Course Requirements

Students are required to complete successfully the 7 "core" courses in astronomy: Physics of Astrophysics (Astronomy 589), Statistical and Computational Methods (513), Cosmology (541), Stars & Planets (545), ISM & Star Formation (515), Galaxies (540), and Instrumentation (518). An introductory computing course is also required in the first year. Core courses are to be completed in the first three semeters. In addition, students are required to take another eight graded credits of non-core courses. The student can fulfill the non-core requirement by choosing from a wide range of 3 credit elective and 1-2 credit seminars that will be offered in the fall and spring semesters. Students can also satisfy the non-core requirement by taking courses offered by other departments, including Physics, Lunar and Planetary, Biology, Chemistry, Electrical Engineering, and Optical Sciences. Courses below the 500 level are not acceptable for graduate credit.

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.

By the end of the sixth semester, students should have taken 18 units of graded core courses, 8-9 units of graded elective/seminars, and 19-20 units of Independent Research (Astronomy 900) and/or other elective/seminars for a total of 45 units. By the end of their graduate career, students should have taken an additional 18 units of dissertation credits (Astronomy 920) for a total of 63 units.

Example Electives and Seminars
 

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.

Typical Graduate Plan Under Previous Curriculum

Students who entered before the Fall of 2020 will complete the curriculum that was in place when they entered. Its description and requirements are preserved below.

Students are required to complete successfully the 5 "core" courses in astronomy: ISM & Star Formation (Astronomy 515), Stars & Accretion (545), Cosmology (541), Galaxies (540), and Instrumentation & Statistics (518). In addition, students are required to take another eight graded credits of non-core courses. Core courses are taken during the first two fall semesters. The student can fulfill the non-core requirement by choosing from a wide range of 3 credit elective and 1-2 credit seminars that are typically offered in the spring semesters and coordinated with the core courses offered the previous semester. Students can also satisfy the non-core requirement by taking courses offered by other departments, including Physics, Lunar and Planetary, Biology, Chemistry, Electrical Engineering, and Optical Sciences. Courses below the 500 level are not acceptable for graduate credit.

By the end of the third semester, the student should have completed the core Ph.D. qualification requirement, which consists of five 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.

By the end of the fifth semester, students should have taken 16 units of graded core courses, 8-9 units of graded elective/seminars, and 20-21 units of Independent Research (Astronomy 900) and/or other elective/seminars for a total of 45 units. By the end of their graduate career, students should have taken an additional 18 units of dissertation credits (Astronomy 920) for a total of 63 units.