-Lidov effect - Planet formation - Observational astrophysics

Austin Napier

Research/Areas of Interest: Experimental Particle Physics, Electromagnetic Theory, Computational Physics. High Energy Physics: studies of heavy quarks, new particle searches, tests of the Standard Model. Computational Physics: data analysis, simulation, electromagnetism.

Fiorenzo Omenetto

Research/Areas of Interest: ultrafast nonlinear optics, nanophotonics, biopolymer multifunctional materials, material science, photonic crystals, photonic crystal fibers

Anna Sajina

Research/Areas of Interest: Extragalactic astrophysics How did galaxies and their central black holes co-evolve from the Big Bang to the present? Despite much progress through large scale galaxy surveys as well as ever more sophisticated numerical simulations, we are still hampered by the fact that much of the star-formation activity and black hole growth are buried in thick cocoons of dust and gas. Observations suggest that much of this activity took place in the past, before the Universe was half its present age, and likely involved mergers of nearly equal sized galaxies. As the merger progresses, gas and dust are more and more concentrated, triggering prodigious star-formation and gradually increasing accretion onto the central black hole (Active Galactic Nuclei or AGN). The process is short lived as supernovae- or AGN-driven winds lead to a 'blow-out' event which disperses the intervening gas and dust halting further star-formation and black hole growth. Indications that starbursts and AGN may regulate each other as above can be seen in the local correlation between the mass of a central black hole and the stellar mass of its host galaxy. The same galaxy observed at different stages of this process can appear very different. Therefore observations of different types of galaxies at different epochs and in different wavelength regimes are crucial to build a more complete understanding of the whole process.

Krzysztof Sliwa

Research/Areas of Interest: Physics of elementary particles The Standard Model, gauge theories; also topology, differential geometry and other branches of modern mathematics to better understand quantum gauge theories, the origin of mass and the structure of space-time, matter and all interactions, including gravity. I am a member of the ATLAS collaboration at the LHC. Studies of Higgs boson and top quarks. The main objective is to find out whether the new particle discovered in 2012 is a minimal Standard Model Higgs, or some other kind. Studies of top quarks are very interesting on their own. Because of very large mass of the top quark, its lifetime is very short, ~ 5x10^{-25} seconds, much shorter that the characteristic time of the strong interactions. As a consequence, top quark decays before any strong interaction effects may take place. This allows a direct access to the information about the quark spin, which is very difficult, if not impossible, for any other quark. Studies of top quarks are very important for other searches, as top quarks will constitute the most important background for almost any final states due to "new physics" and have to be understood very well. We are using very advanced multidimensional analysis techniques, developed by our group (Ben Whitehouse and I). Topology and geometry of the Universe In the Standard Cosmological Model (SCM), the starting point is an interpretation of the observed redshift of spectral lines from distant galaxies as a Doppler shift in the frequency of light waves as they travel through an expanding Universe. Acceptance of this hypothesis led to the ideas of the Big Bang and the LambdaCDM, the Standard Model of cosmology. Remarkably, there exist another explanation of the cosmological redshift. As shown by Irving Ezra Segal, a mathematician and a mathematical physicist, the same axioms of global isotropy and homogeneity of space and time, and its causality properties, are satisfied not only by the Minkowski spacetime R x R^3, but also by a Universe whose geometry is R X S^3. In Segal's model, the geometry of the spatial part of the Universe is that of a three-dimensional hypersurface of a four-dimensional sphere. Locally, it is indistinguishable from the flat Minkowski spacetime. It is the geometry of the Einstein static Universe, which he abandoned when the interpretation of the increase of redshift with distance was universally accepted as evidence for expanding Universe. If the universe is R1 x S3 but observations are made in flat Minkowski frame, then such an observer measures the "projections" from R1 x S3 into flat R1 x R3. The redshift in Segal's model arises in a geometric way analogously to distortions which appear when making maps using stereographic projection from S^2, a two-dimensional curved surface of a sphere in three dimensions, onto a flat surface of a map, R^2. Segal's theory makes a verifiable prediction for the redshift as a function of distance. The comparison, although in principle very simple, is non-trivial. For more distant objects, one can only estimate the distance using various proxies, for example the magnitude, if one assumes that the chosen sources have the same absolute luminosity. Surprisingly, Segal's model cannot be falsified with the currently available data. The magnitude-redshift data for supernovae agree very well with SCM, but it also agrees with Segal's model. There exist another independent observable, the number of observed galaxies as a function of redshift z, N(< z). Assuming that galaxies are uniformly distributed in the Universe, their number is proportional to the volume enclosed in a given fixed angular field of view, and the dependence of this volume on the manifold distance is sensitive to the geometry of the Universe. Two Tufts undergraduate students, Maxwell Kaye and Nathan Burwig, joined me in this analysis. We examined the data from several Hubble Deep Fields, and found that the number of observed galaxies as a function of redshift is also in very good agreement with Segal's model. We are continuing with a study of these fundamental questions about the topology and geometry of our Universe. Interestingly, I have also shown recently that one can explain the observed value of the CMB temperature, following Segal's original idea that the CMB appears unavoidably as a result of light traveling many times around a closed spatial part of the R X S^3 Universe. Magnetic monopoles I am also a member of MoEDAL, a small collaboration looking for magnetic monopoles at the LHC.

Igor Sokolov

Research/Areas of Interest: Engineering for Health -> Physics of cancer and aging -> Mechanics of biomaterials at the nanoscale, Synthesis and study of functionals nanomaterials for biomedical imaging and drug delivery, Advanced imaging for medical diagnostics, Novel processes and materials for dentistry: nano-polishing and self-healing materials

Cristian Staii

Research/Areas of Interest: Biological Physics, Condensed Matter Physics, Quantum Mechanics My research interests cover a broad array of topics in biological physics, condensed matter physics and quantum mechanics. In biological physics our group is performing both experimental and theoretical work to uncover fundamental physical principles that underlie the formation of functional neuronal networks among neurons in the brain. One of the primary challenges in science today is to figure out how as many as 100 billion neurons are produced, grow, and organize themselves into the truly wonderful information-processing machine which is the brain. We combine high-resolution imaging techniques such as atomic force, traction force and fluorescence microscopy to measure mechanical properties of neurons and to correlate these properties with internal components of the cell. Our group is also using mathematical modeling based on stochastic differential equations and the theory of dynamical systems to predict axonal growth and the formation of neuronal networks. The aim of this work is twofold. On the one hand we are using tools and concepts from experimental and theoretical physics to understand biological processes. On the other hand, active biological processes in neuronal cells exhibit a wealth of fascinating phenomena such as feedback control, pattern formation, collective behavior, and non equilibrium dynamics, and thus the insights learned from studying these biological systems broaden the intellectual range of physics. I am also interested in the foundations of quantum mechanics, particularly in decoherence phenomena and in applying the theory of stochastic processes to open quantum systems. My interests in condensed matter physics include quantum transport in nanoscale systems (carbon nanotubes, graphene, polymer composites, hybrid nanostructures), as well as scanning probe microscopy investigations of novel biomaterials.

Roger Tobin

Research/Areas of Interest: Experimental condensed matter physics; physics education For most of my career, my primary physics research area has been experimental surface science. In my lab at 574 Boston Ave., my students and I have studied what happens when foreign atoms and molecules form chemical bonds with metal surfaces. Our research has had implications for a range of potential applications including catalysis, chemical sensing, and the growth of thin films and nanoparticles on surfaces. In recent years my focus has shifted towards physics education, at both the college and, especially, at the elementary school level. Together with collaborators at a local nonprofit organization and at other universities, I have helped to develop and study curriculum materials and professional development strategies for the study of matter and energy in grades 3-5. In my own classes at Tufts, I have implemented and studied a range of instructional approaches aimed at more effective and equitable learning.

Thomas Vandervelde

Research/Areas of Interest: Interaction of light with matter, physics of nanostructures and interfaces, metamaterials, material science, plasmonics, and surfactants, semiconductor photonics and electronics, epitaxial crystal growth, materials and devices for energy and infrared applications.

Alexander Vilenkin

Research/Areas of Interest: Theoretical cosmology I do research on cosmic inflation, dark energy, cosmic strings and monopoles, quantum cosmology, and the multiverse.

Taritree Wongjirad

Research/Areas of Interest: My current focus is on measuring the properties of the neutrino, one of the fundamental particles of the Standard Model. We know a few things about the neutrino: it has a very small mass, has no electric charge, comes in three types — or flavors — and interacts only via the weak force and gravity. However, there are many things we do not know. What is the exact mass of the neutrino? And how does it get its mass? Are the three we know about the only kinds that exist? Answers to these questions impact not only our understanding of the fundamental laws of matter but also have consequences for our understanding of how the universe evolved. These and many other questions make the neutrino a fascinating particle. However, as mentioned above, neutrinos interact only via the weak force. They interact so rarely that, at the energies, we typically work with, neutrinos can pass through light-years long block of lead without striking it. This makes neutrino experiments challenging as we need to build massive, building-sized detectors which are instrumented with relatively, low-cost sensors. However, the challenge is often fun, as we are often forced to apply the newest technologies in both hardware and software to design and complete our experiments.

Related Programs

Chemistry: chemical physics.

Department of Physics and Astronomy

Ph.D. in Astrophysics Admissions

The department offers a Ph.D. degree in astrophysics for students interested in the various research areas of observational, theoretical, and computational astronomy: exoplanets, stars, black holes, the Milky Way, galaxies, large-scale structures, and cosmology.

The department’s existing research programs allow students to benefit from the following opportunities:

• Access to specialized facilities associated with on-campus interdisciplinary research centers, such as the Data Science Institute,
• Access to high-performance computing resources available through the Advanced Computing Center for Research and Education (ACCRE) ; and
• Participation in international research collaborations and travel to their national and international research facilities, including the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) in New Mexico, the Large Synoptic Survey Telescope (LSST) in Chile, and the Small and Moderate Aperture Research Telescope System (SMARTS) in Chile.

Applying to the Program

Applications for Fall 2025 open on August 1, 2024 and must be submitted through the Graduate School Application Portal . The application deadline is December 7, 2024 .

Strong applications to the astrophysics Ph.D. program include:

• The student’s academic record from prior institutions.
• A statement of purpose that details the student’s interests in graduate school and beyond.
• Three or more reference letters that provide insight into an applicant’s prior experience, motivation for graduate school, and aptitude for research.

