Michigan Astronomy

Graduate ProgramGraduate Program

Coursework & Requirements

Applications to graduate school are available from the Rackham Graduate School. Get information and application materials from the Admissions homepage.

You can update your billing, permanent, and current addresses and phone numbers,search for classes in the UM Course Catalog, register for classes, view current and historical grade reports, cumulative GPA and credits, and class schedules for your entire academic career, view financial account and disbursed aid information for Spring 2000 and beyond (information prior to Spring 2000 in the old Wolverine Access system) and order official and unofficial transcripts at Wolverine Access.

Scheduling

The graduate program has 7 core classes that are taken during the first two years. In addition, the student takes 4 credits in courses from other departments, known as Cognates, and conducts research.

The typical course schedule during the first two years might be:

The advancement to candidacy exam is given 1-2 months after the end of the Winter semester, Year 2.

UM Astronomy Graduate Course Descriptions

small classes Astro 501. Modern Astronomical Techniques

Permission of instructor. 3 credits.

The physical, mathematical, and practical methods of modern astronomical observations at all wavelengths are covered at a level that will pre- pare students to comprehend published data and prepare for their own observations. Major topics include: noise sources and astrophysical backgrounds; astronomical optics and aberrations; the physical basis of coherent and incoherent photon detectors; design and use of imaging, spectroscopic, and polarimetric instruments; coordinate and filter systems; antenna theory; aperture synthesis and image reconstruction techniques; and further topics of interest at the discretion of the instructor.

Astro 530. Stellar Astrophysics I

Permission of instructor. 3 credits.

Star Formation and the Outer Layers of Stars --- This course covers the assembly of stars and their protoplanetary disks from cold gas dust in the interstellar medium. Specific topics include fragmentation, disk dynamics, and jets. Radiative transfer in stellar atmospheres and envelopes, essential to interpreting observations of stars and their environs, is addressed in the second part.

Astro 531. Stellar Astrophysics II

Permission of instructor. 3 credits.

This course covers the physical principles that determine the structure and the evolution of stars. The stellar structure equations and the physical processes taking place in stellar interiors are discussed in the first part. These principles are applied to the understanding of stellar evolution in the second part.

Becky at workAstro 532. The High Energy Universe

Permission of instructor. 3 credits.

The most energetic phenomena in the universe arise either through dramatic explosions of compact stars or through the infall of material into deep gravitational potentials. One theme of the course is the nature of accretion disks, which play a central role in the release of energy as material is accreted onto white dwarfs, neutron stars, and black holes. In these compact objects, magnetic fields are of critical importance in producing the observed radiation through a variety of processes, which will be explored. Another theme is the nature of exploding stars, supernovae, and the particles accelerated in their shocks. Gamma-ray bursts, the most extreme shock events known, and a rapidly moving field, will be discussed. Among the other topics will be the X-ray emission from very hot gas in galaxies and galaxy clusters, as well as the X-ray and gamma-ray backgrounds.

Astro 533. The Structure and Content of Galaxies

Permission of instructor. 3 credits.

This course provides a detailed introduction to the stellar content gaseous content, and kinematics and dynamics of the Milky Way and of other external galaxies. The basic stellar data of the Galaxy are described along with the distance scale of the Milky Way. The structure of the Galaxy is explored via star counts. A complete description is provided of the kinematics of our Galaxy based on both stellar and 21-cm observations, leading to a detailed discussion of the rotational properties of the Galactic disk. The stellar populations of galaxies are discussed from a kinematic and chemical standpoint, while the global properties of the ISM are explored; these are combined to provide a picture of the large-scale star-formation processes in galaxies. The course offers an introduction on the basic properties and demographics of normal galaxies in the local Universe, including systems within the Local Group and Local Supercluster. The taxonomy and fundamental physical properties of Active Galactic Nuclei are also presented. The course also provides a rigorous introduction to galactic dynamics, including basic properties of the collisionless Boltzmann equation, relaxation processes, orbits in a galactic potential, the Virial theorem, epicyclic orbits, and realistic stellar distribution functions. The course also explores fundamental issues regarding galaxy -scale dynamical instabilities and resonances.

Sarah with her poster before a conferenceAstro 534. The Extragalactic Universe

Permission of instructor. 3 credits.

This course provides an overview of the study of the physical universe as a whole and in terms of its component structures (galaxies and larger structures). It focuses particularly on the universe in the matter dominated epoch, and places emphasis on the dark matter component of the universe.

Topics will include the structure and dynamics of the matter dominated universe, classical tests of the model, the early universe and the microwave epoch, probes of dark matter, estimation of cosmological parameters, gravitational lensing, clustering and large scale structure and formation and evolution of structure.

Astro 535. Astrophysics of the Interstellar Medium

Permission of instructor. 3 credits.

The "interstellar medium", the particulate matter located around and between the stars in a galaxy, occurs in a variety of forms and has temperatures ranging from a few degrees to millions of degrees Kelvin. The properties of the components of the ISM arise from interactions with stars from the period of star formation through stellar death. In this course, we will discuss atomic and molecular processes, along with interactions of radiation and matter and the latest pertinent observations, will be applied toward understanding the physical, ionization, thermal, chemical, emission, and absorption properties of the interstellar medium. Attention will be given to fill regions, planetary nebulae, supernova remnants, cool neutral gas, molecular clouds, hot or X-ray-emitting gas, and particulate "dust" grains. In addition, the global and evolutionary properties of gas and dust in our Galaxy will be carefully examined.

Grad students at the 2006 picnik690. Theoretical Astrophysics

Permission of instructor. 1-4 credits.

691. Observational Astrophysics

Permission of instructor. 1-4 credits.

699. Special Problems

Permission of instructor. 1-8 credits.

901. Research in Theoretical Astrophysics

Permission of instructor. 1-8 credits.

902. Research in Observational Astrophysics

Permission of instructor. 1-8 credits.

990. Dissertation/Precandidate

Permission of instructor; advanced doctoral students. 1-8 credits.

Election for dissertation work by doctoral student not yet admitted as a Candidate.

995. Dissertation/Candidate

Permission of instructor; doctoral candidates. 8 credits.

Graduate School authorization for admission as a doctoral Candidate. N.B. The defense of the dissertation (the final oral examination) must be held under a full term Candidacy enrollment period.

Questions/comments concerning the graduate courses should be directed to: astro.phd.inquiries@umich.edu.