Students are required to successfully complete 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 recommended in the first year. Core courses are to be completed in the first three semesters. 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 requirements, 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 sixth semester, students typically will 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. Electives may also be taken in later semesters, if relevant courses are offered later in a student’s career. 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. Students on fellowships who have completed their coursework may be eligible to enroll for fewer credits and maintain fulltime student status. They should consult with the business office and Director of Graduate Studies.
Typical Graduate Plan
| Fall Semester | Spring Semester |
|---|---|
|
First Year |
|
|
ASTR 589 (3 units): Physics of Astrophysics |
ASTR 541 (3 units): Cosmology |
|
ASTR 501 (1 unit): Introduction to Computing |
ASTR 545 (3 units): Stars and Planets |
|
ASTR 513 (3 units): Statistical and Computational Methods |
ASTR 900 (at least 4 units): Research |
|
ASTR 900 (at least 3 units): Research |
|
|
Second Year |
|
|
ASTR 540 (2 units): Structure & Dynamics of Galaxies |
Elective (3 units) and/or Seminar (2) as needed |
|
ASTR 515 (2 units): Interstellar Medium & Star Formation |
ASTR 900 (at least 4 units:) Research |
|
ASTR 518 (2 units): Instrumentation |
|
|
ASTR 900 (at least 4 units): Research |
|
|
Third Year |
|
|
Elective (3 units) and/or Seminar (2) as needed |
Elective (3 units) and/or Seminar (2) as needed |
|
ASTR 920: Dissertation |
ASTR 920: Dissertation |
|
Fourth Year |
|
|
ASTR 920: Dissertation |
ASTR 920: Dissertation |
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 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.