Field Studied: Planetary Evolution

Stanford University

Last modified: April 3, 2025
Department: Planetary Science Program
Display Category: USA-Canada Medium
Field Studied: Astrobiology, Atmospheres, Climate, Exoplanets, Geobiology, Geochemistry, Geology, Geophysics, Icy Satellites, Instrumentation, Interiors, Jupiter, Magnetospheres, Mars, Mercury, Moon, Neptune, Ocean Worlds (Titan, Enceladus, Europa), Optical Astronomy, Planet Formation, Planetary Dynamics, Planetary Evolution, Planetary Science, Pluto/KBOs, Remote Sensing, Saturn, Surfaces, Uranus, Venus, Volcanology
URL: https://earth.stanford.edu/planetary-science
State/Province: California
Country: USA
Degrees Offered: MS, PhD
Minimum GPA: None noted
General GRE Required: No
Subject GRE Required: None
Recommendations: 3
Faculty: 16
Planetary Researchers: 16
Students: 36
Admission Percentage:
Nearby Research Institutions: NASA Ames Research Center, SLAC National Accelerator Lab, Stanford Kavli Institute for Particle Astrophysics and Cosmology, SETI Institute
Contact Email: [email protected]
Funding: Varies by department
Fall Application Deadline: 06 Dec
Spring Application Deadline: N/A
Admissions URL: https://epsci.stanford.edu/academics-admissions/graduate-program
Notes: This program spans several departments; see department links on Admissions URL link to get admissions specifics

Curtin University

Last modified: April 3, 2025
Department: School of Earth & Planetary Sciences (Space Science & Technology Centre)
Display Category: International
Field Studied: Asteroids, Comets, Cosmochemistry, Interiors, Mars, Meteorites, Moon, Planetary Dynamics, Planetary Evolution, Planetary Science, Small Bodies, Surfaces
URL: https://research.curtin.edu.au/sstc/
State/Province: Western Australia
Country: Australia
Degrees Offered: PhD
Minimum GPA:
General GRE Required: No
Subject GRE Required: None
Recommendations: 2
Faculty: 77
Planetary Researchers: 15
Students: 100
Admission Percentage:
Nearby Research Institutions: CSIRO, ICRAR, Pawsey Supercomputing Centre
Contact Email: [email protected]
Funding: Scholarships and/or stipends provided by PhD position announcements
Fall Application Deadline: see Notes
Spring Application Deadline: see Notes
Admissions URL: https://apply.curtin.edu.au/
Notes: Applications are taken at any time of year, but the application for scholarships is the end of July for a start in February (Southern Hemisphere school year runs from February to November). The minimum academic requirements include a year of research experience (in the form of a Bachelor’s thesis, an MSci, or an Honours degree) as well as a minimum academic grade point.

University of California Davis

Last modified: April 2, 2025
Department: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Display Category: USA-Canada Medium
Field Studied: Astrobiology, Cosmochemistry, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Planet Formation, Planetary Evolution
URL: https://eps.ucdavis.edu
State/Province: CA
Country: USA
Degrees Offered: MS, PhD
Minimum GPA: 3.0
General GRE Required: No
Subject GRE Required: None
Recommendations: 3
Faculty: 20
Planetary Researchers: 3
Students: 41
Admission Percentage: 20–25%
Nearby Research Institutions: Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, NASA Ames, UC Berkeley
Contact Email: [email protected]
Funding: 5 years for PhD students and 2 years for MS students. Mix of RA and TA funding.
Fall Application Deadline: 5 Jan
Spring Application Deadline:
Admissions URL: https://eps.ucdavis.edu/students/grad/apply
Notes:

Northwestern University

Posted on
Department/Program: Center for Interdisciplinary Exploration and Research in Astrophysics
URL: https://sites.northwestern.edu/cierareu/
State/Province: IL
Country: USA
Contact Email: [email protected]
Application Deadline: 1 Feb
Notes:

University of Göttingen

Last modified: April 2, 2025
Department: Solar System School
Display Category: International
Field Studied: Asteroids, Atmospheres, Comets, Cosmochemistry, Dust, Exoplanets, Geophysics, Instrumentation, Ionospheres, Meteorites, Planetary Evolution, Planetary Science, Small Bodies, Space Plasma Physics
URL: http://www.mps.mpg.de/solar-system-school
State/Province:
Country: Germany
Degrees Offered: PhD
Minimum GPA: None noted
General GRE Required: Recommended
Subject GRE Required: Physics (Recommended for physics line)
Recommendations: 2 or more
Faculty: 13
Planetary Researchers: 5
Students: 40
Admission Percentage: 3%
Nearby Research Institutions: Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research
Contact Email: [email protected]
Funding: Fully funded PhD positions for three and a half years
Fall Application Deadline: 1 Oct
Spring Application Deadline: N/A
Admissions URL: http://www.mps.mpg.de/phd/application
Notes:

University of Washington

Last modified: April 2, 2025
Department: Astronomy
Display Category: USA-Canada Large
Field Studied: Astrobiology, Exoplanets, Planet Formation, Planetary Evolution
URL: http://www.astro.washington.edu/
State/Province: WA
Country: USA
Degrees Offered: MS, PhD
Minimum GPA: 3
General GRE Required: Optional
Subject GRE Required: Physics optional
Recommendations: 3
Faculty: 20
Planetary Researchers: 7
Students: 31
Admission Percentage: 10-20%
Nearby Research Institutions: many tech firms, University of British Columbia, University of Victoria, Dominion Astrophysical Observatory, Pacific Northwest National Lab, Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory, Very Long Baseline Array
Contact Email: [email protected]
Funding: Financial support cannot be guaranteed, since the funding is partially based on research grants. However, support has been continuously available to all students making satisfactory progress toward their degrees during the normal academic calendar for as long as we can remember.
Fall Application Deadline: 09 Dec
Spring Application Deadline: N/A
Admissions URL: https://astro.washington.edu/graduate-admissions
Notes: Can also pursue a graduate certificate in astrobiology or a dual-title PhD in Astrobiology and Astronomy

University of Maryland, College Park

Last modified: April 2, 2025
Department: Astronomy
Display Category: USA-Canada Large
Field Studied: Asteroids, Comets, Dust, Exoplanets, Infrared Astronomy, Instrumentation, Meteorites, Moon, Optical Astronomy, Planet Formation, Planetary Dynamics, Planetary Evolution, Pluto/KBOs, Radio Astronomy, Remote Sensing, Rings, Small Bodies, Space Plasma Physics, Surfaces, X-Ray Astronomy
URL: http://www.astro.umd.edu/
State/Province: MD
Country: USA
Degrees Offered: PhD
Minimum GPA: 3
General GRE Required: Optional
Subject GRE Required: Physics (optional)
Recommendations: 3
Faculty: 19
Planetary Researchers: 3
Students: 37
Admission Percentage: ~5%
Nearby Research Institutions: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Johns Hopkins University, Carnegie Institution, US Naval Observatory, Space Telescope Science Institute
Contact Email: [email protected]
Funding: The department provides full funding (with tuition waivers) for up to six years while students maintain adequate progress toward degree completion.
Fall Application Deadline: 15 Dec
Spring Application Deadline: N/A
Admissions URL: https://www.astro.umd.edu/graduate/admissions.html
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 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.