Prospective Graduate Student Information

GRADUATE STUDIES

Dear Prospective Graduate Student:

Thank you for your interest in our graduate program in Astronomy & Astrophysics. We have an exciting and productive program; our online Department Brochure includes information about the graduate program, including research highlights, faculty profiles, the graduate curriculum, financial aid, and details about the University community and its environs.

Penn State offers both Ph.D. and M.S. degrees in Astronomy and Astrophysics. The graduate program typically has an enrollment of about 25 students, and an average yearly intake of 3-4 students. Graduate students at Penn State have remarkable opportunities to do research on a broad range of topics in theoretical and observational astronomy, as well as in our extensive instrumentation programs.

After fulfillment of the Department and University requirements for being granted a Ph.D., our graduates go on to a wide range of employment opportunities, such as postdoctoral and faculty appointments at major academic institutions and national laboratories, research positions in computational environments associated with space missions, and faculty appointments at teaching colleges.

Admission to the graduate program is quite competitive. All students must have a Bachelor's degree in Physics, Astronomy, or an allied area upon their arrival, and a minimum Junior-Senior GPA of 3.0 is expected.

To apply for graduate studies in the Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics at Penn State University:

Complete our electronic application form
E-mail us a brief (1 or 2 page) narrative statement explaining your interest and/or background in astronomy, and how graduate study at Penn State fits into your career plans. If you believe your grades or standardized test scores are not an accurate measure of your ability or achievement, you may wish to include that in your statement. This statement can be in Microsoft Word, acrobat pdf, postscript or plain ascii. Alternatively, you can send this statement to the Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics at the address below.
Download and print out our Letter of Recommentation form. Give copies of the form to three people familiar with your qualifications for graduate school. The letters should be returned to the address below.
Have an official transcript (or photocopy) of your undergraduate grades sent to the Department of Astronomy & Astrophysics at the address below. Transcripts not in English must be accompanied by a translation.
Arrange for us to receive your scores from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE) . Students must have taken the general test, and an Advanced test in Physics or a related discipline. Scores of 720 or more on the general test, and 680 or more on the Advanced test are treated more favorably, but admission is based on the overall strength of the student's application.
Students coming from non-English speaking undergraduate institutions must also arrange for us to receive scores from the TOEFL (Test Of English as a Foreign Language) examination. A score of at least 620 on the paper test or 260 on the computer based test are viewed most faborably, but a lower score does not exclude consideration.

Note: AFTER you are accepted to graduate school in our department, you will also need to complete a Penn State Graduate School web application form. This will get you into the University system. At this time, Penn State will also ask you for an application fee. You DO NOT need to pay this fee--our Department will pay the fee for you.

In order for an application to be given fullest consideration, all application materials must arrive by January 20. Late applications may also be considered, but first consideration for admission and financial aid will be given to those which arrive by the deadline. Typically, first year students are awarded teaching assistantships and full tuition is waived. Exceptional applicants can merit additional fellowship awards.

For more information about our graduate program or our application procedures, please contact the following people:

Robin Ciardullo, Director, Graduate Admissions
SherryDawn Jackson, Staff Assistant

Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics
The Pennsylvania State University
525 Davey Lab
University Park, PA 16802

phone: (814) 865-0418
fax: (814) 863-2842

e-mail

We hope sincerely that you will apply to our program!

Larry Ramsey Robin Ciardullo
Department Head Director, Graduate Admissions