GRE scores are not required. For questions about the Ph.D. program or the application process, please contact our Program Coordinator, Don Pickert .

Application checklist

• Start your admissions application online .
• Compose and submit a statement of purpose (1000-2000 words). We want to know about your motivations and your research interests.
• Request three letters of recommendation. Do this early to give your recommenders plenty of time to send in their letters.
• Order official transcripts of grades from all institutions that you have attended.
• Do not submit GRE scores (General nor Subject). They are not required and will not be considered.
• If you are an international student, submit your TOEFL score (Test of English as a Foreign Language), IELTS or Duolingo score. Note that Vanderbilt requires a minimum TOEFL score of 570 on the paper-based test or 88 on the computer-based test, 6.5 on IELTS or 120 on Duolingo. The TOEFL/IELTS/Duolingo requirement may be waived for those international applicants who have a degree from an English-speaking institution. If you’ve received an undergraduate degree from a college or university where English is the primary language of instruction, and if you’ve studied in residence at that institution for at least 3 years, you’re exempt from the English language test requirement and are not required to submit a language test score. You should provide us with a letter from your college or university stating that and add that to your application file.
• If you meet the Graduate School’s eligibility criteria , apply for an application fee waiver*.
• Finalize and submit your entire application by December 7, 2024.

*Note that a small number of additional waivers will be granted at the discretion of the department based on recruitment priorities and extenuating circumstances. You may request an application fee waiver directly from the department only after you have submitted your application and confirmed that a fee is due (i.e., that you are not eligible for a waiver from the Graduate School). To request a fee waiver, please email the Director of Graduate Studies for Physics, Jon Bird .

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UCLA Graduate Programs

Graduate Program: Astronomy and Astrophysics

UCLA's Graduate Program in Astronomy and Astrophysics offers the following degree(s):

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

Masters available on Doctoral track

With questions not answered here or on the program’s site (above), please contact the program directly.

Astronomy and Astrophysics Graduate Program at UCLA 1-707 B Physics and Astronomy Building Box 951547 Los Angeles, CA 90095-1547

Visit the Physics and Astronomy Department’s faculty roster

COURSE DESCRIPTIONS

Visit the registrar's site for the Physics and Astronomy Department’s course descriptions

• Admission Requirements
• Program Statistics

(310) 206-6994

[email protected]

MAJOR CODE: ASTRONOMY AND ASTROPHYSICS

PhD in Astronomy

The PhD program in Astronomy prepares students to engage in research at the forefront of their field and to begin a position in academia or research. The program mainly consists of courses in astronomy and original research conducted under the guidance of a faculty advisor.

Students normally enter this program with an undergraduate degree in astronomy, physics, or another physical science. During the first academic year, students generally concentrate on coursework ; a research area is usually chosen during the first or second year. Research , the most important part of the graduate program, occupies much of the student’s time after the first year. Students must pass a qualifying examination by the end of their third academic year. The purpose of this examination, based mostly on a directed research project, is to ensure that the student has the preparation and the ability to conduct the original research required for the PhD dissertation. Students submit a dissertation prospectus under the guidance of a faculty advisory committee and continue performing original research.  Once they have written their dissertation , students undergo a dissertation defense .  

Degree Learning Outcomes

• Demonstrate graduate-level knowledge of astronomy and physics, including the following topics: fundamental physics and astrophysics; gravitation, electromagnetism, and quantum mechanics appropriate to astronomy; and the dynamical behavior of space and astrophysical plasmas.
• Demonstrate graduate-level knowledge of observational techniques used to study astronomical and space phenomena.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the forefront of the field through PhD-level research.
• Ability to communicate astronomical information orally (or signed) to a graduate- and faculty-level audience.
• Ability to communicate astronomical information in written form.
• Demonstrate critical thinking about astronomical topics as well as other technical and general scientific topics.
• Perform original scientific research at a high level.
• Publish original research in a dissertation and (typically peer-reviewed) journals.
• Appropriately use and acknowledge work of others.
• Disseminate and handle data and other research products in an appropriate manner.

Program Requirements

The Graduate School of Arts & Sciences Bulletin outlines the requirements for the PhD in Astronomy, including:

• 64 credits of Coursework (including directed and independent research credits) at the 700-level or above
• Seminar series participation
• Qualifying Examination
• Dissertation and Final Oral Examination
• Satisfactory Academic Progress for PhD degree

Graduate Student Funding

The Graduate School of Arts & Science guarantees five years of full funding for PhD students who maintain Satisfactory Academic Progress . Graduate students are supported through University Fellowships, Teaching Fellowships, and/or Research Fellowships. The normal pathway is for students to receive Teaching or University Fellowships during their first year or two and to be supported with Research Fellowships after that, while working closely with individual faculty members on research.

Funding beyond five years is generally provided (but not guaranteed) to students who are working productively toward the PhD degree. Visit GRS Financial Aid – Aid for PhD Students for more information.

PhD Profile

A profile of the BU Astronomy PhD program is available , as coordinated through Boston University’s Office of Graduate Affairs.

Additional Program Details

Academic progress timeline, year 1 —, by end of first year.

• Completion of AS 701, AS 703, and AS720
• Completion of up to 2 of the additional courses numbered AS 704-749 offered that year

YEAR 2 —

No later than end of second year.

• Completion of the remaining 2 courses numbered AS 705-749

YEAR 3 —

No later than end of third year.

• Completion of 4 credits for the astronomy seminar courses: GRS AS 850, 851, 865, or 866

YEAR 4 —

No later than end of first semester of the fourth year.

• Passing grade on the Oral Qualifying Examination

No Later than End of Fourth Year

• Selection of the members of the student’s PhD Dissertation Steering Committee , including the First and Second Readers of the dissertation
• Interim Progress Report submitted to the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) by the end of the Spring semester, to be prepared in consultation with, and approved by the members of the PhD Dissertation Steering Committee.

YEAR 5 —

No later than end of fifth year.

• Interim Progress Report submitted to the Director of Graduate Studies (DGS) by the end of the Spring semester, to be prepared in consultation with, and approved by the members of the PhD Committee.

YEAR 6 —

No later than the end of sixth year.

• Dissertation Prospectus submitted to the DGS and GRS no later than 6 months before the Final Oral Exam. Review the Graduate School’s PhD Graduation Checklists for year-specific deadlines.

YEAR 7 —

No later than the end of seventh year.

• Coursework: complete all required courses.

***Registration Requirement*** : A student must be registered in the preceding semester and in the semester during which the degree requirements are completed.

Satisfactory Academic Progress

The Graduate School of Arts & Sciences requires graduate students to maintain Good Academic Standing in order to remain enrolled in their graduate program and/or to retain GRS scholarship and/or fellowship support. The GRS criteria for Good Academic Standing are as follows:

• Have no more than two failing or W grades.
• Meet all milestones of the degree, such as comprehensive exams, qualifying exams, and dissertation prospectus, on the schedule specified by the program.
• Meet all milestones of the degree with sufficient quality of work as specified by the program.
• Satisfactorily fulfill all service fellowship obligations, as specified by the program.

Graduate Advising

“A student in a Graduate School of Arts & Sciences (GRS) PhD degree program is required to have an advisor who is a member of the faculty in the student’s department or program. If an advisor is not assigned in advance of registration, the student should consult the Department Chair/Program Director or Director of Graduate Studies about assignment procedures. The First Reader of the candidate’s dissertation committee will normally be the student’s advisor once he/she has begun the dissertation stage of their degree.” — GRS Bulletin

Academic Advisors

An Astronomy graduate student traditionally has two faculty advisors: the Director of Graduate Studies and a research advisor. The Director of Graduate Studies serves as the academic advisor for all students in the program; a student’s research supervisor serves as their advisor for research activities and dissertation work.

Department Program Petition

Students seeking approval of changes to Astronomy Department rules and procedures related to the PhD program should complete the Department of Astronomy General Petition for Changes in Graduate Studies to request such changes (*). The completed petition form is reviewed by the student’s Faculty Advisor as well as the Director of Graduate Studies.

*Note: Requirements for petitioning changes to Graduate School rules can be found on the GRS Bulletin Policies website , and are not covered by the Astronomy Department petition form.

Qualifying Exam

Dissertation

PhD Degree Requirements - Graduate Bulletin

Assistant Professor; Director of Graduate Admissions

Astrophysics, PhD

• Program description
• At a glance
• Degree requirements
• Admission requirements
• Tuition information
• Application deadlines
• Career opportunities
• Contact information

Hardware, Instrumentation, NASA, Planets, Software, Space, approved for STEM-OPT extension, astronomy, cosmology, stars, universe

Work with world-class faculty, including theorists, observers and instrumentalists, on NASA- and NSF-funded projects to discover new planets, trace the evolution of stars and galaxies, explore the origin and development of the universe, build spaceflight hardware and design instruments for telescopes and satellites.

The PhD program in astrophysics develops creative scholarship in students and prepares them for professional careers in astrophysics, astronomy or related fields.

Students in this program take graduate-level courses in stars and interstellar media, galaxies and cosmology; obtain quantitative skills through analysis and modelling; may have observing opportunities through regional and international telescope observatories; and conduct independent, fundamental astrophysical research. Graduate students work closely with a research advisor on a wide range of topics including theoretical physics, cosmology, galaxy dynamics, stellar evolution, exoplanets, and the development and building of instrumentation.

Graduate students in astrophysics become leaders in observational and theoretical research. They participate in NASA- and NSF-funded space missions and study topics such as how stars are born and die, how galaxies interact and evolve, and how the universe changed as it developed from its earliest beginnings.

The program's world-class faculty have research expertise across the full breadth of astrophysics including the solar system, stars and galaxies from the Milky Way and the most distant galaxies in the universe. Current ASU research applies both computational and observational approaches to the exploration of a range of topics such as fundamental cosmology and whether there is life on exoplanets.

This program may be eligible for an Optional Practical Training extension for up to 24 months. This OPT work authorization period may help international students gain skills and experience in the U.S. Those interested in an OPT extension should review ASU degrees that qualify for the STEM-OPT extension at ASU's International Students and Scholars Center website.

The OPT extension only applies to students on an F-1 visa and does not apply to students completing a degree through ASU Online.

