Beginning the Graduate Program

Upon arrival, new students will receive a department orientation from the Graduate Program Coordinator, Director of Graduate Studies, Associate Department Head, and Department Head. Office assignments will be made in advance and office computers will be provided by the Research Infrastructure Support Group. Building access requires a student ID (CatCard) and other keys will be provided by Michelle Cournoyer in the Academic Office, room N204. Office supplies such as pens, pencils, and pads of paper, are available from the Academic Office. For general advice be sure to ask the other graduate students. 

Students normally register for classes by using the UAccess Student on-line computer registration system, though Michelle Cournoyer generally handles registration for incoming students and handles all registration for ASTR 900 (research) and 920 (dissertation).  All Graduate Teaching and Research Assistants must register for at least six units of graduate credit per semester. These can include Independent Research or Dissertation, when appropriate. Tuition and health insurance are covered, but students will have to pay miscellaneous fees (about $700). All students are encouraged to apply for fellowships and scholarships.

Grading in graduate courses is different than in undergraduate courses. Graduate students must maintain a GPA of 3.0 or higher to avoid academic probation, so a grade of C or below is below the expected standard. The primary goal of graduate coursework is to master the broad range of astrophysical knowledge covered by our courses, so course grades are a secondary concern, but there is some correlation between grades and understanding. Coursework is an important part of the first years of your graduate career and should be given significant attention. For a first-year student taking eight or so credit hours of courses, the student might well be spending 50% of his/her work time on course work (both in class and out). That would leave 40% for research and 10% on miscellany such as attending colloquia, journal club, etc. Of course, this is just a rough guide, and exceptions will certainly be the rule here. Graduate students do not normally teach during the first two years when they are taking core courses. 

Research advisors can be chosen from the ranks of research or teaching faculty at Steward Observatory. Members of the faculty of the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, Planetary Sciences, Physics, Optical Science, and staff members at the National Optical Astronomy Observatory may also serve as student research advisors. New students who are not on a Fellowship must tell Michelle Cournoyer by mid-September who their advisor will be. If for some reason a student does not have an advisor at that point, he or she will be assigned one.

Sometimes a student will be unable to obtain a research assistantship with their first choice of advisor because that person does not have the time or funding resources. (Fellowship students can work with anyone as long as the advisor has the time.) In such cases, we can remind the students that they are encouraged to pursue several different research projects during their graduate careers, and that a faculty member who is initially unavailable may later become a collaborator or supervisor. In addition, there are ample opportunities for research projects as independent study projects (without salary) or with faculty, staff or postdocs who are not their research supervisors.