ASTRONOMY AND SPACE SCIENCES
Graduate Requirements and Course Guidelines
SPECIAL COMMITTEE
Each graduate student in the Field of Astronomy and Space Sciences works with a committee of graduate faculty members called their Special Committee to define a program of study and research. For the first year, each student's Special Committee is assigned to be the so-called First Year Committee, an annually-rotating body of faculty members who have been chosen to reflect the principal fields of research within the Department of Astronomy. Near the end of the first year and beginning of the second year, each student chooses their own permanent Special Committee, chaired by their intended thesis advisor and including a representative from their Minor field (see below). Most Special Committees have four members: the Chair, a second faculty member from the Concentration, a third member representing the Minor Field, and a fourth member chosen by the Director of Graduate Studies (usually in concert with the student) to ensure academic diversity. Some students choose to include additional faculty members, Senior Research Associates, or faculty from other institutions on their Special Committee. This is allowed, but students need to be aware of the additional paperwork requirements and/or potential difficulties in convening their Committee members in the same place at the same time as the membership grows!
GOALS OF GRADUATE COURSES
Generally, graduate courses should be chosen to provide:
* A strong foundation in physics and/or astrophysics;
* Specialized knowledge in areas appropriate to your research; and
* In-depth knowledge of at least one subject outside of Astronomy (the Minor).
The specific courses taken by a graduate student will reflect the particular academic background and research goals of the student.
REQUIREMENTS
The requirements set by The Graduate School include being in residency for the required number of
semesters, passing of the A exam (by the end of the sixth semester) and satisfactory completion and defense
of the PhD thesis (the B Exam). Ph.D. candidates must be in residence for at least six semesters, or four if
they already hold a Master's degree at the time of enrollment. A student's advisor or the DGS awards one
residence unit after the satisfactory completion of each semester of full-time study. Fractional units may
be awarded for unsatisfactory progress. The Astronomy Department
requires satisfactory performance in both written and oral Qualifying examinations, usually taken
early in the third semester. Specific course recommendations or possibly other requirements are
determined by the Special Committee. There are no formal course requirements (number of courses, specific
classes, etc.) for graduate students in Astronomy and Space Sciences, but it is expected that most students
will obtain a thorough grounding in physics at the graduate level, including classes in topics such as
electromagnetism, statistical mechanics, and quantum mechanics, as these subjects are basic to much of
astronomy and astrophysics, no matter what the specialty. Suitable courses are described below.
NUMBER OF COURSES
There is no set number of graduate courses which must be taken, or a fixed schedule. Generally,
students who are also teaching assistants are expected to take three courses each semester during
their first two years, and a reduced number in the third year. Fellowship students are encouraged to
take four courses per semester in their first two years. Note that most Astronomy graduate courses
are taught on an alternate year basis, so some planning is required to accommodate all the courses to
be taken over three years. After the A exam is completed, it is permissible to enroll in at most one
course per semester. Over the first three years, students typically take between 14 and 16 courses,
depending on their area of study and individual circumstances, and including Minor courses.
We encourage graduate students to begin research at any time in the first year. Depending on course
loads and other constraints, the summer after the first year may be the first time that a concentrated
research effort can be started. During the academic year, guided research may be undertaken with
any professor through the research course, Astronomy 640.
MINOR SUBJECT(S)
The Graduate School requires that all Cornell graduate students carry out studies in one or two Minor
subjects in addition to their Major area of thesis research. Astronomy students are expected to take a Minor
in a subject outside astronomy but in a generally related area. Typical Minor fields include Physics,
Applied Physics, Electrical Engineering, Theoretical & Applied Mechanics, and Geology, but other
choices are possible. Students must choose one member of their Special Committee from the Minor Field,
and that member's responsibility is to approve the courses taken to satisfy the Minor requirements. These vary
between Fields, but typically involve 3-4 upper-level courses.