• College/school: The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
• Location: Tempe
• STEM-OPT extension eligible: Yes

84 credit hours, a written comprehensive exam, an oral comprehensive exam, a prospectus and a dissertation

Required Core (1 credit hour) SES 502 Exploring SESE Research (1)

Electives or Research (53 credit hours)

Other Requirements: Astrophysics Sequence (9 credit hours) AST 521 Stars and Interstellar Medium I (3) AST 522 Stars and Interstellar Medium II (3) AST 591 Seminar: Astrophysics (2) SES 501 SESE Colloquium (1)

Other Requirements: Galaxies and Cosmology Sequence, pick one (3 credit hours) AST 531 Galaxies and Cosmology I (3) AST 532 Galaxies and Cosmology II (3) AST 533 Galaxies and Cosmology III (3)

Other Requirements: Exoplanets and Planetary Science Sequence, pick one (3 credit hours) AST 598 Topic: Origins of Solar Systems (3) AST 598 Topic: Exploring Exoplanets (3) SES 598 Topic: Water in the Solar System (3)

Other Requirements: Instrumentation and Techniques Sequence, pick one (3 credit hours) AST 552 Astronomical Instrumentation and Data Analysis (3) SES 598 Topic: An Introduction to Astro-statistics (3) SES 598 Topic: Spectroscopy for Astrophysics (3) SES 598 Topic: Introductory Radio Astronomy (3)

Culminating Experience (12 credit hours) SES 799 Dissertation (12)

Additional Curriculum Information When approved by the student's supervisory committee and the Graduate College, this program allows 30 credit hours from a previously awarded master's degree in a related field to be used for this degree.

Substitutions for Other Requirement courses may be made per department approval.

Applicants must fulfill the requirements of both the Graduate College and The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Applicants are eligible to apply to the program if they have earned a bachelor's or master's degree in any field from a regionally accredited institution.

Applicants must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in the last 60 hours of their first bachelor's degree program, or they must have a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.00 (scale is 4.00 = "A") in an applicable master's degree program.

All applicants must submit:

• graduate admissions application and application fee
• official transcripts
• statement of purpose
• three letters of recommendation
• proof of English proficiency

Additional Application Information An applicant whose native language is not English must provide proof of English proficiency regardless of their current residency.

Professionals with expertise in astrophysics are in high demand across all sectors and industries, including remote sensing, data science, instrument building, computational science, defense industries and scientific research. Coding and numerical modeling skills translate across many domains, even beyond astrophysics. Skills in the measurement and analysis of data related to the physics, chemistry and structure of the universe and exoplanetary systems are valuable to businesses and institutions relying on data-driven strategies to explore beyond the Earth and solar system.

A doctoral degree in astrophysics is required for some careers in post-secondary education and research.

Career examples include:

• astrophysics professor
• data scientist
• instrument builder
• project manager
• research astronomer
• telescope operator

School of Earth and Space Exploration | ISTB4 795 [email protected] 480-965-5081

Astrophysical Sciences and Technology Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) Degree

Request Info about graduate study Visit Apply

An astrophysics Ph.D. centered on phenomena beyond the Earth and on the development of the technologies that will enable the next major strides in the field.

Overview for Astrophysical Sciences and Technology Ph.D.

Why study astrophysical sciences at rit.

• STEM-OPT Visa Eligible : The STEM Optional Practical Training (OPT) program allows full-time, on-campus international students on an F-1 student visa to stay and work in the U.S. for up to three years after graduation.
• Unique Interdisciplinary Approach: This multidisciplinary program is administered by the School of Physics and Astronomy , in collaboration with the School of Mathematics and Statistics and the Chester F. Carlson Center for Imaging Science , setting it apart from conventional astrophysics graduate programs at traditional research universities.
• Tailored to your Interests: The program offers tracks in astrophysics (including observational and theoretical astrophysics), computational and gravitational astrophysics (including numerical relativity, gravitational wave astronomy), and astronomical technology (including detector and instrumentation research and development).
• Participate in Research:  Students may participate in one of three research centers associated with the School of Physics and Astronomy: the Center for Computational Relativity and Gravitation , the Center for Detectors or the Laboratory for Multi-wavelength Astrophysics .
• Industry Opportunities: Graduates of the program have secured roles at the Dudley Observatory at the Museum of Innovation & Science, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, in higher education institutions, among others.

There has never been a more exciting time to study the universe beyond the confines of the Earth. A new generation of advanced ground-based and space-borne telescopes and enormous increases in computing power are enabling a golden age of astrophysics. The doctoral program in astrophysical sciences and technology focuses on the underlying physics of phenomena beyond the Earth and on the development of the technologies, instruments, data analysis, and modeling techniques that will enable the next major strides in the field. The program's multidisciplinary emphasis sets it apart from conventional astrophysics graduate programs at traditional research universities.

The program offers tracks in astrophysics (including observational and theoretical astrophysics), computational and gravitational astrophysics (including numerical relativity, gravitational wave astronomy), and astronomical technology (including detector and instrumentation research and development). Students can pursue research interests in a wide range of topics, including design and development of novel detectors, multiwavelength studies of proto-stars, active galactic nuclei and galaxy clusters, gravitational wave data analysis, and theoretical and computational modeling of astrophysical systems including galaxies and compact objects such as binary black holes. Depending on research interests, students may participate in one of three research centers: the Center for Computational Relativity and Gravitation (Video) , the Center for Detectors , or the Laboratory for Multi-wavelength Astrophysics.

Plan of Study

In the astrophysics Ph.D., students complete a minimum of 60 credit hours of study, consisting of at least 24 credit hours of course work and at least 24 credit hours of research. Students may choose to follow one of three tracks: astrophysics, astroinformatics and computational astrophysics (with the option of a concentration in general relativity), or astronomical instrumentation. All students must complete four core courses with grades of B or better, as well as two semesters of a graduate seminar. Core course grades below B must be remediated by taking and passing a comprehensive exam on the core course subject matter prior to receiving the doctoral degree. The remaining course credits are made up from specialty track courses and electives. Students must pass a qualifying examination, which consists of completing and defending a master's-level research project, prior to embarking on the dissertation research project.

Electives include additional courses in astrophysics and a wide selection of courses offered in other RIT graduate programs (e.g., imaging science, computer science, engineering), including detector development, digital image processing, computational techniques, optics, and entrepreneurship, among others.

Ph.D. qualification requirements: Master's-level research project

During the first year of the program, most doctoral candidates begin a master's-level research project under the guidance of a faculty member. The project gains momentum during the second year after the core courses have been completed. The master's-level research topic may be different from the eventual doctoral dissertation topic, and the supervising faculty member will not necessarily serve as the dissertation research advisor.

The doctoral qualification requirements consist of a combination of a publication-quality master's-level project report, which may be in the form of a thesis (if the student so chooses) and an oral presentation and defense of the master's-level project. This qualification process, which must be completed by the beginning of the third year of full-time study or its equivalent, is designed to ensure the student has the necessary background knowledge and intellectual skills to carry out doctoral-level research in the subject areas of astrophysical sciences and technology. A director-approved committee consisting of the student's master's-level project research advisor and two additional faculty members will assess the student's project report and defense.

Dissertation research advisor

After passing the qualifying examination, students are guided by a dissertation research advisor who is approved by the program director. The choice of advisor is based on the student's research interests, faculty research interests, and available research funding.

Research committee

After passing the qualifying examination, a dissertation committee is appointed for the duration of the student's tenure in the program. The committee chair is appointed by the dean of graduate education and must be a faculty member in a program other than astrophysical sciences and technology. The committee chair acts as the institutional representative in the final dissertation examination. The committee comprises at least four members and in addition to the chair, must also include the student's dissertation research advisor and at least one other member of the program's faculty. The fourth member may be an RIT faculty member, a professional affiliated in industry, or a representative from another institution. The program director must approve committee members who are not RIT faculty.

Ph.D. proposal review (candidacy exam)

Within six months of the appointment of the dissertation committee, students must prepare a Ph.D. research project proposal and present it to the committee for review. The student provides a written research proposal and gives an oral presentation to the committee, who provides constructive feedback on the project plan. The review must take place at least six months prior to the dissertation defense.

Annual review

Each fall, students provide an annual report in the form of an oral presentation, which summarizes progress made during the preceding year. The program director also monitors student's progress toward meeting the requirements for either the qualifying examination (during the first two years), or the Ph.D. (after passing the qualifying examination). Students may be interviewed, as necessary, to explore any concerns that emerge during the review and to discuss remedial actions.

Final examination of the dissertation

Once the dissertation is written, distributed to the dissertation committee, and the committee agrees to administer the final examination, the doctoral candidate may schedule the final examination. The candidate must distribute a copy of the dissertation to the committee and make the dissertation available to interested faculty at least four weeks prior to the dissertation defense.

The final examination of the dissertation is open to the public and is primarily a defense of the dissertation research. The examination consists of an oral presentation by the student, followed by questions from the audience. The dissertation committee privately questions the candidate following the presentation. The dissertation committee caucuses immediately following the examination and thereafter notifies the candidate and the program director of the results.

All students in the program must spend at least one year (summer term excluded) in residence as full-time students to be eligible to receive the doctorate degree.

Time Limitations

All doctoral candidates must maintain continuous enrollment during the research phase of the program. Normally, full-time students complete the course of study in approximately four to five years. A total of seven years is allowed to complete the requirements after first attempting the qualifying examination.

The astrophysical sciences and technology program offers students a wide range of research opportunities spanning observational and theoretical astrophysics, computational astrophysics, general relativity and gravitational wave astronomy, and the design and development of advanced detectors and instrumentation for astronomy. RIT hosts a vibrant astronomy and astrophysics research community of more than 60 faculty, post-docs, research fellows, and graduate students who participate in three designated research centers:

• The Center for Computational Relativity and Gravitation
• The Center for Detectors
• Laboratory for Multiwavelength Astrophysics

Faculty and students frequently obtain data from space observatories including the Hubble Space Telescope , the Spitzer Space Telescope , the Chandra X-ray Observatory , the Herschel Space Observatory , and various ground-based observatories such as the Gemini Observatory , twin 8.1-meter diameter optical/infrared telescopes located in Hawaii and Chile, the W. M. Keck Observatory on Hawaii, and the Very Large Array radio telescope facility in New Mexico. RIT is a member of the LIGO Scientific Collaboration , which analyzes the data taken by the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory , and a member of the Legacy Survey of Space Time Corporation, which will operate an 8.4 m telescope at the Vera C. Rubin Observatory in Chile, to conduct a 10-year survey of the Southern skies.

