How good is Astronomy at University of Arizona?

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astradio
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Feb 15, 2022 7:08 am

How good is Astronomy at University of Arizona?

Post by astradio » Tue Feb 15, 2022 7:13 am

I am considering to apply for astro phd in the next cycle
I keep on seeing people telling astronomy at U of A is a top school
However, I have never heard of this school nor this program
None of my classmates does too
Do anyone know how good is this program? is it a top tier program?

geekusprimus
Posts: 143
Joined: Sat Jun 08, 2019 1:10 pm

Re: How good is Astronomy at University of Arizona?

Post by geekusprimus » Tue Feb 15, 2022 11:33 am

I know some really brilliant astronomers who went to the U of A. They're a great school for astronomy.

gaugeinvariance
Posts: 58
Joined: Fri Sep 18, 2020 6:33 am

Re: How good is Astronomy at University of Arizona?

Post by gaugeinvariance » Mon Mar 07, 2022 1:13 pm

FYI, students are choosing U of Arizona over big names like Caltech and Harvard. I hope this could give you a sense of feeling about how excellent this department is. Do not assume that it is a safety/reach school in any sense. It is a SUPER REACH programme.

xxxjulielz
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Apr 04, 2022 7:09 pm

Re: How good is Astronomy at University of Arizona?

Post by xxxjulielz » Mon Apr 04, 2022 9:24 pm

If you wonder whether/why UofA has a very good astronomy program, look up Kitt Peak!

cosmologyftw
Posts: 14
Joined: Wed Jan 19, 2022 11:45 am

Re: How good is Astronomy at University of Arizona?

Post by cosmologyftw » Sat Apr 30, 2022 5:29 pm

UofA has a fantastic reputation for astronomy and optical physics. It a great program for optics and a top-tier astronomy school (definitely in the top 15). Because location and telescope resources matter so much for the quality of an astronomy program, I would not look too hard at the 'overall' name of the school (outside physics/astronomy). The US southwest and west have many excellent astronomy programs at schools that don't have an top 10/Ivy League like status in science overall. These would include - in no particular order - University of Arizona (all astronomy fields), University of New Mexico (radio astronomy), Arizona State University (Astrophysics + Astrophysics Instrumentation + Experimental Cosmology), UC San Diego (Astrophysics + Cosmology), UC Santa Cruz (all astronomy fields), University of Washington (Astronomy), etc. Many of these are incredibly competitive programs with acceptance rates significantly below 10% and provide excellent opportunities. UofA has Kitt Peak, UCSC has the UC Observatories, ASU has GMT, MWA + more, UNM has the VLA, UCSD has connections to multiple telescopes and well known professors.

The general name of the school does not have much bearing on the quality of their physics/astrophysics/astronomy programs and I think a lot of people get into applications trouble by applying based only on the name of the school and not the quality of the school in their exact research field.



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