QUALIFYING EXAM
Students take the Written Qualifying Exam ("Q") at the end of the summer or at the beginning of the Fall
semester following their first year of graduate studies. The intention of this exam is primarily to
assess students' knowledge of basic graduate level physics and astronomy, and secondarily to assess their
knowledge of astrophysics at this stage in their careers. The Written Q also provides information for a
student's Special Committee as to which courses they should take in their second and third years. The exam
is put together by the Director of Graduate Studies using inputs from faculty members in all of the
Department's different research areas. The DGS proctors the exam, which usually lasts 3 hours, and
individual faculty members who submitted questions grade them afterwards and report the results to the DGS,
who then reports the results to the Graduate Faculty in the Field. The astrophysical knowledge expected for
the Written Q is at the level of Harwit's "Astrophysical Concepts," which is equivalent to
the material typically covered in Astronomy 431 and 432.
The Oral Qualifying Exam is administered by a student's Special Committee, and should be scheduled as soon
as is feasible after the written Q exam is graded and a student's Special Committee is selected and approved
by the Director of Graduate Studies. The Oral Q is a complement to the Written Q, and as such is intended to
be an opportunity for a student's Special Committee to help identify areas where a little more course work or
background research could be beneficial to their education and research plans. Traditionally, for the Oral Q
a student gives a short presentation about their summer (or previous) research project, and some
indications/ideas about what direction they would like their future research to go. Then their Special
Committee will ask questions about the presentation and/or about their general knowledge of astronomy,
physics, planetary science, etc. (as appropriate).
COLLOQUIA AND SEMINARS
Each graduate student is urged to attend our regular weekly colloquia, even when the topic differs
from his/her specific field of interest. Attending colloquia is an especially effective way for a
student to broaden his/her horizons in the field. In addition, the Department has weekly or special
informal/lunchtime seminars (on planetary science, theoretical astrophysics and extragalactic astronomy, for
example) in which graduate students are encouraged to participate, both to gain in-depth knowledge of specific
areas in an informal setting, and also to gain practice in presenting scientific talks.
SPECIFIC COURSE RECOMMENDATIONS
This section lists graduate courses which are recommended for students specializing in Observational
Astronomy, Theoretical Astrophysics or Planetary Sciences. These lists are intended as guidelines
only. Individual circumstances may vary, and will be taken into account by a student's Special Committee
in recommending specific courses for a program of study.
Recommended Courses for a Student in Observational Astronomy
In the first year the following core courses are recommended:
Physics 561 -- Classical Electrodynamics (typically at the level of Jackson)
Physics 562 -- Statistical Physics (or Chem 796) (typically at the level of Landau and Lifshitz)
Physics 572 + 574 -- Quantum Mechanics I + II (or Chem 793 + 794) (typically at the level of Sakurai, or Gottfried and Yan)
Most students take the following techniques courses in their second year (with some being
taken in the first year while others are taken later, depending on the timing):
Astro 520 -- Radio Astronomy
Astro 523 -- Signal Modeling, Statistical Inference, and Data Mining in Astronomy
Astro 525 -- Techniques of Optical/Infrared and Submillimeter Astronomy
Astro 530 -- Astrophysical Processes (typically at the level of Rybicki and Lightman, or Osterbrock and Ferland)
Relevant additional courses are included below; other classes based on thesis topic and
advice from the thesis chairperson may also be selected:
Astro 509 -- General Relativity (typically at the level of Misner, Thorne, and Wheeler)
Astro 510 -- Applications of General Relativity
Astro 516 -- Galactic Structure and Stellar Dynamics (typical level is Binney & Merrifield or Binney & Tremaine)
Astro 555 -- Theory of the Interstellar Medium
Astro 560 -- Theory of Stellar Structure and Evolution (typically at the level of Hansen, Kawaler, and Trimble, or Kippenhahn and Weigert)
Astro 570 -- Physics of the Planets
Astro 590 -- Galaxies and the Universe (typically at the level of Sparke and Gallagher)
Astro 599 -- Cosmology (typically at the level of Peebles, Dodelson, or Peacock)
Recommended Courses for a Student in Theoretical Astrophysics
We encourage all theory students to take a wide sampling of basic and advanced classes in
astronomy, physics and related fields. The organization below emphasizes (i) entry into
research by completion of relevant background material, (ii) exposure to general fields of study, and
(iii) exposure to a diverse range of related courses of utility in research and advanced study.
