Astronomy - Doctor of Philosophy

The Astronomy Department at NMSU offers programs leading to the Master of Science and the Doctor of Philosophy degrees. Graduate courses cover topics across all of astrophysics, including stellar atmospheres, observational techniques, the interstellar medium, galactic structure, extragalactic objects, cosmology, the Sun, and planets. Students may also take courses in other relevant fields to broaden their knowledge and capabilities. NOTE: This table is only a minimum. As students must register for minimum 9 credits per semester to remain full time, a student will usually obtain more than the minimum 6 credits of ASTR600 and 18 credits of ASTR700 in order to complete their thesis.

Requirements

In order to complete the comprehensive exam by preparing a PhD proposal.

The student will normally submit their proposed thesis title, and then complete their written and oral thesis proposal, as the final part of their comprehensive exam in Year 3. The following table can be used to run a Degree Audit at this stage. Student must have already completed the written coursework comprehensive and oral coursework comprehensive components. After the completion of their comprehensive through passing the PhD proposal, the student will normally apply for and obtain a masters and continue with their progress on the PhD track.

¹ 

ASTR 500 Seminar is 1-credit course. It should be taken each of the first 4 semesters, for 4 total credits over the program

² 

Any 27 credits (9 courses) selected from these. Each course may only be taken for 3 credits.

³ 

In addition to 9 courses from above, students should select another 2 courses (3 credits each, 6 credits total). This can be either another two astronomy graduate classes from above (which will make 11 total different astronomy courses) OR student may opt to take up to 2 out-of-department classes to fulfill the overall credit requirements if these classes are deemed by the student's committee to be appropriate to the student's program-of-study.

A maximum of one 3-credit course numbered between 450 and 499 can be applied to the out-of-department course/credit-hour requirement, and only with the approval of the student's Committee. Otherwise, out of department classes must be at the 500 or greater level.

If more than 6 credits of out-of-department classes are taken, they may potentially count toward the required total courses/credit hours, but only with the approval of the student's Committee.

Traditionally, these have been in the area of PHYS, E E and C S, as listed. Other Physics courses, or courses offered by other departments such as Engineering, Geology, or Math, are also viable as out-of-department courses. Additionally, for those students intending to specialize in planetary science, courses taught in the Geology department and Geophysics courses taught in the Physics department should be considered.

⁴ 

ASTR 598 Special Research Programs is generally taken in the student's 2nd year (fall or spring) and is intended to provide a semi-formal introduction to doing a research project. It may involve research that subsequently develops into a thesis project.

⁵ 

Generally, ASTR 600 Pre-dissertation Research credits are prior to completion of the thesis proposal. A student may take anywhere from 1-9 credits of these in a semester. Students typically take 9 credits of this course each semester until they have completed their thesis proposal. However, only a minimum of 6 are actually required over the program. ASTR600 credits may be in progress.

In order to complete a PhD thesis defense

The MINIMUM course and credit-hour requirements of the NMSU Department of Astronomy toward completion of the Ph.D. program are

¹

ASTR 500 Seminar is 1-credit course. It should be taken each of the first 4 semesters, for 4 total credits over the program

²

Any 27 credits (9 courses) selected from these. Each course may only be taken for 3 credits.

³

In addition to 9 courses from above, students should select another 2 courses (3 credits each, 6 credits total). This can be either another two astronomy graduate classes from above (which will make 11 total different astronomy courses) OR student may opt to take up to 2 out-of-department classes to fulfill the overall credit requirements if these classes are deemed by the student's committee to be appropriate to the student's program-of-study.

A maximum of one 3-credit course numbered between 450 and 499 can be applied to the out-of-department course/credit-hour requirement, and only with the approval of the student's Committee. Otherwise, out of department classes must be at the 500 or greater level.

If more than 6 credits of out-of-department classes are taken, they may potentially count toward the required total courses/credit hours, but only with the approval of the student's Committee.

Traditionally, these have been in the area of PHYS, E E and C S, as listed. Other Physics courses, or courses offered by other departments such as Engineering, Geology, or Math, are also viable as out-of-department courses. Additionally, for those students intending to specialize in planetary science, courses taught in the Geology department and Geophysics courses taught in the Physics department should be considered.

⁴

ASTR 598 Special Research Programs is generally taken in the student's 2nd year (fall or spring) and is intended to provide a semi-formal introduction to doing a research project. It may involve research that subsequently develops into a thesis project.

⁵

Generally, ASTR 600 Pre-dissertation Research credits are prior to completion of the thesis proposal. A student may take anywhere from 1-9 credits of these in a semester. Students typically take 9 credits of this course each semester until they have completed their thesis proposal. However, only a minimum of 6 are actually required over the program.

⁶

Generally, ASTR 700 Doctoral Dissertation credits are taken after the thesis proposal is done. A student may take anywhere from 1-9 credits of these in a semester. Typically a student will do 9 credits of this per semester while completing their thesis research, in order to remain full time. However a student may register for fewer in their final semester of completing their thesis, after confirming with their advisor as to how that affects their eligibility at the graduate school. A minimum of 18 credits are required over the program

Year A

A Suggested Plan of Study For Students

¹

Students must take ASTR 500 Seminar as 1-credit in each of their first 4 semesters, for a total of 4 credits over 2 years

²

Students must takeASTR 598 Special Research Programs for 3 credits during fall of Yr2 or Spring of Yr2

³

Students must continue taking ASTR 600 Pre-dissertation Research until their have completed their Comprehensive Exam. Once a student had completed their Comprehensive Exam, they should start taking ASTR 700 Doctoral Dissertation the following semester. The minimum total number of ASTR 600 Pre-dissertation Research credits for Course Requirements is 6, but students must enroll in 9 credits each semester in order to remain full time and retain eligibility for an GA. Usually students will take 8 ASTR 600 Pre-dissertation Research and 1 ASTR 698 Special Topics. in Fall of Yr 3.

⁴

Assumes a student has completed their Comprehensive Exam - see footnote 3. The minimum number of ASTR 700 Doctoral Dissertation credits for Course Requirements is 18, but students must enroll in 9 credits each semester in order to remain full time and retain eligibility for an GA.

⁵

ASTR 698 Special Topics. in Yr 3 Fall is a 1-credit Thesis Preparation class for all students who are also taking ASTR 600 Pre-dissertation Research that semester

⁶

For students who do not complete their PhD in 5 years, they must continue to enroll in 9 credits of ASTR 700 Doctoral Dissertation each semester in order to remain full time and retain eligibility for an GA. For students in their final semester of dissertation writing, it is possible to petition the Graduate School for permission to enroll in fewer credits, for that one semester only, to reduce tuition expenses.

Year B

A Suggested Plan of Study For Students