The deadline for receipt of all materials is December 1, 2024.
(Note: this is a change to a slightly earlier date than the deadline originally announced.)
Applications for the Fall 2025 semester opened in September 2024. The Astronomy program does not offer Spring admission.
Most students apply for the PhD program and obtain the MS degree en route. We occasionally accept students for the MS degree only, but these tend to be special cases, for example funded by a short-term fellowship. We are also happy to consider transfers from other graduate programs and offer a fast-track to dissertation research after one year of coursework (or even zero in special circumstances) for students who already have an MA/MS degree.
We especially encourage students with personal and/or professional connections to Hawaii to apply.
The university charges a $100 application fee. If you are considering applying to the Astronomy program and this fee is a financial burden, you can apply for our need-based fee waiver. The deadline to apply for a fee waiver is November 15, 2024.
The application process is online through the University of Hawaii System. To begin the process, click the grey “Apply Here” button and follow the instructions to create an account and begin the process. You will receive a welcome email that includes an instructional video and a link to more information – please review these carefully.
For the choice of program in the online application, select either “Astronomy – MS (Fall)” or “Astronomy – PhD (Fall)” (though see above text about MS applications). As part of the application, you will need to submit the following:
- Your transcript(s)
- A Curriculum Vita (CV)
- A Personal Statement: See description below
- Letters of recommendation: 2 letters required and 3 letters are preferred. You do not submit these directly, rather you enter the contact information for your letter writers who will then receive an email with submission instructions.
The transcripts should be submitted in the Documents tab of the Supporting Information section of the online application, while the rest of the materials will be submitted in the Program Materials section.
Note that we admit students to the Astronomy program in general, not connected to any specific faculty member or research area at the time of admission. You are welcome to contact individual faculty to understand their research opportunities better, but their specific funding situation has no bearing on the evaluation of your application.
All of your materials, including letters of recommendation, should be submitted by the application deadline listed above.
Personal statement: This is very important. Please describe your achievements and research experience, including any coding or instrumentation skills. List your astronomical interests and any other information you think might be relevant to your application. You are also welcome to provide links to papers or personal websites that provide more detail. Please aim for 2-3 pages. You should upload this under the “Statement of Objective” category in the Documents tab of the Program Materials section in the online application.
GPA requirement: Students must satisfy the university’s application criteria, which include a grade point average of at least 3.0 (or the equivalent) in undergraduate course work and in all postgraduate-level or graduate course work. In rare cases, students who demonstrate extraordinary ability and potential to succeed, yet do not quite meet these criteria, may be considered for admission – please be sure to address this in your Personal Statement.
GRE scores: General GRE and Physics GRE scores are optional for our admissions process. It is up to individual applicants to decide whether to submit these (University of Hawaii Manoa, institution code = 4867). For instance, students who feel that their grades or other aspects of their application materials do not fully demonstrate their potential for graduate study might consider submitting GRE scores. Our admissions process uses a holistic approach, based on the totality of information for each applicant. We do not employ GRE minimum cutoff values as part of our evaluation process, and lack of GRE scores will not be a strike against your application. Due to the pandemic, we have not accepted GRE scores in recent years, so at this point we cannot provide numerical benchmarks to assist you in deciding whether to submit scores or not.
International students: Please review this page before applying. Applicants whose native language is not English are required to demonstrate English proficiency by taking the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) or the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), with exemptions listed here and minimum required scores here. Test scores cannot be more than two years old.
For GRE, TOEFL, and IELTS scores, unofficial results can be submitted at this stage. If you are admitted, then official scores must be submitted before you can register for classes.
We usually make admissions decisions by early February.
If you have any questions, please contact our Graduate Chair at gradchair AT ifa.hawaii.edu.