To facilitate entry into research, we recommend theory students complete the following
courses as soon as possible:
Physics 561 -- Classical Electrodynamics (typically at the level of Jackson)
Physics 562 -- Statistical Physics (or Chem 796) (typically at the level of Landau and Lifshitz)
Physics 572 + 574 -- Quantum Mechanics I + II (or Chem 793 + 794) (typically at the level of Sakurai, or Gottfried and Yan)
*Astro 511 -- Physics of Black Holes, White Dwarfs and Neutron Stars (typically at the level of Shapiro and Teukolsky)
Astro 560 -- Theory of Stellar Structure and Evolution (typically at the level of Hansen, Kawaler, and Trimble, or Kippenhahn and Weigert)
Students with insufficient background in mathematical physics should consider adding
classes in mathematical methods (e.g. T&AM 612 + 613) as needed.
A second set of courses are recommended to supplement the above (subject to time
constraints, availability and your advisor's advice). They will be most useful when completed
early in the graduate career:
Physics 651 -- Relativistic Quantum Field Theory I
*Astro 509 + 510 -- General Relativity (typically at the level of Misner, Thorne, and Wheeler)
Astro 516 -- Galactic Structure and Stellar Dynamics (typical level is Binney & Merrifield or Binney & Tremaine)
Astro 530 -- Astrophysical Processes
Astro 599 -- Cosmology (typically at the level of Peebles, Dodelson, or Peacock)
The third set of classes may also be useful, depending upon the area of research, and may be
undertaken at any time:
*Astro 690 -- Computational Astrophysics
Astro 555 -- Theory of the Interstellar Medium
Physics 635 + 636 -- Advanced Solid State Physics I + II
Physics 645 -- Particle Physics
Physics 652 -- Relativistic Quantum Field Theory II
Astro 410 -- Experimental Astronomy
Astro 520 -- Radio Astronomy
Astro 525 -- Techniques of Optical/Infrared and Submillimeter Astronomy
Astro 570 -- Physics of the Planets
Astro 571 -- Mechanics of the Solar System (=T&AM 673)
Astro 590 -- Galaxies and the Universe (typically at the level of Sparke and Gallagher)
ECE 581 -- Introduction to Plasma Physics (=AE&P 606)
ECE 582 -- Advanced Plasma Physics (=AE&P 607)
*Cross-listed in Physics
Recommended Courses for a Student in Planetary Science
In order to obtain a thorough background the fundamentals of Planetary Sciences, it is
recommended that the following core Planetary Science courses be completed as soon as is practicable:
Astro 570 -- Physics of the Planets
Astro/EAS 575 -- Planetary Atmospheres
Astro/EAS 577 -- Planetary Surface Processes
Astro/EAS 578 -- Planet Formation and Evolution
Astro 579/T&AM 672 -- Celestial Mechanics
In addition, students studying some aspects of Planetary Science may (in consultation with
their Special Committee) benefit from completing one or more of these specific Astronomy, Geology,
Physics, or Astrophysics courses:
EAS 326, 355, 356, 388 -- (for those with little background in geology, geophysics, mineralogy, and petrology)
Astro 523 -- Signal Modeling, Statistical Inference, and Data Mining in Astronomy
Astro 525 -- Techniques of Optical/Infrared and Submillimeter Astronomy
Astro 530 -- Astrophysical Processes (typically at the level of Rybicki and Lightman, or Osterbrock and Ferland)
*Astro 560 -- Theory of Stellar Structure and Evolution
Physics 561 -- Classical Electrodynamics (typically at the level of Jackson)
Physics 562 -- Statistical Physics (or Chem 796) (typically at the level of Landau and Lifshitz)
Astro 571/T&AM 673 -- Mechanics of the Solar System
Physics 572 + 574 -- Quantum Mechanics I + II (or Chem 793 + 794) (typically at the level of Sakurai, or Gottfried and Yan)
Astro 621 -- Planetary Radar Astronomy
Astro 651 -- Atmospheric Physics
Astro 652 -- Advanced Atmospheric Dynamic
T&AM 578, 671, 675, 776 (Upper level Nonlinear Dynamics)
*Cross-listed in Physics
Additional details about planetary science course work and graduate student studies involving faculty members of the Graduate Fields of Astronomy & Space Sciences and Geological Sciences can be found at http://www.geo.cornell.edu/eas/PeoplePlaces/Faculty/matt/planetary/, and more information about general courses in Remote Sensing offered at Cornell can also be found at http://www.geo.cornell.edu/eas/PeoplePlaces/Faculty/matt/remote_sense/.