Computing facilities include the GravitySimulator supercomputer, dedicated to N-body simulations of galactic nuclei and stellar clusters and the NewHorizons computer cluster, for numerical relativity and relativistic hydrodynamics simulations. Funding has recently been obtained to acquire an even more powerful 600-core cluster (BlueSky). Researchers at RIT's Center for Computational Relativity and Gravitation also have access to national supercomputing facilities, such as the Blue Waters supercomputer at the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

RIT’s Center for Detectors operates extensive research laboratory facilities:

• Rochester Imaging Detector Laboratory
• Lobozzo Photonics Lab ,
• Integrated Photonics Lab ,
• Experimental Cosmology Lab ,
• Suborbital Astrophysics Lab ,
• Laboratory for Advanced Instrumentation Research ,
• Expitaxially-Integrated Nanoscale Systems Lab ,
• Quantum Imaging and Information Lab , and the
• Electrical and Optical Characterization Lab .

The Center also has access to state-of-the-art simulation software, and machining and electronic assembly facilites, such as the Semiconductor & Microsystems Fabrication Lab and the Center for Electronics Manufacturing and Assembly .

Faculty involved in the astrophysical sciences and technology program regularly attract substantial external research funding from national and state agencies, including funding support from NASA , National Science Foundation , NYSTAR (Empire State Development Division of Science, Technology, and Innovation), amounting to over $12 million in the last four years.

Current research interests include:

• Strong-field gravitational dynamics of interacting compact objects such as black holes and neutron stars
• Magnetohydrodynamical simulations of the accretion disks and other astrophysical environments around supermassive black-holes
• Detection of gravitational wave signatures of binary black holes and/or neutron stars in close binary orbits
• Single Photon Counting Detectors for NASA Astronomy Missions
• New Infrared Detectors for Astrophysics
• Microgrid polarizer arrays
• Young stars and proto-planetary disks
• Chandra Planetary Nebula Survey
• Feeding and Feedback in Active Galactic Nebulae (AGN)
• AGN feedback in galaxy clusters
• Supermassive black holes in low redshift elliptical galaxies
• Reverberation mapping the circum-nuclear torus in AGN
• Stellar dynamics and supermassive black holes in galactic nuclei
• Hydrodynamical signatures of dark-matter dominated satellite galaxies

Careers and Experiential Learning

National labs career events and recruiting.

The  Office of Career Services and Cooperative Education  offers National Labs and federally-funded Research Centers from all research areas and sponsoring agencies a  variety of options  to connect with and recruit students. Students connect with employer partners to gather information on their laboratories and explore co-op, internship, research, and full-time opportunities.  These  national labs  focus on scientific discovery, clean energy development, national security, technology advancements, and more. Recruiting events include our university-wide Fall Career Fair, on-campus and virtual interviews, information sessions,  1:1 networking with lab representatives, and a National Labs Resume Book available to all labs.

Jeyhan Kartaltepe

Michael Zemcov

Manuela Campanelli

Featured Work and Profiles

Exploring the Potential of Virtual Reality for Analyzing Astronomical Data

Ryan Butler (astrophysical science and technology)

Ryan Butler, a Ph.D. candidate in the Astrophysical Science and Technology program at RIT, is exploring the use of virtual reality to analyze astronomical data.

Unfolding the Universe

RIT astrophysicist, Jeyhan Kartaltepe, puts students first while researching the origins of thousands of galaxies.

Navigating Research Policy with Senior Research Officers

Kevin Cooke ’19 found his calling at the intersection of science and policy while pursuing his Ph.D. at RIT. Now, he’s the Director of Research Policy at APLU.

Astrophysics Ph.D. Research: How Galaxies Form and Evolve

Brittany Vanderhoof (astrophysical sciences and technology)

Ph.D. student Brittany Vanderhoof chose RIT for the diverse range of research and accessibility of professors. Now she’s growing as an astrophysicist and researching how galaxies form and evolve.

AST Program Grad is now Researching Stars at the Smithsonian

Rodolfo (Rudy) Montez Jr. ’10 (astrophysical and technology)

RIT Astrophysical Sciences and Technology Ph.D. graduate Rodolfo (Rudy) Montez Jr. ’10 is now an Astrophysicist researching stars at the Center for Astrophysics | Harvard & Smithsonian.

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Curriculum for 2024-2025 for Astrophysical Sciences and Technology Ph.D.

Current Students: See Curriculum Requirements

Astrophysical Sciences and Technology, Ph.D. degree, typical course sequence

Specialty Tracks

Astroinformatics.

Gravitational Wave Astronomy

Instrumentation

Numerical Relativity

Observational Astrophysics

Theoretical Astrophysics

Students are also interested in

• Astrophysical Sciences and Technology MS

Admissions and Financial Aid

This program is available on-campus only.

Full-time study is 9+ semester credit hours. International students requiring a visa to study at the RIT Rochester campus must study full‑time.

Application Details

To be considered for admission to the Astrophysical Sciences and Technology Ph.D. program, candidates must fulfill the following requirements:

• Complete an online graduate application . 
• Submit copies of official transcript(s) (in English) of all previously completed undergraduate and graduate course work, including any transfer credit earned.
• Hold a baccalaureate degree (or US equivalent) from an accredited university or college.
• A recommended minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 (or equivalent).
• Submit a current resume or curriculum vitae.
• Submit a statement of purpose for research which will allow the Admissions Committee to learn the most about you as a prospective researcher.
• Submit two letters of recommendation .
• Entrance exam requirements: None
• Writing samples are optional.
• Submit English language test scores (TOEFL, IELTS, PTE Academic), if required. Details are below.

English Language Test Scores

International applicants whose native language is not English must submit one of the following official English language test scores. Some international applicants may be considered for an English test requirement waiver .

International students below the minimum requirement may be considered for conditional admission. Each program requires balanced sub-scores when determining an applicant’s need for additional English language courses.

How to Apply   Start or Manage Your Application

Cost and Financial Aid

An RIT graduate degree is an investment with lifelong returns. Ph.D. students typically receive full tuition and an RIT Graduate Assistantship that will consist of a research assistantship (stipend) or a teaching assistantship (salary).

William H. Miller III Department of Physics & Astronomy

• Admissions and Transfers
• Graduate Courses
• Degree Forms and Requirements
• Research and Advising
• Graduate Student Examination Guide
• Career Services for PhD Students
• Summer Support and Internships
• Graduate Program Statistics

Graduate programs in physics and astronomy at Johns Hopkins University are among the top programs in the field. Students engage in original research starting in their first semester and have flexibility in choosing their course of research and designing their path through the program. A wide range of research projects—both theoretical and experimental—are available in astrophysics, atomic, molecular & optical physics, biological physics, condensed matter physics, and particle physics. Graduate students can work toward a PhD in either physics or astronomy and astrophysics. Our doctoral students are prepared for careers in physics and astronomy research, teaching, or in applications such as biophysics, space physics, and industrial research.

Graduate students at Johns Hopkins study and work in close collaboration with a world-renowned, award-winning physics and astronomy faculty , whose research is truly global. Students have access to state-of-the-art laboratories, and they are full participants in the vibrant intellectual life of the department. Research leading to the dissertation can be carried out not only within the Department of Physics and Astronomy, but also in collaboration with other research centers. Recent dissertation research has been conducted with members of the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory , Space Telescope Science Institute , and the Goddard Space Flight Center .

Graduate students are involved in research projects beginning in their first semester at JHU. Students are free to explore different areas of research by working on short research projects with different advisers. A series of seminars, presentations and orientation events held in the fall semester help introduce students to the faculty in the department so that they can choose their first project. Such projects may last a semester or a year; they might become the prelude to their thesis work or may focus on a completely separate topic. In many cases, the projects lead to published research papers. By the end of their second year, students have typically completed their required graduate classes, have explored several different research directions and are in a good position to choose a thesis topic and a thesis advisor. Students start thesis research no later than fall of their 3rd year and graduate at the end of the 5th or 6th year.

It is departmental policy that all graduate students in good standing are supported through fellowships, research assistantships and / or teaching assistantships for up to six years.  The financial package covers the tuition and student health insurance, and provides a stipend commensurate with that of other leading research institutions. We have designed our graduate program in such a way that indeed most students earn their PhD in six years or less.

Fellowships

We strongly encourage prospective and enrolled students eligible for external fellowships to apply for them. For graduate students already enrolled, research and academic advisors provide assistance and support in applying for NSF fellowships, NASA fellowships, etc. Faculty and staff nominate graduate students for departmental and university fellowships, and applications are reviewed by the graduate program committee and / or the department chair.

The University Research Office maintains an up-to-date list of  graduate student funding opportunities . 

Teaching and research assistantships

Teaching and research assistantships are equivalent in terms of stipend and benefits. Most students are supported by teaching assistantships during their first year. In subsequent years, they may be supported by teaching assistantships or research assistantships depending on availability of external funding and research performance. Students should discuss funding options with their advisors well in advance of the semester in question. Teaching assistantships in year six and beyond should be requested by the student and the advisor by application to the graduate program committee. Continuation in the program and financial support of any kind in year seven and beyond should also be requested by the student and the advisor by application to the graduate program committee. In evaluating these requests, the graduate program committee takes into consideration whether the student is on a clear path to graduation, whether the student is making good progress and whether the extension is necessitated by the scope of the thesis.

• Graduate Student Handbook
• Mentorship Guidelines

Graduate Policies

Statement of the rights and responsibilities of phd students at johns hopkins university.

Ph.D. education is fundamental to the University’s teaching and research mission. For an intellectual community of scholars to flourish, it is important to acknowledge the principles that underlie the compact between Ph.D. students, the faculty, and other members of the University community.

It is in this spirit that the Doctor of Philosophy Board, in collaboration with faculty and students from across the University,  has articulated a statement of rights and responsibilities for doctoral students at Johns Hopkins.  The principles described in this document are to be realized in policies established by the various Schools of the University; the Schools will also develop mechanisms to monitor and enforce such policies.

