Application Process
2023 First Year Students At the Automated Planet Finder Telescope with Professor Skemer
Application Materials and Deadlines: Application materials and detailed instructions are available online through the UC Santa Cruz Graduate Division. Applications open on October 1, 2023. Applications are due December 12, 2024. Applicants may check the status of their application online or by emailing the department graduate advisor at astrogradinfo@ucsc.edu.
For questions about the application process, please visit the UCSC Grad Admissions FAQ site.
Fee Waiver:
Applicants who do not qualify for a fee waiver through the application portal (including International Students) may apply directly to the Astronomy & Astrophysics Department. The department has a limited number of waivers available and will evaluate requests on a case-by-case basis.
Requirements and Instructions:
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At a minimum, have completed, uploaded, and submitted the following items to your application: statement of purpose, personal history statement, statement of financial need, and your resume.
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Have not yet paid for your application to the University. (we can not reimburse after the fact)
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Requesting the fee waiver:
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Domestic Students:
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In the application portal, follow the directions for requesting a fee waiver.
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If you are denied a fee waiver, please contact astrogradinfo@ucsc.edu
to state why you are requesting a fee waiver and attach your statement of need. -
The Statement of Financial Need should not exceed one page and should fully explain, in your own words, your need for financial assistance. Please also address personal resources and other fellowships or grant opportunities that you will pursue to help cover your graduate education expenses.
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If you are granted a fee waiver by the department, we will provide additional directions for how to complete the fee waiver section in the application portal.
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International Students:
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International students are not eligible to request a fee waiver in the application portal.
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Instead, contact astrogradinfo@ucsc.edu
to state why you are requesting a fee waiver and attach your statement of need. - The Statement of Financial Need should not exceed one page and should fully explain, in your own words, your need for financial assistance. Please also address personal resources and other fellowships or grant opportunities that you will pursue to help cover your graduate education expenses.
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If you are granted a fee waiver, we will provide additional directions for how to complete the fee waiver section in the application portal.
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NOTE: The Department is unlikely to grant a fee waiver to individuals for more than one application cycle.
Decision on fee waivers will be made right after our application deadline.
General Qualifications of the Applicants: Each year we receive over 300 applications. Of these, we accept 15 or fewer into our program. The majority of successful applicants have an undergraduate degree in physics or astrophysics with strong classroom performance. We will not accept scores from the GRE General or Physics Tests in our reviews during the 2023-2024 application process. A research background in astrophysics is very helpful, but research experience in any field is valuable. We look for strong letters of recommendation and read the "Statement of Purpose" and "Personal History Statement" carefully. Our goal is to identify enthusiastic students who are well-prepared to thrive in an exciting research environment, and who will make the best use of the particular strengths and opportunities in our department.
Site Visits: We encourage prospective students to visit. Students accepted into the program are invited to a departmental visit in winter quarter. During the visit, prospective students meet with faculty and current graduate students, learn about the program and research being done and explore the campus. We encourage students to combine visits (and travel reimbursements) with other west-coast schools. Nothing replaces a visit, but there are many beautiful photos of the campus available on our astronomy website galleries. Additional photos of Lick Observatory are available at the Lick Picture Gallery.
Student Financial Support: The department will make a best effort to provide 100% support for its students during the normative time to degree.
Other links and resources for prospective students
