A Tradition of Excellence
The Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences (APS) at the University of Colorado (CU) has a reputation of excellence, both nationally and internationally. Consistently ranked among the top programs in the country, the Department enjoys a diversity of research interests in the areas of Astrophysics & Astronomy, Planetary Science, Fluid Dynamics, Plasma Physics, Solar Physics, and Space Physics. The APS department has 30 rostered faculty, 50 research and affiliated faculty, 64 graduate students, 340 undergraduate majors, and 80 undergraduates minoring in astronomy.
Graduate Studies
The APS department offers PhD degrees; only students planning to earn their PhD will be considered for聽admission. Graduate students generally specialize in the areas of astrophysics, planetary science, or Solar science.聽
The program successfully integrates astrophysics, planetary science, solar physics, and聽space instrumentation, with both observational and theoretical components. These聽assets facilitate interaction and collaboration between the disciplines and enable聽students to explore a wide variety of research areas. In addition, the on campus provides excellent hands颅-on experience with telescopes and聽observing, and the department supports the world颅 class , which offers聽a unique opportunity for public outreach. These campus resources are complemented聽by other affiliated research organizations in and near Boulder.
Research Opportunities
The APS Department is affiliated with many different research labs, both within the聽university (, , ) and in the Boulder area (/, , , , ). These affiliations聽often lead to research opportunities for students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. Undergraduate students may also choose聽to work with APS faculty on independent research projects using the Sommers-Bausch Observatory, the 3.5m Apache Point Observatory, or the Fiske Planetarium. For current undergraduate聽research opportunities please visit the聽Research, Internship, & Scholarship Opportunities page.
Undergraduate Opportunities
The BA program is designed to meet student needs for training in space sciences,聽including astronomy, astrophysics, planetary sciences and space physics. Students聽pursuing the Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences major have the option of following one of two emphases: the Interdisciplinary Emphasis housed in the Department of Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences (APS), or聽the Physics Emphasis, jointly supervised by APS and the Department of Physics.聽
The Interdisciplinary Emphasis highlights the science of astronomy, observation and聽technology. As a major in this emphasis, students receive core training in astronomical聽sciences, mathematics, applied physics and computational and instrumental technology聽needed for professions in the space sciences.聽
The Physics Emphasis聽is directed toward students interested in pursuing聽graduate studies in astrophysics. This emphasis is multidisciplinary in focus with work in聽physics, mathematics and astronomy. Upon graduation, students should have solid聽technological training in the space sciences, including mathematical, physical,聽computational and instrumental expertise.