• Academic and Research Misconduct Policy
• Assistant Leave Policy
• Grievance Policy
• Jury and Witness Duty
• Homewood Schools Policy for Graduate Student Probation, Funding Withdrawal, and Dismissal
• Information Technology Policy
• Managing the Conversation: Inform, Support, and Report Quick Reference Guide for Responding to Staff and Faculty Discrimination, Harassment & Sexual Misconduct Disclosures
• Managing the Conversation: Inform, Support, and Report Quick Reference Guide for Responding to Student Discrimination, Harassment & Sexual Misconduct Disclosures
• Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences Office of the Dean & Leadership

Graduate Board

The  Homewood Graduate Board  is a subcommittee of the Academic Council of the Schools of Arts and Sciences and Engineering, and is responsible for the administration of policies and procedures for the award Doctor of Philosophy, PhD of the Schools of Arts and Sciences and Engineering, and for master’s degrees in the School of Arts and Sciences.

Office of Institutional Equity – Title IX Information

Title IX  of the Education Amendments of 1972 (“Title IX”) prohibits discrimination with a basis on sex in any federally-funded education program or activity. Title IX affects almost every facet of JHU.

DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS AND ASTRONOMY

• Doctoral Programs

Astronomy PhD Degree

Northwestern astronomy.

Northwestern Astronomy PhD Poster

The Northwestern Astronomy PhD is designed to provide students with a broad training in astronomy while enabling them to get started quickly with their graduate research. The Astronomy PhD is a flexible program that allows students to complement their astronomy training with a selection of physics courses or courses from other quantitative disciplines such as applied mathematics, statistics, computer science or engineering relevant to their research. Please note that GRE exam scores are not accepted as part of our application process.

Students pursuing astronomy or astrophysics research in our department will benefit from the vibrant environment and opportunities offered by the Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Exploration in Astrophysics (CIERA).

Research and the Thesis

• Explore Astronomy Research at Northwestern

When do students start doing research?

We encourage students to become engaged in research as early as possible in their studies. Incoming students on University Fellowship support are especially encouraged to begin part-time research in their first year. To acquaint themselves with the research opportunities in the department, most new students work with one of the faculty during the summer of their first year of graduate study. (However, there is no requirement to do so.)

When do students choose an advisor?

Students may choose a thesis advisor and/or topic at any point in their first two years.

When is the Candidacy Exam (Prospectus)?

A proposed thesis topic must be defended before a faculty committee no later than by the end of the student's fourth (4th) year at Northwestern.

How long does it take students to complete the degree?

The thesis must be defended by no later than the end of the student's ninth (9th) year at Northwestern.The median number of years to completion is five (5) years.

Can students receive their Master's degree along the way?

Yes, students may apply to receive a Master's degree en route to their PhD degree. This may be helpful on applications for outside funding.

Interdisciplinary Work

Discover the IDEAS program to learn about additional graduate training opportunities and our Certificate in Integrated Data Science.

Course Requirements

• Selected from Astron 314/414, 321/421, 325/425, 329/429, 410, 416, 448, 449, and 451
• This ensures that Astronomy PhD students get to know the Physics PhD students when they start at Northwestern.
• Four (4) other 400-level quantitative science or engineering courses (including in physics or astronomy).

How long will it take to finish the required coursework?

Most of the astronomy graduate courses are offered every other year, so students will typically take 2 years to finish their course requirements.

Where are descriptions of the Astronomy courses?

See online descriptions of graduate courses and scroll to the bottom of that page to see astro courses.

Professional Development, STEM, and Outreach

Explore a wide variety of education and outreach opportunities while you are in graduate school.

How to Apply

Please note that GRE exam scores are not accepted as part of our application process.

• Application details

Advanced Tools for Research

• Telescope Access for Northwestern Astronomers
• High-performance Computing at Northwestern
• Northwestern University Research Shop

Further Questions?

Contact the Graduate Program Assistant.

Please refer to our   Resources page   for direct links to The Graduate School (TGS) for information that can guide you in your academic career.

Our Program Handbook can also answer many questions you might have.

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100 Best colleges for Astrophysics and Astronomy in the United States

Updated: February 29, 2024

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Below is a list of best universities in the United States ranked based on their research performance in Astrophysics and Astronomy. A graph of 55.4M citations received by 1.54M academic papers made by 874 universities in the United States was used to calculate publications' ratings, which then were adjusted for release dates and added to final scores.

We don't distinguish between undergraduate and graduate programs nor do we adjust for current majors offered. You can find information about granted degrees on a university page but always double-check with the university website.

1. University of California - Berkeley

For Astrophysics and Astronomy

2. California Institute of Technology

3. Stanford University

4. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

5. University of Arizona

6. Princeton University

7. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor

8. Harvard University

9. Cornell University

10. University of Chicago

11. University of Washington - Seattle

12. Pennsylvania State University

13. University of Maryland - College Park

14. University of Texas at Austin

15. University of California - Los Angeles

16. Columbia University

17. University of Illinois at Urbana - Champaign

18. Johns Hopkins University

19. University of Colorado Boulder

20. Ohio State University

21. University of Wisconsin - Madison

22. Yale University

23. University of California - Santa Barbara

24. University of California-San Diego

25. University of California - Santa Cruz

26. Arizona State University - Tempe

27. University of Pennsylvania

28. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities

29. University of Florida

30. Northwestern University

31. Georgia Institute of Technology

32. New York University

33. University of Virginia

34. University of California - Davis

35. Texas A&M University - College Station

36. Purdue University

37. Carnegie Mellon University

38. University of California - Irvine

39. Rutgers University - New Brunswick

40. Boston University

41. University of Pittsburgh

42. University of Southern California

43. Stony Brook University

44. Michigan State University

45. University of Rochester

46. University of Massachusetts - Amherst

47. Washington University in St Louis

48. Iowa State University

49. Washington State University

50. Brown University

51. University of Utah

52. Case Western Reserve University

53. Duke University

54. Providence College

55. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

56. Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University

57. North Carolina State University at Raleigh

58. Rice University

59. University of Delaware

60. University of Iowa

61. University of Hawaii at Manoa

62. University of California - San Francisco

63. Vanderbilt University

64. University of Notre Dame

65. University of New Mexico

66. Colorado State University - Fort Collins

67. Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College

68. University of Kentucky

69. University of Tennessee - Knoxville

70. University of California - Riverside

71. University of Illinois at Chicago

72. University of Oklahoma - Norman

73. Oregon State University

74. Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science

75. Florida State University

76. University of Connecticut

77. Dartmouth College

78. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

79. University of Miami

80. University of Houston

81. Emory University

82. University at Buffalo

83. Tufts University

84. University of Missouri - Columbia

85. University of Georgia

86. University of Central Florida

87. University of Alabama in Huntsville

88. University of Kansas

89. New Mexico State University

90. Syracuse University

91. Temple University

92. University of Cincinnati

93. University of Nebraska - Lincoln

94. University of South Carolina - Columbia

95. Northeastern University

96. University of Oregon

97. Seattle University

98. George Mason University

99. University of New Hampshire

100. Wayne State University

The best cities to study Astrophysics and Astronomy in the United States based on the number of universities and their ranks are Berkeley , Pasadena , Stanford , and Cambridge .

Physics subfields in the United States

Graduate Degree Requirements

Degree requirements, doctorate degree.

The requirements for the Astrophysics Ph.D. degree are the following:

• Astronomy 290AB (a seminar)
• A total of 6 graduate (or equivalent) courses, 3 of which are from the Astronomy Dept.
• Exams (Preliminary and Qualifying)
• Thesis (signed by committee)

University Registration

Ph. d. courses.

A Ph. D. student is expected to complete six classes at the graduate level or their equivalent. At least three of these classes must be taken in the department. This is in addition to the research seminar 290AB. See below for details.

All candidates for the Ph.D. in Astrophysics must acquire two semesters of teaching experience during their graduate career, whether or not compensated.

It is desirable that this requirement be satisfied early in the graduate career, but it may be delayed for those international students who have not acquired adequate command of English, or other reasons, at the discretion of the Chairperson. The requirement may be waived for transfer students who have acquired similar teaching experience elsewhere.

Examinations

All candidates must pass two oral examinations administered by the faculty. The preliminary examination should be completed by the end of the second academic year of study and focuses on basic competency in three subfields selected by the student. The qualifying examination should be completed by the end of the fourth academic year of study and is composed of a review of a thesis topic and an examination of a student’s competency in his or her research subfield. Students entering with a Master’s Degree or its equivalent may have the preliminary examination requirement waived subject to the discretion of the Chair.

The thesis is an original piece of research carried out by the candidate under the supervision of a thesis adviser and two other faculty members (one of whom must be from another discipline). The Graduate Division has published guidelines for dissertations and theses.

Registration is required of all students making any use of University facilities, including access to faculty. A student is required to be registered, or pay the filing fee, whichever is applicable for the semester in which the degree is conferred. To be eligible for filing fee status the student must have been continuously registered since entering (allowing for one year of approved withdrawal), and registered in the term immediately preceding the one in which the Filing Fee is requested. You must register each semester before the end of the third week of classes.

Master’s Degree

Students are required to pass the Preliminary Exam and must complete 24 units of upper division and graduate courses, including 12 units of “non-research” (lecture) courses.

Students are normally not admitted for the Master’s Degree only, but may find it worthwhile to add to their record en route to the Ph.D. Once these requirements have been fulfilled, the student should see the Student Affairs Officer to obtain an Application for Candidacy for the Master’s Degree.

Core Classes

All students are encouraged to prepare themselves for the preliminary and specific research work by engaging in a program of courses. It is strongly recommended that these be drawn from the following basic courses:

• Astronomy 203 Astrophysical Techniques
• Astronomy 204 Numerical Techniques in Astronomy
• Astronomy 216 Interstellar Matter
• Astronomy 217 Radiative Astrophysics: Stars, Disks, and Winds*
• Astronomy 218 Stellar Dynamics and Galactic Structure
• Astronomy C202 Astrophysical Fluid Dynamics
• Astronomy C207 Radiative Processes in Astronomy
• Astronomy C228 Extragalactic Astronomy and Physical Cosmology
• Astronomy C249 Solar System Astrophysics*
• Astronomy C252 Stellar Structure and Evolution
• Astronomy C254 High Energy Astrophysics
• Astronomy 255 Computational Astrophysics
• Astronomy 267 Plasma Astrophysics*
• Astronomy 290AB – The Introduction to Current Research seminar is required of all students in their first year. This consists of weekly lectures by different faculty members and research staff, and introduces the student to current research being carried out in the Department and nearby Labs. (This course is not a prelim topic.)

