Field Studied: Planet Formation

University of Chicago

Last modified: April 3, 2025
Department: Geophysical Sciences
Display Category: USA-Canada Medium
Field Studied: Climate, Cosmochemistry, Exoplanets, Meteorites, Planet Formation, Planetary Dynamics
URL: http://geosci.uchicago.edu/
State/Province: IL
Country: USA
Degrees Offered: PhD
Minimum GPA: None noted
General GRE Required: No
Subject GRE Required: Optional
Recommendations: 3
Faculty: 43
Planetary Researchers: 6
Students: 56
Admission Percentage: ~10%
Nearby Research Institutions: Argonne National Laboratory
Contact Email: [email protected]
Funding: Full-tuition scholarship, coverage of Fees and individual insurance premiums; also receive primary funding via a RA, TA, or fellowship
Fall Application Deadline: 19 Dec
Spring Application Deadline: N/A
Admissions URL: https://geosci.uchicago.edu/prospective_students/
Notes:

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 Cambridge

Last modified: April 3, 2025
Department: Institute for Astronomy
Display Category: International
Field Studied: Exoplanets, Planet Formation, Planetary Dynamics
URL: http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/
State/Province:
Country: United Kingdom
Degrees Offered: MPhil, PhD
Minimum GPA: 3.5
General GRE Required: No
Subject GRE Required: None
Recommendations: 2
Faculty: 19
Planetary Researchers: 6
Students: 51
Admission Percentage:
Nearby Research Institutions:
Contact Email: [email protected]
Funding: You can apply for funding to help cover your postgraduate study costs; see https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/funding
Fall Application Deadline: 03 Dec
Spring Application Deadline: N/A
Admissions URL: https://www.postgraduate.study.cam.ac.uk/apply
Notes: Contact for MPhil: [email protected] or

University of California Santa Cruz

Last modified: April 2, 2025
Department: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Display Category: USA-Canada Large
Field Studied: Atmospheres, Interiors, Magnetospheres, Planet Formation, Surfaces
URL: http://eps.ucsc.edu/
State/Province: CA
Country: USA
Degrees Offered: MS, PhD
Minimum GPA: 3.0
General GRE Required: Yes
Subject GRE Required: No
Recommendations: 3
Faculty: 21
Planetary Researchers: 4
Students: 36
Admission Percentage:
Nearby Research Institutions: NASA Ames, SETI, USGS Menlo Park
Contact Email: [email protected]
Funding: Yes (In general, our admitted students are fully funded through fellowships, teaching assistantships, and/or research assitantships.) 
Fall Application Deadline: 05 Jan
Spring Application Deadline:
Admissions URL: https://eps.ucsc.edu/graduate/appl-adm.html
Notes:

University of California Berkeley

Last modified: April 3, 2025
Department: Earth and Planetary Science
Display Category: USA-Canada Large
Field Studied: Astrobiology, Atmospheres, Exoplanets, Geochemistry, Geology, Geophysics, Planet Formation
URL: http://eps.berkeley.edu/
State/Province: CA
Country: USA
Degrees Offered: PhD
Minimum GPA: 3.0
General GRE Required: No
Subject GRE Required: No
Recommendations: 3
Faculty: 32
Planetary Researchers: 9
Students: 65
Admission Percentage: ~5%
Nearby Research Institutions: Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, Lawrence Livermore National Lab
Contact Email: [email protected]
Funding: In general, admitted students are fully funded, through fellowships and grants, teaching assistant, or research assistant opportunities
Fall Application Deadline: 4 Dec
Spring Application Deadline: N/A
Admissions URL: http://grad.berkeley.edu/admissions/apply/
Notes:

