Doctor of Philosophy in Astrophysics and Astronomy

The Department of Physics and Astronomy offers graduate programs leading to the Masters of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees in both physics and astrophysics. Current experimental and theoretical research programs include work in the general fields of accelerator physics, acoustics, atomic, molecular and optical physics, biological physics, computational physics, condensed matter physics, elementary particles, low-temperature physics, nanoscience, nuclear physics, physics education, and quantum computing. Students who are enrolled in doctoral degree programs in the Department of Physics and Astronomy may elect joint programs with many partnering departments including Biochemistry, Chemical Engineering, Chemistry, Computational Mathematics Science and Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Materials Science, and Mathematics.

All Official Transcripts. TOEFL PBT - 550. TOEFL IBT - 80. IELTS - 6.5.
International students are required to demonstrate their English language proficiency. Graduate school English Language requirements can be found at this webpage, including information about alternative tests available due to COVID-19 circumstances. For TOEFL, Institution Code is 1465, and the Department Codes are 76 for Physics and 61 for Astronomy. Note that the Department of Physics and Astronomy generally requires higher scores than the University. For example, we suggest a total average score of 100 or better on the iBT, but may accept slightly lower scores for exceptional cases.
If a student is international a section called ELP Waiver will appear after the Test Scores section. It is possible to request a waiver for the language test, and supporting materials can be submitted here.
Although for applicants to the Physics Ph.D. program GRE scores (General and Physics subject) are usually required, due to COVID-19 and the reduced opportunities to take the GRE (general and subject) exams, the submission of GRE scores for the application process for the physics graduate program is optional for applications in 2021. For the astronomy and astrophysics Ph.D. program, general GRE scores are not accepted, and if submitted, will not be considered in the evaluation of your application.
You can skip the Employment section of the application, but you must upload a Curriculum Vitae with your application (see below). Having a complete CV is usually very helpful when making College and University Fellowship nomination by the Department of Physics and Astronomy.
You can skip the Activities section of the application. Please list activities in your CV (See below).
Michigan State University requires at least three letters of recommendation, so you must list at least list three people who will submit letters of recommendation in support of your application in the References section. Please request letters from people who can speak to your accomplishments that are relevant for your application. We certainly welcome input on a wide range of issues, similar to the topics for the personal and academic statements. Note that once you entered the details of a recommender, and press the send to recommender button, you can no longer revoke the request for a letter. Note that the applicant will be able to see which recommenders have submitted a letter and which recommenders have not responded. The applicant can send a reminder message via the applicant portal or enter a different recommender, if desired.
In the section Physics Supplemental Questions please indicate whether you will (likely) have obtained a M.S. degree by Fall of 2022. Also select your research area(s) of interest. This is important, as it help us make sure your application is reviewed by faculty in the relevant research area(s). You can select more than one. If you select other, please detail what other interests you have in your academic statement. Students who wish to enter the VUBeam Ph.D. or MS program, should select Other for the research area of interest and indicate that their application is for the VUBeam program in their academic statement. Finally, you can provide some details about external fellowships you have been awarded or applied for, if any.
Complete the Signature Section
Use the Review Section to review the completeness of your application and complete/fix the application where needed. Note that the review doesn't check for optional entries that might be required by the department. Hence, please make sure to double check to all sections are complete.
Once all application sections are complete, you can submit the application. You must pay the application fee. For information about fee waivers, see the Waiver Information above.
After the application is submitted, you have the ability to upload additional documents. The following