*these courses are offered based on interest.

Recommended Courses

• Astronomy 298 – Tutorials are recommended for all students at times until the Qualifying Examination has been passed. Depending on the time commitment, students may sign up for one or two units per semester. This, along with participation in seminars, can be a primary mechanism for advancing your knowledge and developing skills. It depends on Faculty availability.
• Astronomy 375 – Instruction Techniques in General Astronomy is normally taken concurrently with Graduate Student Instructor duties in Astronomy 7 or 10. This allows the student to take credits for acting as a GSI.

Outside Course Option

A formal requirement no longer exists for courses outside the Department. Nonetheless, the Dept. still feels it would be valuable to take up to two outside courses at the advanced graduate level (200 level and above). These courses should form a cohesive group to provide depth in a particular area. Up to four courses could be taken instead on the 100-200 level (these count for half a graduate course in the course requirement). The lower division course option should be chosen if it is advisable to complement the student’s background and provide a broad base for future work. These courses count towards the overall course requirement (up to 3 full courses). Each student’s course list must be approved by a Graduate Adviser. There is no specific list of allowable courses; the full variety of offerings should be used to greatest advantage. For students who do not yet have definite ideas, this list can be used as a starting point; it includes the basic “bread-and-butter’’ courses for a student in any physical science. However, the list should not be regarded as restrictive.

Preliminary Examination

The Prelim is an oral examination conducted by three members of the Department appropriate for the fields in which the student will be examined. The primary purpose of the Prelim is for the student to master the fundamentals of a broad slate of topics in astrophysics. The student should speak comfortably, knowledgeably, and quantitatively about the topics tested and demonstrate that his or her level of understanding is sufficient to understand, and to place in context, a typical Department-wide colloquium in astrophyics. Another purpose of the exam is to develop the skill of thinking on one’s feet: to perform rough but quantitative estimates in real time, on the blackboard if necessary, and to reason using physics and mathematics.

The Exam may be taken at any time the student chooses, subject to the regulations listed below. The choice of topics and Prelim Committee members must be approved by the Head Graduate Adviser at least a month in advance of the proposed date of the exam, on the Prelim Application Form . The examination will be at the general level of the graduate core courses. Normally, the topics consist of three fields chosen from among the list of courses in the core curriculum . The student may choose to be examined in another topic at a comparable level of difficulty. Occasionally, the topics of a special topics class (AY 250) may be used as an exam topic. Some non-standard topics have included:

• Stellar Atmospheres
• Star Formation
• Planetary Dynamics

The prelim is subject to the following rules and guidelines:

• The student must attempt the Prelim by the end of the second academic year. If a student does not pass the Prelim the first time, one more try will be allowed without penalty.   The 2nd prelim exam should be taken a minimum of 2 months and a maximum of 6 months after the first attempt.   After a failed second attempt, the chair of the exam committee and the Head Graduate Advisor will discuss future options (e.g., exiting with a Master’s degree) with the student.
• In order to remain in the Department a student must pass the Prelim within six months after the end of the second academic year.
• It is strongly recommended, but not required, that the student’s major research adviser not serve on the Prelim Committee, to avoid possible biases and conflicts of interest.
• Prelim committee members can be drawn from all instructors of the core graduate courses. A student’s prelim committee member need not have been the student’s instructor for a core course. Indeed, if the course instructor is also the student’s primary research adviser, alternate prelim committee members should at least be considered (see preceding point).
• Radiative Processes (Astro 201) and Astrophysical Fluid Dynamics (Astro 202) cannot both be used as prelim topics, on the grounds that a student is not tested on enough phenomenology. Other combinations ( e.g. , Star Formation and Interstellar Medium) may also be disallowed to ensure that the students develop breadth. The eligibility of a Special Topics course taught as Astro 250 will be reviewed by the faculty on a case-by-case basis — the instructor of the Astro 250 in question should announce at the beginning of the semester whether the course is eligible and what, if any, prelim topic combinations involving the course are prohibited.
• The choice of topics and committee members must be approved by the Head Graduate Adviser, on the prelim application form , for all prelims occurring after July 1, 2009.
• The student must pass all three areas in order to pass the Examination. A pass is equivalent to the level of performance meriting a “B” grade on any of the graduate core courses.
• The student selects one member of the committee to serve as the Chair of the committee. This Chairperson is responsible for timing the examination and any necessary paperwork following the examination. The student selects the order in which the topics are examined.
• Students taking a preliminary exam shall not obtain the questions to any prelim given in the three months prior to their exam.

The Student Affairs Officer maintains a comprehensive list of all topics and questions asked during the preliminary examination. To aid in the enforcement of the three-month question embargo, the questions used in exams shall not be added to this list until three months have elapsed from the giving of the exam. Typically, each topic is allotted 40 minutes of questions for a total of two hours.

Qualifying Examination

The purpose of the Qualifying Exam is to show that the student is ready to begin thesis work. The “qual” is an oral examination at which a Committee of four faculty members examines the student in depth on three topics pertinent to the student’s intended thesis topic. The customary format is that the student speaks for 40 min on the three topics. This presentation is typically interrupted by questions, and is followed by general knowledge questioning. The three topics are often chosen to lead the discussion from a broad subject foundation to the specific area of investigation in proposed research. One intent of the exam is to explore the student’s readiness to tackle a thesis and the feasibility of the proposed research as to definition of questions and methods and as to time for completion. The exam also has a broader goal concerning the student’s mastery of topics and ability to present the material concisely and coherently including responding to probing questions.

One member of the Committee (the “outside member”) must be on the regular Berkeley faculty (i.e., a member of the Berkeley Division of the Academic Senate) with NO appointment in the Astronomy Department. The Chair, or designated Head Graduate Advisor, and the student’s thesis supervisor can aid in the selection of the outside member [ NOTE: As of 2019, the “outside” committee or the academic senate representative (ASR) member no longer has to come from outside the department, i.e., they can be an an academic senate member from the astronomy department. ]. The student’s thesis supervisor cannot serve as Chair of the Committee. The Committee Chair is selected by the Department Chair/Head Graduate Advisor. The Committee Chair’s role is supervisory during the exam. The Qualifying Exam is required by the University in order to get the Ph.D. degree – no exceptions are allowed! Department policy is that the Qualifying Exam must be taken no later than the end of four calendar years of graduate study, unless a specific exemption is granted by the Chair/Head Graduate Advisor. If not passed on the first try, a second attempt must be made within six months. Graduate division policy is outlined on the Degrees Page of the Berkeley Graduate Division .

The Qualifying Exam is required by the University in order to get the Ph.D. degree – no exceptions are allowed! Note that the student must submit an application to the Graduate Division at least one month in advance of the proposed date of the exam. See the Student Affairs Officer for an application form.

Department policy is that the Qualifying Exam must be taken no later than the end of four calendar years of graduate study, unless a specific exemption is granted by the Head Graduate Adviser. If not passed on the first try, a second attempt must be made within six months.

Upon completion of the Qualifying Examination and all other requirements, except the thesis, a student should file immediately for advancement to candidacy, bearing in mind the filing fee regulations discussed under the registration requirements.

Normative Time to Degree

The Department has established six years as the Normative Time to Degree. Normative Time is the elapsed calendar time in years that under normal circumstances will be needed to complete all requirements for the Ph.D., assuming a student who enters without deficiencies, who is engaged in full-time uninterrupted study, and who is making desirable progress toward the degree.

After Advancement to Candidacy, the student is eligible for a Fee Offset Grant, for which the student must apply to the Graduate Division. Rules regarding this may be obtained from the Graduate Division or the Student Affairs Officer.

The Chair will act as adviser for first year graduate students. After the first year students will be assigned a faculty member to act as an adviser. This adviser is typically the primary research supervisor of the graduate student. Students and advisers will meet at least once per year until the Qualifying Examination has been passed. Once a thesis topic has been found, a Thesis Committee with at least 3 members. This is typically the same as the Qualifying Examination committee, though the chair of the Thesis Committee and chair of the Qualifying Exam Committee cannot be the same person.

Graduate Advising

Yasasha Ridel , the Department of Astronomy’s Graduate Adviser, is available to answer your questions about the Astronomy graduate program and other department matters. 

Email: [email protected]  Office: 501 Campbell Hall

Graduate Faculty Adviser

Dan Weisz  is the Department of Astronomy’s Graduate Faculty Adviser. He is available to assist with a number of course and research matters that may arise as you begin your graduate career at Berkeley.

Email: [email protected]

Please contact him to set up times to meet.

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22 Universities in the USA offering Postgraduate Astrophysics degrees and courses

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Are you looking for Postgraduate courses in Astrophysics? Here you can find course providers offering full-time, part-time, online or distance learning options.

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The University of Arizona

THE World Ranking: 155

Iowa State University

THE World Ranking: 351

Rochester Institute of Technology

THE World Ranking: 801

Arizona State University (Kaplan International)

University of Arkansas

THE World Ranking: 601

Texas Christian University

University of North Dakota - School of Graduate Studies

University of California, Berkeley

THE World Ranking: 9

Vanderbilt University

THE World Ranking: 92

University of California, Los Angeles

THE World Ranking: 18

Pennsylvania State University Park Campus

THE World Ranking: 122

Indiana University Bloomington

THE World Ranking: 198

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Application Resources

Our Graduate Recruitment Committee (GRC) conducts a holistic review of all application materials for indicators that the applicant possesses the essential qualities that will contribute to the successful completion of our degree program. No single factor leads to either accepting or excluding an applicant from admission. Our admissions review process considers each applicant’s academic performance to date, the potential for meaningful research contributions, and persistence in and commitment to educational success.

Your Undergraduate Degree

Prior to matriculation into the Physics graduate program, the University requires all applicants to have completed a bachelor's degree from an accredited U.S. college or university or an international degree equivalent to a U.S. bachelor’s degree in both length and rigor. International applicants should refer to  this GIAC site  to ensure that their educational credentials meet The Graduate School's requirements. 

No minimum undergraduate GPA is required to apply, however, in order to receive funding, the University requires a minimum of a 3.00 GPA in all upper-division or advanced course work undertaken at the undergraduate level.

