A Historic Milestone: Department of Astronomy Celebrates Its Largest Graduating Class Ever

When the University of Arizona awarded its first Bachelor of Science in Astronomy in 1929, no one could have imagined that nearly a century later, the department would celebrate 38 students earning that same degree in a single year. On May 15, 2026, the U of A Department of Astronomy will do exactly that — marking the largest B.S. graduating class in its history.

In total, the May 2026 commencement will see 53 degrees conferred in astronomy and astrophysics: 9 Ph.D.s in Astronomy & Astrophysics, 38 Bachelor of Science degrees in Astronomy, 6 minors in Astronomy, and 6 minors in Astronomical Studies. It is, by any measure, a historic moment for the department.

The record-breaking class size is no accident. Over the past decade, the department has made deliberate, sustained changes to its undergraduate program to better support students from their first year through graduation. The result is visible in the caliber and ambition of this year's graduating cohort.

What sets the U of A's astronomy program apart is something that has become increasingly essential in the 21st century: undergraduate research experience. Admission to graduate programs in astronomy and astrophysics now effectively requires hands-on research, and Tucson — home to Steward Observatory, the Lunar and Planetary Laboratory, and a thriving optical sciences community — offers research opportunities that few universities can match. This environment has drawn talented students to the program and helped them thrive.

According to Thomas Fleming, Director of Undergraduate Studies for the Department of Astronomy, the undergraduate degree in astronomy from U of A is, at its core, a rigorous physics degree — one of very few such physics-intensive undergraduate astronomy degrees offered at any American university. That distinction opens doors well beyond academia, with graduates well-prepared for careers in the private sector, government, and technology industries, in addition to graduate study.

The Class of 2026: In Their Own Words

The students crossing the stage this May represent the full breadth of what modern astronomy looks like — with research interests ranging from black hole simulations and exoplanet atmospheres to gravitational wave detectors and rocket instrumentation.

Vadim Bernshteyn came to the University of Arizona almost by chance — a family detour through Tucson on the way to Saguaro National Park led to a quick search that changed the course of his life. He went on to work with Dr. Chi-kwan Chan on numerical simulations for the Event Horizon Telescope, the international collaboration that produced the first-ever images of black holes. He published his research in a peer-reviewed journal and will continue his studies in a Ph.D. program at Princeton University. "Being an undergraduate student is a perfect opportunity to explore," he says. "You never know what would turn out to be the right fit."

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Chase Cooper arrived at Steward Observatory by an equally unexpected path — he was a linguistics major when he took a job as a teaching assistant for an introductory astronomy course. The experience rekindled a love of space that never left. In three years at Steward, Cooper published a first-author research paper on exoplanet characterization and atmospheric modeling of potentially habitable worlds. He heads to graduate school this fall. His advice to future students: "Making friends with the people in your major was incredibly important to me... having those folks to commiserate with, and succeed with, makes a world of difference."

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Suhani Surana graduates with not one but three bachelor's degrees — in Astronomy, Physics, and Computer Science. She characterized spectroscopic binary star systems using the Habitable-Zone Planet Finder spectrograph, published her findings in the Astronomical Journal, and presented her work at the American Astronomical Society's winter meeting. This fall, she stays in Tucson to begin her Ph.D. in Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Arizona. "Challenge yourself each day and work really hard towards your goals," she says. "Trust me, it is worth it."

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Emma Vertachnik grew up with astronomy as her favorite corner of science, and her time at Steward gave her the chance to pursue it seriously. Her honors thesis focused on nitric oxide emission in starless cores — the cold, dense regions of space where stars are just beginning to form. She also worked hands-on with the 21-inch telescope on campus. She will attend a graduate program at Carnegie Mellon University. "Take chances," she says, "because you never know where they might lead."

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Hayden Marchinek came to astrophysics through a love of building things — a passion that led him from LEGO sets to robotics to rocket instrumentation. As a NASA Space Grant Intern, he helped develop the SHIMCO sounding rocket. He also contributed software tools for the Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration and spent his honors thesis designing a component of a proposed particle collider. He will begin his Ph.D. in Astrophysics at Montana State University, studying neutron star formation and contributing to the calibration of the LIGO gravitational wave detector. His advice: "Don't be afraid to test a solution, no matter how unlikely it may seem."

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Looking Ahead

The Class of 2026 heads out into a world hungry for scientists, engineers, data analysts, and critical thinkers. Whether pursuing Ph.D.s at institutions like Princeton, Carnegie Mellon, Montana State, and the University of Arizona itself, or entering the workforce with one of the most technically rigorous undergraduate degrees available, these graduates carry with them the training, the research experience, and the curiosity that defines a Steward astronomer.

The Department of Astronomy congratulates each and every one of them — and looks forward to seeing where the universe takes them next.