I’m planning to go into undergrad astronomy and was wondering what specifically I should be looking for in a good astronomy school.
Also, for those who are in the UC system, which UC do you think is the best for astronomy? I hear some good things about UCB and UCLA but I was wondering if lesser known UC’s have good astro programs.
UC San Diego has some of the top astronomy and Astro physics education and research in the entire world. Check out the center for Astro physics and space sciences center at UCSD. It’s the place to be.
UCSC has one of the top astrophysics programs in the country, second only to Berkeley among the UCs.
I’m going to page @HarvardandBerkeley, who has a degree in astrophysics from Berkeley.
I was also going to mention UCSC. They run the Lick Observatory.
In general, not school specific, you want to inquire about UG research. To get into grad school, you will need a strong background in physics and math. Ability to program in multiple languages will help for research. Courses in astronomy or possibly even geophysics (depending on your goals) are good, too, but the core physics UG sequence is vital, strong math courses, UG research, and strong LOR are what you are going to need to get into a good astronomy grad program. I would plan on the PGRE (though that seems to be in a state of flux for some programs. Not sure about this.)
I’m going to caveat this by saying that I’m not in that field, and that astronomy may be one of those few fields (like animal science, which I learned here) where undergrad training is more niche and going to one of the few highly specialized programs is important. But I will say that generally speaking, you don’t have go to a university with a program that’s highly ranked or “the best” in your field.
First of all, undergrads don’t really go to a “program.” You’re not headed off to grad school, where the vast majority of your primary interactions will be with your department. Probably about 1/3 of your classes will be taken in your major and the rest will be taken across the college or university; you’ll have friends and classmates in all departments. You have to think about the holistic experience, but just one department.
Secondly, most rankings of fields like astrophysics are done at the graduate level, and really apply to the doctoral programs. While a lot of that will trickle down, some of the things that doctoral programs are ranked on don’t apply to undergraduates. For example, some of those elite professors who train doctoral students don’t even teach undergraduate courses or even really interact with undergrad RAs (although their presence in the department and ability to do research with their grad students and postdocs can have a more indirect effect on your experience). Sometimes professors who are preoccupied with publishing and grant-writing don’t want to spend a lot of time training and mentoring undergrads. (I have known many professors who explicitly avoid teaching undergrads, or any students for that matter, because teaching takes a lot of time and impedes one’s ability to write grants and papers.)
This also means that only universities with doctoral programs in the field are included in the rankings, even if there are colleges with fantastic BA and/or MA programs in the area. For example, I know that Agnes Scott College (a small women’s college in Decatur, GA) has a great program in astrophysics, with a state-of-the-art science center; their own telescope, observatory, and planetarium; and membership in a consortium that allows students telescope and observatory access across the globe. And since their physics/astrophysics program is quite small and undergrad-only, undergrads probably have more access to it than they would have access to the facilities at Berkeley or UCLA. But Agnes Scott will never appear on any of these lists because they don’t have a doctoral program.
That said, I know that astronomy is one of those fields that requires specialized and very expensive equipment like fancy telescopes and observatories and stuff. I don’t know how much undergrads actually get to use any of that stuff, but having the opportunity to at least observe it in practice could give you a leg up in graduate admissions IF graduate school and a research career is something you’re interested in. And the top-rated programs are the ones most likely to have fancy stuff like that.
A quick glance at the NRC rankings for astronomy and astrophysics shows that UC-Santa Cruz, in addition to UCLA and UC-Berkeley, also has a great astronomy/astrophysics program at the doctoral level.
@hyponova Do you want a PhD in astronomy? Then you need to plan to work over the summers in REU programs either at your home university or another one. Look over this list of REUs. What you do in the summers will make or break your chances at admission to a PhD program, which you need to become an astronomer. You can major in physics and become an astronomer so you do not need to limit yourself to astronomy undergrad programs, but there may be some benefit to doing so, in that you will get more exposure to classes about astrophysics and astronomy and also more chances to work on a big telescope, if your professors are doing that. Look for any program that offers undergraduate research at a big telescope.
Here are the NSF supported astronomy summer programs, need US citizenship to apply for these–
https://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/list_result.jsp?unitid=5045
Of course these universities have research scientists who are astronomers.
Cornell University is strong in both physics, and astronomy, if you do not want to stay with a U of Cal campus.
If you have a goal to become a physics high school teacher, consider majoring in physics for undergrad and not astronomy. It will be broader.
@Coloradomama what distinguishes nsf supported programs as opposed to research opportunities at a local/nearby university?
@hyponova Ideally, you should pursue both. REUs are funded 10 week summer research programs when you are not concurrently enrolled in classes on your home campus. They are an opportunity to explore research areas not available at your UG institute. They are also shorter defined projects meant to be completed in thatbtime frame. They also allow you to explore different schools’ research depts during that time. Your overseeing professor could also be a possible recommender fro grad school apps.
On-campus research is also important. That research might be a longer project. It might lead to poster presentations, publications, etc. (though that can happen with REUs, too, but the longer term projects develop different skills.)
Fwiw, my ds spent 18 hrs a week doing on-campus research and 2 summers doing REUs. All were important to him. They broadened his skills and helped him narrow down his desired area of focus.
Definitely ,UCSC has the top astrophysics programs…
Definitely ,UCSC has the top astrophysics programs…