No specific course work is required prior to the application for admission.  Although , the educational grounding necessary for the program is the equivalent of a full undergraduate major in physics. This should include solid courses at the intermediate-level or beyond in: classical mechanics, electromagnetism, waves, thermal and statistical physics, and quantum mechanics, as well as some study of applications in the context of modern physics. If you majored in something other than physics as an undergraduate and would like help evaluating whether your background is sufficient, please see our page on this subject for more information. Additionally, research experience is not a requirement, but it is an undeniable asset.

Application   (required)

Please, note that the State of Texas maintains a unified application system for all public institutions of higher education in the state at:  ApplyTexas.org . All application materials are processed by GIAC prior to being referred to the Department for review. This site allows you to save your work and complete the application at your own pace.

To be considered, all applications and their accompanying materials must be submitted before the yearly application deadlines of:

• 11:59 p.m. CDT on 1 October  for Spring admission
• 11:59 p.m. CST on 1 December  for Fall admission.

We allow a grace period of precisely one (1) calendar week following each of the deadlines for the uploading of Letters of Recommendation by your recommenders.

The application fee must be paid as instructed by the GIAC website. The fee is $65 for United States citizens or permanent residents, and $90 for non-U.S. citizens. The Graduate School provides fee waivers to applicants who meet certain criteria. The Department is not involved in either the fee payment or fee waiver processes.

Statement of Purpose   (required)

The Statement of Purpose is not wholly equivalent to a ‘Personal Statement’ and should be no more than two pages in length. Instead, your Statement of Purpose may begin with a  brief  personal statement that amounts to  no more than one-third (1/3)  of your Statement as a whole. Please address any information that you believe your application would be incomplete without and that sheds more light on your unique potential to succeed in Physics and contribute to the University community and the field or profession.

Following, the  brief  personal statement, you should plan to answer—to some degree—the majority of the following questions:

• What are your current goals and expectations for graduate school? For your future career?
• What is your past research experience? What are your research interests? With whom might you plan to do your research at UT Physics?
• How have your educational, research, and/or professional experiences prepared you for pursuing a graduate degree in physics?

Should you choose to submit the GRE Subject Test in Physics (pGRE) scores—then the personal statement section of your Statement of Purpose must also make explicit your reasons for doing so (including the ways in which you believe these scores are essential to the success of your application as a whole). If you submit such scores and you do not include this information in your Statement of Purpose, then your scores will not be considered in our review of your application.

Letters of Recommendation   (required)

Three (3) Letters of Recommendation must be submitted via ApplyTexas. The Graduate Recruitment Committee will not review more than three (3) letters. Thus, it is essential that you choose your recommenders with the utmost care. All of your recommenders should be able to speak to your knowledge, skills, or achievements in some combination of the following broad areas: course work, research, background, and personal qualities. It is also wise to choose recommenders who have a degree of knowledge regarding your development toward graduate school over time.

The ApplyTexas application will prompt you to provide contact information for each of your recommenders as part of the “Academic References” section. Once you have submitted your application and paid the application fee, the system will then send an email to each of your recommenders containing an individualized link to an online portal where they must upload their Letter of Recommendation.

If your recommenders are unable to submit their letters through the online application, please contact GIAC at:  [email protected] . Letters of Recommendation that are mailed or emailed directly to the program will not be considered.

Transcripts   (required)

Official transcripts must be submitted and reviewed by GIAC. After satisfying the application fee, you must provide an official transcript from every senior college you have attended. Even if courses taken at one institution are recorded on another college's transcript, transcripts must be submitted from the institution at which the courses were taken. Failure to list all colleges on the application and provide those transcripts will be considered an intentional omission and may lead to the cancellation of your application for admission or withdrawal of your offer of admission.

Official transcripts bear the facsimile signature of the registrar and the seal of the issuing institution. Transcripts from U.S. colleges or universities must have been produced within the last calendar year and should include the award of degree printed on the transcript unless coursework is still in progress. Transcripts written in a language other than English must be accompanied by a translation. We do not accept outside evaluations of foreign transcripts. Each transcript (mark sheet) should contain a complete record of studies at the institution from which it is issued (i.e., the subjects taken and grades [marks] earned in each subject).

Please note the department is not involved in the transcript process prior to application review. For submission options based on the sending institution please review this  GIAC site . Questions regarding transcripts should be directed to   [email protected]  (Please do not send transcripts to this address).

Graduate Record Examination (GRE) Test Scores

The General Graduate Record Examination (GRE) is  not  required and  will not  be considered as part of your application if submitted.

The GRE Subject Test in Physics (pGRE) is optional; if you choose to submit a pGRE score you must make a clear case (in your required Statement of Purpose) for why you believe it is integral to your application, otherwise, it will not be considered, as described above under “The Statement of Purpose”.

We only accept scores officially and electronically reported to The University of Texas at Austin by the Educational Testing Service (ETS), our institution code is 6882.

English Proficiency Exams   (required of international applicants only)

In addition to completing the prescribed  graduate admissions  process, international students applying to The University of Texas at Austin must submit either an official  Test of English as a Foreign Language  (TOEFL) or  International English Language Testing System  (IELTS) score report demonstrating an adequate knowledge of English. The Institutional TOEFL (ITP) and the IELTS General Training, and alternatives ( ex: Duolingo ) are not accepted.

Scores must be sent to the university by the testing agency (self-reported scores are not accepted). The Educational Testing Service (ETS) institution code for UT Austin is 6882. There is no institutional code for the IELTS examination. To fulfill the requirement with scores from the IELTS, please use the IELTS electronic score delivery service to send your scores to the “University of Texas at Austin” account.

The minimum scores considered acceptable for admission by the Graduate School are TOEFL: 79 on the Internet-based test (iBT); IELTS: An overall band of 6.5 on the Academic Examination. Do not be discouraged from submitting an application if you do not meet these minimum scores.

International applicants who are from a  qualifying country  are exempt from this requirement. Additionally, applicants are exempt from the requirement if they possess a bachelor’s degree from a U.S. institution or a  qualifying country .  The requirement is not waived for applicants who have earned a master's—but not a bachelor's—degree from a similar institution.  For more information, please visit  this GIAC site .

MyStatus Website   (for everyone)

The University of Texas at Austin utilizes the online  MyStatus site  as your hub for the remainder of your application after ApplyTexas submission. This process is electronic and centralized, as such, please  do not  send any application materials directly to the department.

In an effort to increase security, multi-factor authentication (Duo) will be required to access most online services that require a UT EID login. Please make sure to  set up Duo  prior to attempting to log in to  MyStatus . Once logged on, your application will have one of the following statuses:

• Incomplete – review list of missing application items, must be completed by the deadline!
• In Review – application received by the department; you are now on the waitlist!
• Admitted – have been offered admission!
• Denied – have been denied admission.

After 1 May of every year, all remaining applications with Incomplete and In Review status begin to be closed out by the department. For more information, please email  [email protected] .

Where to Find More Information   (for everyone)

For more detailed information on our various research groups, please see Explore Our Graduate Program page. For additional information regarding our program as a whole, please consult the same website (including the FAQ page).

UT Application Process Overview:

• Where to Begin provides introductory information regarding UT Austin programs and degrees offered, cost of attendance, admissions and enrollment statistics, and eligibility for admission.
• How to Apply helps you decide which type of application is for you and provides logistical details such as application fees & official score submission procedures.
• ApplyTexas is where you will start your application before the deadline.
• MyStatus is your portal for all application documents & status updates during the admissions process  after  your ApplyTexas submission. 

Please note: Admitted Master’s applicants are not awarded financial support regardless of semester.

Following your circuit through the above websites, if you then have additional questions concerning our department, its research entities, and/or the admissions process, we would be more than happy to answer them, please contact us directly at:  [email protected] . In our effort to provide you with the best possible experience, when corresponding with our office  always  include your full name and either your Applicant ID (before submitting your application) or your EID (which you will receive after ApplyTexas submission)—the EID is always preferred.

Frequently Asked Questions

Below is a compilation of the most commonly received questions regarding the Graduate Program, Admissions, and other graduate-related topics. Additional resource sites & contacts are provided below . If your question is not addressed here or in the other areas of this site, please email us at [email protected] .

Please note, the Department of Physics at The University of Texas at Austin no longer requires the General GRE and the GRE Subject Test in Physics (pGRE) is now optional.

Should you choose to submit the pGRE—then the personal statement section of your Statement of Purpose must also make explicit your reasons for doing so (including how you believe these scores are essential to the success of your application as a whole). If you submit such scores and you do not include this information in your Statement of Purpose, then your scores will not be considered in our review of your application.

No. We also do not make admissions comments should you send CVs or other application materials prior to applying.

Due to the high volume of requests and applicants (approximately 500 a year), we cannot provide you with an estimate of your chances for admission. Admission is highly competitive and is more so for international students due to the higher volume of applicants and fewer admissions. For Fall 2020 admission, we had 182 international applicants and only accepted 42 for admission. For U.S. applicants, there were 172 applicants, and 50 were admitted. A total of 92 were admitted with 26 new students enrolling (11 international and 15 U.S. students).

Our Graduate Recruitment Committee will begin to review applications in mid-January. Decisions should take place in l ate February for U.S. applicants and early to mid-March for International applicants. Please be patient as we review your materials. If you submitted a full application (application fee, official test scores, online application, etc.), you may check on your status through your MyStatus check page. The Department sends acceptance and financial aid award letters only to those who are admitted.

No, our admissions process is now completely online. All application materials should be submitted electronically through the MyStatus portal .

No, our admissions process is now completely paperless. All application materials should be submitted electronically through the MyStatus portal .

No. Please email us at [email protected] for further guidance.

Once you have submitted your application, you can use our self-service feature on the “My Status” website to re-send the Request for Reference email to your recommenders, if necessary. You can also use this site to supply an alternate email if your recommender’s spam filter blocks the original request, or, has removed the link. You can also add a new recommender and send the Request for Reference email or revise your FERPA (right to view) status from retained to waived.

Yes, however, please note we do not offer any financial support to Master’s applicants.

No. Most of our Ph.D. students do not earn a Master’s while en route to the Ph.D. There is an oral examination given in the third year of the program, and students also apply for Ph.D. candidacy later in that year, but this is not to earn a Master’s degree, but simply to advance in the program. If a student is making poor academic progress, he or she will often take a Master’s degree and leave before completing the Ph.D. Only about 1–2 students per year need to take the Masters' in this manner.

No, please review our main admissions page to review what is currently required. Should you need to send GRE and TOEFL scores to the University of Texas, please use university code 6882 through the ETS system.

