Field Studied: Mars

York University

Last modified: April 2, 2025
Department: Earth and Space Science and Engineering; Physics and Astronomy
Display Category: USA-Canada Medium
Field Studied: Asteroids, Astrobiology, Atmospheres, Auroras, Climate, Dust, Exoplanets, Instrumentation, Mars, Moon, Planetary Dynamics, Planetary Science, Remote Sensing
URL: https://lassonde.yorku.ca/esse/
State/Province: Ontario
Country: Canada
Degrees Offered: MS, PhD
Minimum GPA: 3
General GRE Required: No
Subject GRE Required: No
Recommendations:
Faculty: 21
Planetary Researchers: 3
Students: ~100
Admission Percentage:
Nearby Research Institutions: Centre for Research in Earth and Space Science (CRESS)
Contact Email: [email protected]
Funding: All accepted students are funded through TA and RA with the balance between the two depending on the supervisor.
Fall Application Deadline: 13 Jan
Spring Application Deadline: None
Admissions URL: https://lassonde.yorku.ca/esse/academics/graduate/how-to-apply/
Notes: Contact admissions for spring application; see also https://www.physics.yorku.ca/overview-of-graduate-program/ for more information

University of Leicester

Last modified: April 2, 2025
Department: Physics & Astronomy
Display Category: International
Field Studied: Atmospheres, Auroras, Brown Dwarfs, Climate, Exoplanets, Geochemistry, Infrared Astronomy, Instrumentation, Ionospheres, Jupiter, Magnetospheres, Mars, Neptune, Planet Formation, Planetary Dynamics, Planetary Science, Remote Sensing, Saturn, Space Plasma Physics, Uranus, UV Astronomy, X-Ray Astronomy
URL: https://le.ac.uk/physics
State/Province:
Country: United Kingdom
Degrees Offered: MPhil, PhD
Minimum GPA: 3.3
General GRE Required: No
Subject GRE Required: None
Recommendations: 2
Faculty: 43
Planetary Researchers: 17
Students: ~90
Admission Percentage:
Nearby Research Institutions: University of Nottingham, University of Birmingham, University of Warwick, University of Loughborough, University of Coventry
Contact Email: [email protected]
Funding: Funding available for UK/EU students
Fall Application Deadline: 20 Jan
Spring Application Deadline: N/A
Admissions URL: https://le.ac.uk/physics/study/research-degrees
Notes: Although students can apply at any time, funded positions starting in October are typically decided upon in mid-March.

University of Idaho

Last modified: April 2, 2025
Department: Physics
Display Category: USA-Canada Medium
Field Studied: Exoplanets, Mars, Moon, Ocean Worlds (Titan, Enceladus, Europa), Planetary Dynamics, Rings
URL: http://www.uidaho.edu/sci/physics
State/Province: ID
Country: USA
Degrees Offered: MS, PhD
Minimum GPA: 3.0
General GRE Required: No
Subject GRE Required: No
Recommendations: 3
Faculty: 11
Planetary Researchers: 3
Students: 23
Admission Percentage:
Nearby Research Institutions: Washington State University
Contact Email: [email protected]
Funding: TA/RA available
Fall Application Deadline: 1 Feb
Spring Application Deadline: 1 Sep
Admissions URL: http://www.uidaho.edu/admissions/graduate/graduate-programs/physics
Notes: Admission deadlines are for priority consideration

Wesleyan University

Last modified: April 2, 2025
Department: Planetary Sciences Group
Display Category: USA-Canada Medium
Field Studied: Cosmochemistry, Exoplanets, Interiors, Mars, Meteorites, Planet Formation, Remote Sensing, Surfaces, Venus
URL: http://www.wesleyan.edu/planetary/
State/Province: CT
Country: USA
Degrees Offered: MA
Minimum GPA:
General GRE Required: Yes
Subject GRE Required: Physics recommended for Astronomy
Recommendations: 3
Faculty: 7
Planetary Researchers: 7
Students: 8
Admission Percentage: 10%
Nearby Research Institutions: Yale Univ., many research Institute in CT and nearby Boston
Contact Email: [email protected]
Funding: All admitted students guaranteed funding as TAs
Fall Application Deadline: 15 Feb for E&ES; 1 Mar for Astronomy
Spring Application Deadline: N/A
Admissions URL: http://www.wesleyan.edu/planetary/Graduate.html
Notes: Planetary Science students come from astronomy or earth sciences

