------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Astronomy Graduate Program at Caltech -- SRK
------------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY.
Caltech astronomy is rated to be the best astronomy department in the
US. Two dozen faculty cover the gamut of astronomical fields:
planetary science, observational ground based astronomy -- optical and
radio, space based astronomy and theory. At any given time the
total graduate strength stands at 40. As a testament to the program
this is about equal to the number of postdocs also. Clearly, there
is huge interest in young people coming to Caltech as evidenced
by a full house of Hubble Fellows and Chandra Fellows.
In my opinion, this is a great place if you are a highly motivated
student. We are rich in resources and our students get to use
the world's best instruments as a part of their thesis effort.
Indeed, the main complaint I hear is that student's find that
research life after Caltech is a bit of a let down! And now some
details.
BASIS OF ADMISSION.
We use the following metrics for admission (no particular order).
1. Your Grade in College.
2. GRE Score (Gen)
3. GRE Score (Physics or other Advanced)
4. Letters of Recommendation
5. Statement of Purpose.
It is very difficult for us to normalize your grade in college to those
of other applicants, especially if you come from a foreign country
(though in some cases, e.g. IITs in India, Cambridge University, Sydney
University etc, we have a better idea).
We very much value your GRE (general) scores and many faculty value
your GRE (Physics) score even more (particularly for foreign
students). Often students appear for GRE (Physics) in the Fall or
Winter exam (i.e. October or December) and the scores do not reach us
in time. Please ensure that your GRE scores reach us since they are an
important metric for admission.
We have found over time that the best students are those who have
a sound academic background AND a keen desire to undertake research.
The former are measured by items 1-3 above and the latter by
items 4 and 5. To this end, we read your statement of purpose very
carefully. We are especially impressed with energetic and motivated
students -- those who took the initiative and joined summer schools
and accomplished summer projects. It is your advantage to highlight
such past work in your statement of purpose. Your statement should
certainly include your reasons for going to a graduate program. We do
not expect you to have a well defined PhD project but we are keen
to know why you wish to pursue graduate study. After all, astronomy
research jobs are scarce and it is widely reported that only 1/3 to 1/2
of the PhD students continue and stay in the field.
[For US students. We take into account of your participation in
the summer schools of NRAO, Kitt Peak, Arecibo. I encourage
attendance since it gets you doing some research early on. However,
I must also caution that, thanks to the free availability of
NSF funded REU program, almost any student with a modest interest
and less than modest talent is able to get into an REU program.
The result is a group of students who are experts in IRAF and
flatfielding but whose basic education in physics and mathematics
is weak.]
Letters of recommendation, especially if they are written by people we
know, carry a lot of weight. It is best to ask people with whom you
have worked a lot to write letters (even if they are not famous
professors etc) for you. Asking a professor with whom your only
contact is a class results in a shallow letter of little value. We
receive many such letters (especially from students in foreign
countries) and I am afraid that these letters add very little to your
package.
FLEXIBLE APPROACH:
Students interested in astronomy get into our program via three
possible channels: astronomy (mainly focussed on observational
astronomy), physics (mainly focussed on experimental astrophysics) and
planetary sciences (mainly focussed on solar system and extra-solar
planets). Our theorists (Kamionkowski, Phinney, Goldreich, Thorne,
Sari,Stevenson) shared dual appointments (some with Physics and
some with planetary science) and get students from all streams.
Students, regardless of the stream they join, can work with any
professor in any of these departments (assuming that the professor is
interested etc).
A TYPICAL TIMELINE:
A typical timeline (in Astronomy) is as follows:
Year 1: Take a total of 7 astronomy courses and 3 physics courses
Year 2: October, appear for the Prelim exam (written exam tests your
understanding of the 7 core astronomy courses)
During this year we also expect students to carry out
TA duties as a part of their teaching requirement.
Year 3: October-December period, PhD qualifying exam.
At this exam, the student presents an outline of the
proposed thesis topic. The exam is usually preceeded
by 6-9 months of preparation and preliminary work
in the area proposed for thesis.
Year 5: Spring-Summer, PhD Defense.
THE FIRST TWO YEARS:
In the first two years, the students are treated in a different manner
compared to years 3-5. To start with these students are paid from a
"pool" and thus are not obliged to work for a professor to get a
stipend. We are particularly proud of this feature (in most schools,
students are aligned with professors who can pay right from the
start). This feature allows our student the freedom to fully focus on
the courses (should they feel that they lack a proper background) or
carry out a mix of courses and research (as is done by our better
prepared and more ambitious students) and then use the period between
summer of their first year and the Fall of the second year to explore
one or more thesis possibilities. About half the students usually zoom
into a topic and then stick to it. The other half try at least one
other topic before settling down into a thesis topic.
Preparation for the PhD Qualifying Exam requires that the student
start working with an advisor of his or her choice typically 6 to
9 months ahead of the exam.
Starting from year 3, the advisee-advisor relation is closer.
The advisor is responsible for guiding the student and for
taking care of the stipend, research expenses etc.
FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE:
As stated above, the department as a whole takes care of the financial
burden in the first two years and beyond the advisor. There has been a
consistent shortage of students compared to the positions that the
faculty as a whole can and do offer (we have a strict policy of
admitting students based on high quality and not our needs). Support
has never been a big issue. Over the nearly 15 years I have been here
I can honestly state that all of our students have been fully supported
over the course of their PhD. As stated above, we support the
students with no question asked for the first year. During the
academic portion of the second year, we expect them to be TAs. The
duties are light (given the small size of Caltech). After that
the students are supported by research assistantships by their
advisors.
SOME CAUTIONARY STATEMENTS.
I would like to end by noting four points:
1. What you have read so far and what is given below
is strictly my opinion. This is not the official opinion of the
department.
2. You should go to graduate school if you are truly interested
in pursuing a research career. Many students continue from
undergraduate college to graduate school as a matter of course
(inertia). I have consistently advised my undergraduates to take a
year off and join Peace Corp or become a programmer in a commercial
outfit or travel and then join graduate school only if the urge
persists.
The smartest people do NOT necessarily make the best researchers.
Drive or Ambition counts for a lot as does strategy. Neither of
these play a significant role in your undergraduate phase of life.
These statements are especially true if you wish to be an observer
or experimentalist. [The best proof for this assertion is to
look at the resumes of CEOs of successful companies. You must have
heard of a high school dropout who made it big.]
I believe I am an excellent example of a modestly endowed scientist
who has accomplished a fair bit by sheer hard work and
determination. (Incidentally, Caltech rejected my application
to their graduate program.)
3. Many students join astronomy programs wanting to work on GR and
theoretical cosmology and black holes etc. The fact is that
only a small fraction of the population has the necessary analytical
skills to become an outstanding theorist. In contrast, a larger
fraction has the potential to become outstanding experimentalists
and observers. So judge for yourself where your strengths lie.
Exploit them.
4. Finally, I hope you are aware of the abundance of astronomy PhDs.
Join the program only if you are determined to become a great
astronomer. However, be prepared for being disappointed.