There is no institutional code for the IELTS examination, please use the IELTS electronic score delivery service to send your scores to the “University of Texas at Austin” account.

International applicants who are from a qualifying country are exempt from this requirement. Additionally, applicants are exempt from the requirement if they possess a bachelor’s degree from a U.S. institution or a qualifying country . The requirement is not waived for applicants who have earned a master's—but not a bachelor's—degree from a similar institution.

Log into My Status to review the status of all your application materials.

It should be OK if your scores arrive within a couple of weeks after the deadline. Any longer than this and we may begin the review process, and your scores will not be in your file in time. We still review your other items, but this will hurt your chances if scores are missing.

No, we can only accept scores officially reported to us electronically by ETS (code: 6882).

No. You may see a major code for Applied Physics on the online application, but please do not choose this major code. We simply do not have many courses in this area on a Ph.D. level. You might want to consider applying to an Engineering area at UT Austin instead.

Physics Department Contacts

Graduate Admissions Coordinator [email protected]

Physics Graduate Recruitment Committee Dierdre Shoemaker, Professor of Physics [email protected]

Graduate Advisor Richard Fitzpatrick, Professor of Physics [email protected] PMA 11.226 • (512) 560-7295

Graduate Program Coordinator Matt Ervin [email protected] PMA 7.326 • (512) 471-1664

Physics Graduate Representatives [email protected]

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New Map of Quasars

Astronomers Unveil Largest-Ever Map of Universe’s Active Supermassive Black Holes

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Researchers Show Classical Computers Can Keep Up with, and Surpass, Their Quantum Counterparts

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The Center for Cosmology and Particle Physics researches fundamental questions at the intersection of particle physics, astrophysics and cosmology

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Department of Physics

Undergraduate, frequently asked questions, prospective students, contact information, global ph.d, master of science, ph.d. completion, suggested timeline, physics colloquia.

Apr. 18, 2024

Colloquium -- john eiler: body temperatures of dinosaurs.

Mar. 28, 2024

Colloquium -- arjun yodh: imaging and spectroscopy of (mostly) brain with diffusing light.

Mar. 14, 2024

Colloquium -- abhay narayan pasupathy: teaching an old dog some new tricks.

More Physics Videos

Aug. 14, 2024

The physics department congratulates prof. glennys farrar on being elected to the prestigious american academy of arts and sciences..

Jul. 08, 2024

Congratulations to professor shabani, awarded the darpa synthetic quantum nanostructures (synquanon) grant 2024 to lead a multi-instituional endeavor to develop integrated low-noise, high-temperature, high-frequency josephson-array quantum devices and qubits..

Jun. 18, 2024

Congratulations to professor alexandra zidovska, for winning the nyu college of arts and science golden dozen teaching award 2023-2024..

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Amplifying Voices: The Journey to a PhD through the Lens of Black Women in Physics, Part One

Join us for an insightful webinar led by APS Innovation Fund grant recipients. This session will delve into a qualitative study aimed at collecting and amplifying the experiences of Black women in physics graduate programs to identify key priorities for departmental change. Learn about the Photovoice methodology and explore the powerful images and themes representing the participants’ journeys. The presenters will also highlight key recommendations for creating inclusive academic environments.

Register for the next webinar (November 20, 2024) to continue the conversation.

Jacquelyn Chini, PhD

Dr. Jackie Chini is an associate professor of physics at Ohio State University. She completed her BA in physics at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey, and her PhD at Kansas State University in Manhattan, Kansas. Jackie's research, funded by the National Science Foundation and an Innovation Fund grant from the American Physical Society (APS), explores how practices and attitudes in the physics community work to broaden or narrow participation.

Camille A. Coffie, PhD

Camille, a native of Texas, grew up in Oak Cliff, a neighborhood in southern Dallas. There, she learned to overcome adversity and face numerous challenges. Camille earned a PhD in Physics from the University of Central Florida and a bachelor's degree in physics from Spelman College in Atlanta and recently returned there as a full-time Lecturer. Her research focuses on fostering inclusive and supportive learning environments in physics for underrepresented groups, including Black women and individuals with disabilities.

L. Trenton Marsh, PhD

L. Trenton S. Marsh is an Assistant Professor of Urban Education at the University of Central Florida. He earned his PhD at NYU’s Steinhardt School. His research focuses on understanding historically minoritized students’ experiences within education settings, engaging youth and communities to inform practices and micro-level policies; and examining how institutional policies may influence marginalized individuals’ lives.

Itunu Ilesanmi, MSW, MPA, PhD

Itunu Ilesanmi is an Assistant Professor at the University of Northern Iowa. She obtained her BSW in Social Work from Babcock University, an MSW and MPA degrees from Savannah State University, and a PhD in Public Affairs (with a concentration in Social Work) from the University of Central Florida. Her research focuses on the reintegration and resettlement processes in disaster recovery for conflict-affected and climate-related returnees and migrants using qualitative research approaches.

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University raises stipend minimum again for PhD students

Dear Purdue graduate students,

We write to provide you an update on our continued efforts to support and invest in your education and efforts to drive our university forward. In the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars, not only do daily support functions continue, but new programs and additional resources are also deployed.

Beginning with Fall semester, on August 12, 2024, the new minimum stipend will increase to $28,000 for FY appointments.

As this universitywide minimum applies to both TAs and RAs, a university fund will be available for faculty whose current funded projects do not permit rebudgeting to apply for potential bridge funds.

This latest investment, when combined with the previously announced investment over the last two years, will have raised the minimum stipend by about 35%, bringing the university increase in graduate student support to $22 million.

Even with this new minimum, we expect around 80% of graduate students will receive stipends above that amount. We are also engaging with each college for a careful review to achieve competitive stipend levels for their respective disciplines.

The university will also be supporting a new Presidential Excellence PhD Award to assist with recruiting top students. These awards will be a $10,000 supplement on top of a base stipend over a period of four years. Recipients of the award are expected to maintain satisfactory academic and research progress as defined by their academic unit and research advisor and to participate in professional development and mentoring activities organized for award recipients. Each year 100 new awards will be offered. Colleges’ allocations will be proportional to their PhD student enrollment.

In total, the university now invests $229 million in graduate student stipends and fellowships. 

We are also pleased to announce the anticipated launch in January of a training module for graduate students on freedom of expression and free inquiry. More information, including frequently asked questions, will be posted to the Human Resources and Vice Provost for Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars websites.

Again, we thank you for your contributions to excellence at scale at Purdue University.

Patrick Wolfe Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs and Diversity

Eric L. Barker Jeannie and Jim Chaney Dean of Pharmacy and Professor Associate Provost for Graduate Programs (acting)

More Purdue News

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June 28, 2024

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Lecturer in Geology, Physics and Environmental Science Department

• Evansville, Indiana, United States
• Faculty (Part-Time)

Title: Lecturer in Geology, Physics and Environmental Science Department

Division: Provost's Office

Department: Pott College of Science, Engineering, & Education

FLSA Status:  Exempt

Salary Range:  Per Lecturer Pay Schedule

EEO Job Group:  2 C7

Position Summary

The Pott College of Science, Engineering, and Education seeks part-time lecturers for environmental science, geography, meteorology, and physics in the Geology and Physics department.

Required Knowledge and Skills

Part-time lecturers are required to have a minimum of a master’s degree in their field or 18 graduate hours within the discipline.

About the Department

For more information about the department, please visit https://www.usi.edu/science/geology-and-physics

• Letter of application/cover letter
• Current curriculum vitae/resume
• Unofficial transcripts showing the highest degree earned

Pre-Employment Screening

A background check will be required for employment in this position.

Authorization to Work in the United States

USI will not sponsor an employment-related visa for this position.

Interview Accommodations

Persons with disabilities requiring accommodations in the application and interview process please contact the manager of Employment at [email protected] or (812) 464-1840. Contacting the manager of Employment is intended for use in seeking disability-related accommodations only. For general applicant inquiries, contact Human Resources at [email protected] or (812) 464-1815.

EEO Statement

The University of Southern Indiana is an EEO/AA employer. All individuals including minorities, women, individuals with disabilities and veterans are encouraged to apply.

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NSF grant supports science to policy program

UC Riverside has received a nearly half-million-dollar grant from the National Science Foundation to build on a program training graduate students in science communication and create a national framework for science policy training. For six years, the Science to Policy program , or S2P, has offered a certificate course providing students the tools and skills to effectively communicate with policymakers and promote science-informed public policy. The $498,498 grant, which starts Oct. 1, builds on the certificate program with the “Science to Policy: Operationalizing Knowledge from Education to Society,” or SPOKES, project, which will be developed over three years. Science to Policy director Susan Hackwood will lead a team piloting a new version of the certificate course that will include UCR-designed science-policy learning modules and host an annual summit with policy professionals. Those experts will help refine the certificate training course and result in the publication of a framework that is expected to establish a national standard for science to policy education that can be shared with other institutions.

Hackwood has a long history of working to improve science policy training. She was founding dean of the Marlan and Rosemary Bourns College of Engineering, or BCOE, in 1990 and, as executive director of the California Council on Science and Technology, she established a science and technology policy fellowship program for recent doctoral graduates. Hackwood said there’s a need to help graduate students leverage their research skills and technical knowledge in the policy world where scientific issues and national or regional challenges converge. Doing so provides students more career opportunities and brings more scientific knowledge to key policy issues, she said. “This grant will give us the means of assessing the value of the S2P initiative, using formative and summative evaluation methods,” Hackwood said. “There will also be strong push from the UC system to do this on other campuses and to take the model nationwide.” Along with Hackwood, the project leaders include Richard Carpiano, a professor of public policy and faculty director forS2P; Richard Edwards, director of the XCITE Center for Teaching and Learning; Annika Speer, professor of teaching in the Department of Theatre, Film, and Digital Production; and Benjamin Stewart, director of special initiatives for BCOE. Rep. Mark Takano, D-Riverside, who has hosted multiple S2P fellows in his office, congratulated UCR on the recognition and thanked Hackwood for spearheading the program. “The University of California, Riverside’s Science to Policy program prepares STEM professionals to shape public policy,” he said. “Their bold vision has earned them a nearly half-million-dollar grant from the National Science Foundation to expand their work. Legislators need the expertise of professionals to tackle challenges like legislating AI, pushing a climate conscious environmental plan, and preparing for the future of innovation.”

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