University of Washington

Last modified: April 2, 2025
Department: Earth and Space Sciences
Display Category: USA-Canada Large
Field Studied: Astrobiology, Atmospheres, Geobiology, Geology, Mars, Space Plasma Physics, Surfaces
URL: http://www.ess.washington.edu/
State/Province: WA
Country: USA
Degrees Offered: MS, PhD
Minimum GPA: 3
General GRE Required: No
Subject GRE Required: None
Recommendations: 3
Faculty: 24
Planetary Researchers: 6
Students: 54
Admission Percentage:
Nearby Research Institutions: many tech firms, Univ. of British Columbia (Canada), Univ. of Victoria (Canada), Dominion Astrophys. Obs. (Canada)
Contact Email: [email protected]
Funding: We offer all of our PhD program students financial support covering tuition, stipend, and benefits. Specifically, we guarantee 5 years of academic-year support in the form of either Teaching Assistantships (TAs) or Research Assistantships (RAs) for PhD students making satisfactory academic progress, dependent on the availability of funds.
Fall Application Deadline: 01 Dec
Spring Application Deadline: N/A
Admissions URL: https://ess.uw.edu/education/graduate-program/how-to-apply/
Notes: Can earn graduate certificate in Astrobiology, or pursue a Dual-Title Ph.D in Astrobiology and ESS (http://depts.washington.edu/astrobio/drupal/)

University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Last modified: April 2, 2025
Department: Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences
Display Category: USA-Canada Medium
Field Studied: Asteroids, Astrobiology, Comets, Cosmochemistry, Geology, Infrared Astronomy, Kuiper Belt Objects, Mars, Meteorites, Moon, Ocean Worlds (Titan, Enceladus, Europa), Planetary Science, Pluto/KBOs, Remote Sensing, Small Bodies, Surfaces
URL: https://eeps.utk.edu/
State/Province: TN
Country: USA
Degrees Offered: MS, PhD
Minimum GPA: 2.7
General GRE Required: No
Subject GRE Required: None
Recommendations: 3
Faculty: 18
Planetary Researchers: 9
Students: 44
Admission Percentage: 10%
Nearby Research Institutions: Oak Ridge National Lab
Contact Email: [email protected]
Funding: Almost all are admitted with guaranteed funding.
Fall Application Deadline: 01 Jan
Spring Application Deadline: 15 Oct
Admissions URL: https://eeps.utk.edu/graduate-students/apply/
Notes:

University of Hawaii

Last modified: April 2, 2025
Department: Institute of Geophysics and Planetology
Display Category: USA-Canada Large
Field Studied: Cosmochemistry, Geochemistry, Geology, Instrumentation, Mars, Moon, Remote Sensing
URL: http://www.higp.hawaii.edu/
State/Province: HI
Country: USA
Degrees Offered: MS, PhD
Minimum GPA: 3
General GRE Required: Yes
Subject GRE Required: No
Recommendations: 3
Faculty: 42
Planetary Researchers: 16
Students: 18
Admission Percentage: ~15–20%
Nearby Research Institutions: University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy
Contact Email: [email protected]
Funding: Most students funded on research assistantships, rest on teaching assistantships
Fall Application Deadline: 15 Jan
Spring Application Deadline: 15 Aug
Admissions URL: https://www.higp.hawaii.edu/index.php/teaching/graduate-admissions-information/
Notes:

