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Courses

The Astronomy Graduate Program curriculum is designed to provide students with broad intellectual and skills training necessary for research and careers in both astronomy and related fields.  Students are required to take 10 graduate courses (38 units total): 7 Core courses (including teaching instruction) and 3 Elective courses. In addition, students must complete two (2) quarters (8 units) of PHYA 296 (Second Year Independent Research) prior to their Qualification Exam. These course requirements must be completed by the end of the second year, unless an approved exception is made by the Astronomy Graduate Degree Program.

Core A: Students are required to complete each of the following four (4) courses for a letter grade, with the exception of PHYA 500/PHYS 500 which must be passed with an S:

  • PHYA 200: Survey of Astronomy (4 units)
  • PHYA 201: Radiative Processes in Astrophysics (4 units)
  • PHYA 202: Astrophysical Fluid Dynamics (4 units)
  • PHYS 500: Teaching Instruction (2 units)

Core B: Students are required to complete three (3) of the following five (5) courses for a letter grade:

  • PHYA 222: Planets and Exoplanets (4 units)
  • PHYA 223: Stellar Structure and Evolution (4 units)
  • PHYA 224: Physics of the Interstellar Medium (4 units)
  • PHYA 226: Galaxies (4 units)
  • PHYS 227: Cosmology (4 units)

Electives: Students are required to complete three (3) courses (not overlapping with those listed above) among the following courses for a letter grade:

  • PHYA 222: Planets and Exoplanets (4 units)
  • PHYA 223: Stellar Structure and Evolution (4 units)
  • PHYA 224: Physics of the Interstellar Medium (4 units)
  • PHYA 226: Galaxies (4 units)
  • PHYS 227: Cosmology (4 units)
  • PHYS 228: Compact Objects (4 units)
  • PHYA 229: Astronomical Instrumentation and Observational Techniques (4 units)
  • PHYA 230: Computational Astrophysics (4 units)
  • PHYA 231: Astrophysical Kinetics (4 unit)
  • PHYA 232: Astrostatistics (4 units)
  • PHYA 233: Astrophysical Dynamics (4 units)
  • PHYA 234: Astrophysical Plasmas (4 units)
  • PHYA 238: Observational Astrophysics Lab (4 units)
  • PHYS 225A: General Relativity I (4 units)
  • PHYS 225B: General Relativity II (4 units)
  • PHYS 244: Parallel Computing (4 units)
  • Any one (1) graduate-level course in PHYS, CSE, MAE, SIO, CHEM, DSE, subject to
    approval by the student’s Academic Advisor and Vice Chair for Astronomy.

In addition, students will also be required to complete two (2) quarters (8 units) of PHYA 296: Second-Year Research in Astronomy (4 units) with a Satisfactory (S) grade in preparation for the Qualifying Exam.

After qualification, the student will be required to enroll in PHYA 298 (pre-candidacy) and PHYA 299 (post-candidacy) Independent Research credits.

Visit the course catalog for a more detailed description of each of the courses.