INTELLECTUALLY RICH  |  VIBRANT  |  CHALLENGING
 

“One of the most important metrics and barometers of the success of our department is the quality of our graduate students. Our alumni carry the UCSC label throughout their entire career; advertising for decades and the whole world to see how well we can attract top talent and how well we educate the young scientists who chose us.”
~ Sandra Faber, University Professor, Department Chair

COME STUDY THE UNIVERSE WITH US!

Graduate Student Bulent Kiziltan lecture/seminar at the American Univeristy in Cairo.

At the American Univeristy in Cairo, grad student Bulent Kiziltan presents "Constraints on Pulsar Evolution".

Astronomy Graduate Students 2008-09

Galaxy NGC 1291 with young stars (UV, GALEX, left) vs old stars (visible light, right). Grad student Genevieve Graves and astronomer Sandra Faber are studying similar galaxies with HST.

Accretion onto a white dwarf in a double white dwarf system, as simulated by graduate student James Guillochon.

Astronomy Grad Students - 2009 Fall Welcome Reception

Professor Connie Rockosi defends a viewpoint vigorously at "Morning Science Coffee" - A daily discussion of astronomy events and research attended by professors, postdocs and grad students.

Bulent Kiziltan, Astronomy Graduate Student, at Parkes Observatory - Australia, observing pulsars with the largest radio telescope in southern hemisphere.

UCSC is a leader in astrophysics education. The department currently enrolls about 40 graduate students working towards the Ph.D. degree. Graduate students benefit from the low student-faculty ratio and extensive research opportunities, as well as course offerings that cover both theoretical and observational aspects of astronomy. UCSC alumni hold positions at leading universities and research institutes around the world. (Department Fact Sheet)

Astronomy and Astrophysics graduate students have access to state-of-the-art instrument development and data reduction technology, the UCO/Lick Observatory computer network, and an unusually extensive astronomical library at the Lick Observatory headquarters on campus. Graduate students may conduct supervised research with selected telescopic facilities of the Lick Observatory on Mount Hamilton, 55 miles from Santa Cruz. The 10-meter Keck Telescope in Hawaii, the worlds largest, is administered from the UCSC campus and is used for frontier research by UC astronomers.

The Center for Adaptive Optics (CfAO) is also headquartered at UCSC. Education is central to the CfAOs mission, and a key element of this is the support provided by the center to graduate students. In addition to research, the center provides interdisciplinary access to a nationwide network of scientists in astronomy and vision science.

Vision statement
The Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at UCSC aims to provide an intellectually rich, vibrant, and challenging graduate student program that uses forefront astrophysics research as the main training tool to prepare and support its students for a range of career options.