University of Colorado

Last modified: April 2, 2025
Department: Astrophysical and Planetary Sciences; Physics; Geological Sciences; Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences; Aerospace Engineering; Chemistry
Display Category: USA-Canada Large
Field Studied: Astrobiology, Atmospheres, Dust, Exoplanets, Instrumentation, Interiors, Ionospheres, Magnetospheres, Mars, Planetary Dynamics, Rings, Surfaces
URL: https://lasp.colorado.edu/our-expertise/science/planetary-lunar/
State/Province: CO
Country: USA
Degrees Offered: PhD
Minimum GPA:
General GRE Required: Yes
Subject GRE Required: Physics required for some departments
Recommendations: 3
Faculty: 20  (7 APS, 3 Phys, 3 Geo, 1 AaOS, 5 AE, 1 Chem) 
Planetary Researchers: 20
Students: ~50 across all departments
Admission Percentage: ~20%
Nearby Research Institutions: SWRI, SSI, UCAR
Contact Email: [email protected]
Funding: Yes, varies with department
Fall Application Deadline: 15 Jan
Spring Application Deadline: N/A
Admissions URL: http://lasp.colorado.edu/planetary/departments.html
Notes: 21 Jan deadline for international admission; for further information, see also http://www.colorado.edu/aps/ and http://www.colorado.edu/aps/prospective-students

University of Central Florida

Last modified: April 3, 2025
Department: Planetary Sciences Group
Display Category: USA-Canada Large
Field Studied: Asteroids, Astrobiology, Atmospheres, Brown Dwarfs, Comets, Dust, Exoplanets, In-Situ Resource Utilization, Infrared Astronomy, Kuiper Belt Objects, Mars, Meteorites, Moon, Optical Astronomy, Planet Formation, Planetary Evolution, Planetary Science, Remote Sensing, Rings, Small Bodies, Space Plasma Physics, Space Science, Spacecraft Development, Surfaces
URL: http://planets.ucf.edu/
State/Province: FL
Country: USA
Degrees Offered: MS, PhD
Minimum GPA: 3.0
General GRE Required: No
Subject GRE Required: None
Recommendations: 3
Faculty: 13
Planetary Researchers: 13
Students: 33
Admission Percentage:
Nearby Research Institutions: UCF Florida Space Institute, UCF CREOL, NASA Kennedy Space Center
Contact Email: [email protected]
Funding: Graduate students may receive financial assistance through fellowships, assistantships, tuition support, or loan
Fall Application Deadline: 01 Dec (domestic priority and all international), 01 Jul (domestic)
Spring Application Deadline: 01 Jul (international), 01 Dec (domestic)
Admissions URL: https://graduate.ucf.edu/admissions/
Notes:

University of Arizona

Last modified: April 1, 2025
Department: Lunar and Planetary Laboratory
Display Category: USA-Canada Large
Field Studied: Asteroids, Astrobiology, Atmospheres, Comets, Cosmochemistry, Exoplanets, Geochemistry, Interiors, Mars, Meteorites, Moon, Optical Astronomy, Planet Formation, Planetary Dynamics, Planetary Evolution, Planetary Science, Small Bodies, Space Plasma Physics, Surfaces, Volcanology
URL: http://www.lpl.arizona.edu
State/Province: AZ
Country: USA
Degrees Offered: PhD
Minimum GPA: N/A
General GRE Required: No
Subject GRE Required: N/A
Recommendations: 3
Faculty: 35
Planetary Researchers: 35
Students: 48
Admission Percentage: 12%
Nearby Research Institutions: Planetary Science Institute; National Optical Astronomy Observatory; University of Arizona Depts. of Astronomy/Steward Observatory, Atmospheric Sciences, Geosciences; College of Optical Sciences; College of Engineering; Biosphere 2
Contact Email: [email protected]
Funding: Up to five (5) years of financial support towards completion of the Ph.D. (GRA or GTA)
Fall Application Deadline: 13 Dec
Spring Application Deadline: N/A
Admissions URL: https://www.lpl.arizona.edu/admissions
Notes: Applicants should have completed an undergraduate major in a physical science such as astronomy, atmospheric sciences, chemistry, geology, mathematics, or physics. However, admission is based on the overall demonstrated capability and preparation of the applicant.