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The Astronomy Department's graduate program emphasizes research at the frontiers of astrophysics. Areas of concentration are theoretical, observational, and instrumentational astronomy.
The Graduate Program of the University of Arizona Department of Astronomy and Steward Observatory trains students to become independent scientists with the knowledge and skills to conduct and communicate world-class astronomical research. A Ph.D. in Astronomy and Astrophysics from the University of Arizona signifies a student’s excellence in research, which is demonstrated through a significant, original, and scholarly contribution to astrophysical knowledge. We admit graduate students who have met high standards of achievement and shown potential for conducting original research, with the expectation that they will succeed in attaining a doctoral degree in astronomy and astrophysics. The academic program is structured in support of this goal, emphasizing research throughout the graduate career; providing mentoring from individual advisors and our interactive community of students, postdocs, scientists, and faculty. Students will gain firsthand experience with the tools and facilities that define the state of the art in our field.
College of Science
University of Arizona - Main - Tucson
3 letters of recommendation. Recommender name, title, and contact information including e-mail address required as part of the online application.
Transcripts from all Colleges and Universities attended. Unofficial transcripts are required to be scanned and uploaded to the online application.
Statement of Purpose uploaded to the online application. (Page Requirements: 1-2 pages)
Resume or Curriculum Vitae uploaded to the online application.
International Students must submit an English Proficiency Exam. The exams can be found at the following link: https://grad.arizona.edu/admissions/requirements/international-applicants#english-proficiency
Required test(s): None
Recommended GRE Subject tests: None
Minimum English Proficiency Exam scores: 79 iBT TOEFL, 7 IELTS, 60 Pearson PTE, or 110 CESL
(English Proficiency tests must be dated within two years of the enrollment term to be considered valid.
Full support as a Teaching or Research Assistant is guaranteed for five years at least, as long as the student makes satisfactory progress toward their degree.
Domestic Applicants:
International Applicants:
International applicants will not be considered for conditional admission by this program.
4832
ETS Major Field Code(s) for this program: 4832
63
ASTR 589 (3 units): Physics of Astrophysics
ASTR 501 (1 unit): Introduction to Computing
ASTR 541 (3 units): Cosmology
ASTR 545 (3 units): Stars and Planets
ASTR 513 (3 units): Statistical and Computational Methods
ASTR 540 (2 units): Structure & Dynamics of Galaxies
ASTR 515 (2 units): Interstellar Medium & Star Formation
ASTR 518 (2 units): Instrumentation
8-9 units of graded elective/seminars (see below)ASTR 502. Data Mining and Machine Learning in Astronomy (2)
ASTR 503. Physics of the Solar System (3 units)
ASTR 516. Modern Astronomical Optics (3)
ASTR 520. Seminar on Advanced Extragalactic Astronomy (2)
ASTR/PTYS 550. Planets (3)
ASTR 553. Solar System Dynamics (3)
ASTR 560. Seminar with a Focus on Stellar Evolution from an Observational Perspective (2)
ASTR 569. Introduction to General Relativity (3)
ASTR 575. Astrobiology (3)
ASTR 578. Writing in Astronomy (3)
ASTR 582. High Energy Astrophysics (3)
ASTR 585. Radio Astronomy (3)
ASTR 588. Astrochemistry (3)
ASTR 589. Topics in Theoretical Astrophysics (3)
ASTR 596B. Methods in Computational Astrophysics (3)
PTYS 558. Plasma Physics with Astrophysical and Solar System Applications (3)
as well as other related courses in Planetary Sciences, Optics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Mathematics, Engineering, and Computer Sciences.
By the end of the third semester, the student should have completed the core Ph.D. qualification requirement, which consists of seven graduate astronomy core courses, with a grade of C or better in each course. The student's overall GPA must remain 3.0 or above to hold either a research or teaching assistantship. A GPA of 3.0 is also a graduation requirement for either a Masters or Ph.D. in Astronomy.
Core courses will always be taken for letter grades by Astronomy students, but may be taken for Pass/Fail credit, with instructor approval, by students from other departments. Electives and seminars may be taken for Pass/Fail credit, subject to the limitation of no more than two Pass/Fail courses per semester and the overall constraint of having taken a sufficient number of credits in letter-graded courses.
The astronomy department allows graduate students whose Ph.D. major is in another department to minor in astronomy. We require that they pass nine units of coursework that the department considers acceptable for this purpose, preferably "core" courses, and that one astronomy faculty member participate in the preliminary and final oral exams.
See the Graduate Catalogue and the "Handbook for Completing the Steps to Your Degree" for more information. These publications also contain requirements involving the dissertation, as does also the Manual for Theses and Dissertations.
Please refer to the Graduate Student Handbook for students who are pursuing this program of study.
| Program-level Information | |
|---|---|
| Application Acceptance Rate | 7.38% |
| Avg. Time-to-degree (years) | 6.02 |
| Department-level Information | |
| Enrollment Percent Male | 50% |
| Enrollment Percent Female | 50% |
| Enrollment Percent International | 32.69% |
| Enrollment Percent URM | 7.69% |