University of British Columbia

Last modified: April 3, 2025
Department: Institute of Planetary Science
Display Category: USA-Canada Medium
Field Studied: Asteroids, Comets, Exoplanets, Interiors, Magnetospheres, Planet Formation
URL: http://www.ipsubc.org
State/Province: British Columbia
Country: Canada
Degrees Offered: MS, PhD
Minimum GPA: 3.3
General GRE Required: Optional
Subject GRE Required: None
Recommendations: 3
Faculty: 6
Planetary Researchers: 6
Students: 6
Admission Percentage:
Nearby Research Institutions: Hertaberg Institute (NRC), University of Victoria
Contact Email: [email protected]
Funding: Admitted students with a research advisor commitment are guaranteed 2 (MSc) or 4 (PhD) years of funding
Fall Application Deadline: 01 Dec
Spring Application Deadline: N/A
Admissions URL: https://phas.ubc.ca/graduate-program-prospective-students
Notes: Honors undergraduate degree required for admission; secondary contact email of [email protected]

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.

SUNY Stony Brook

Last modified: April 3, 2025
Department: Physics and Astronomy 
Display Category: USA-Canada Medium
Field Studied: Exoplanets, Planet Formation
URL: http://www.astro.sunysb.edu/
State/Province: NY
Country: USA
Degrees Offered: MS, PhD
Minimum GPA: 3
General GRE Required: No
Subject GRE Required: None
Recommendations: 3
Faculty: 18
Planetary Researchers: 3
Students: 18
Admission Percentage:
Nearby Research Institutions:
Contact Email: [email protected]
Funding: All students admitted receive financial support during their studies
Fall Application Deadline: 15 Jan
Spring Application Deadline: 01 Oct
Admissions URL: https://www.stonybrook.edu/commcms/grad-physics-astronomy/
Notes:

Purdue University

Last modified: April 1, 2025
Department: Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
Display Category: USA-Canada Medium
Field Studied: Asteroids, Astrobiology, Atmospheres, Exoplanets, Geology, Icy Satellites, Instrumentation, Mars, Mercury, Moon, Planet Formation, Planetary Dynamics, Remote Sensing, Surfaces
URL: http://www.eaps.purdue.edu/research/planetary-science/index.html
State/Province: IN
Country: USA
Degrees Offered: PhD
Minimum GPA: 3.0
General GRE Required: No
Subject GRE Required: None
Recommendations: 3
Faculty: 15
Planetary Researchers: 15
Students: 34
Admission Percentage:
Nearby Research Institutions: Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, University of Chicago, Northwestern University, Indiana University Bloomington, Albion College, Notre Dame University
Contact Email: [email protected]
Funding: TA or RA typically offered to all admitted students
Fall Application Deadline: 2 Jan
Spring Application Deadline: 1 Sep
Admissions URL: https://www.purdue.edu/academics/ogsps/prospective/gradrequirements/westlafayette/eas.html
Notes:

New Mexico State University

Last modified: April 3, 2025
Department: Astronomy
Display Category: USA-Canada Medium
Field Studied: Atmospheres, Exoplanets, Instrumentation, Planet Formation, Planetary Science
URL: https://astro.nmsu.edu/
State/Province: NM
Country: USA
Degrees Offered: MS, PhD
Minimum GPA: None noted
General GRE Required: No
Subject GRE Required: None
Recommendations: 3
Faculty: 10
Planetary Researchers: 6
Students: 30
Admission Percentage: 5–10%
Nearby Research Institutions: NM Institute of Mining and Tech., VLA Radio Array, National Solar Obs., Apache Point Obs., Univ. of New Mexico, Air Force Res. Lab, Los Alamos Nat'l Lab, Sandia Nat'l Lab, Univ. of TX El Paso
Contact Email: [email protected]
Funding: Most students are supported throughout the entire year by a variety of teaching and/or research assistantships
Fall Application Deadline: 15 Dec
Spring Application Deadline: N/A
Admissions URL: https://astro.nmsu.edu/graduate/graduate-admissions.html
Notes: Guaranteed time on ARC 3.5-meter telescope at APO; 1-meter telescope at APO; Sunspot Solar Observatory; member Sloan Digital Sky Survey