Welcome prospective graduate students! We are glad you are interested in choosing UC Berkeley to assist in your pursuit of higher education.
The Graduate Division’s Online Application is available now at this link . Please note the Department of Astronomy admits new graduate students for the Fall Semester only.
Fee Waiver: U.S. citizens or permanent residents who can demonstrate financial need are eligible to apply for a waiver of the application fee. See guidelines for waivers.
The deadline to apply for Fall 2026 admission is 8:59pm PST on December 1st, 2025.
The application process is entirely online. Please read the application instructions thoroughly. All supporting material, including your transcripts, should be uploaded to your application. Your application will be reviewed with your unofficial transcripts and students are encouraged to send their updated transcripts that include their Fall grades when available. If you are recommended for admission to the Astrophysics PhD program, you must submit official copies of your transcript for final approval of your admission by Graduate Division’s Graduate Admissions Office.
Our review process begins in early December. We typically expect to make offers of admission by the end of February or beginning of March.
A Note about Skill-Preparation Courses
In the online application, there will be a page asking you to enter the names and grades for the courses that provide relevant skills for graduate school. Please provide U.S. letter grades. For international applicants, please use this conversion chart to convert the grade to the equivalent U.S. letter grade.
Math courses (calculus, differential equations, linear algebra) and upper-division physics courses (e.g., classical mechanics, electricity & magnetism, thermal/statistical mechanics, quantum) should be included. Any courses in Computing/Astronomy/Statistics/Earth-Planetary Science are optional, but we encourage you to include them here in this form to demonstrate your academic preparation more clearly.
A Note about Reference Letters
Please instruct your reference writers to consider including the following points:
- Details on student’s academic performance in upper-division courses
- Proficiency in math skills, programming, and other research-related skills
- Fractional contribution by the applicant to any published/in-preparation papers
A Note on the GREs
The GRE is no longer required nor accepted.
Brief Guidelines for the Statement of Purpose
Please describe in a maximum of two pages (font 12pts or larger, 1-inch margin on all sides):
- Your aptitude and motivation for Astrophysics.
- Your preparation in Math, Physics, Computing and/or Astronomy.
- Describe in detail your research experience in Astrophysics (if any), including projects in class settings, mentioning explicitly what new skills/knowledge you acquired in the process. If you worked within a group/team, be specific about what your contribution/role was.
- Your current research interests, in relation to research done at UC Berkeley.
- Your academic plans, ambitions, and future career goals.
- Be specific about why UC Berkeley Astronomy would be a good intellectual fit for you.
Brief Guidelines for the Personal History Statement
Please describe how your background and life experiences have influenced your decision to pursue a graduate degree at this time. This may include formative experiences, values, or motivations that have influenced your academic and/or professional path. Maximum of one page (font 12pts or larger, 1-inch margin on all sides):
- Any educational, familial, cultural, economic or social experiences or opportunities that have shaped your academic journey
- Challenges or responsibilities you have navigated in pursuit of your educational goals, and how you responded to or overcame them
- Significant barriers or hardships you have faced, and how they have contributed to your growth and shaped your perspective
- Leadership experiences, community outreach, service initiatives, or research projects you have participated in or plan to pursue that aim to positively impact others or the broader community
- Ways in which your perspectives, experiences, or aspirations have aligned with UC Berkeley’s Principles of Community
While writing this essay, please remember that this document will be read by many faculty in the Astronomy department.
International Students
All applicants from countries and regions in which the official language is not English are required to submit official evidence of English language proficiency. This requirement applies to applicants from Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Latin America, the Middle East, Israel, the People’s Republic of China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Southeast Asia, most European countries, and non-English-speaking countries in Africa.
If you have completed at least one year of full-time academic course work with grades of B or better in residence at a U.S. university, you do not need to take a standardized test. Instead, you must submit an official transcript from the U.S. university.
We will only accept TOEFL tests administered by the Educational Testing Service (ETS) and sent to us directly by the TOEFL office. We do not accept the TOEFL ITP Plus for Mainland China or Duolingo. For Fall 2026, tests taken before June 1, 2024 will not be accepted even if your score was reported to UC Berkeley. The institution code for UC Berkeley is 4833 for Graduate Programs.
For purposes of admission, your most recent score must be at least 90 for the Internet-based test (IBT). Please plan to take the TOEFL as soon as possible to avoid delays in the review of your application.
You can also submit scores from the Academic Modules of the International English Language Testing System (IELTS), which is jointly managed by the British Council, IDP:IELTS Australia, and the University of Cambridge ESOL Examinations.
All IELTS scores must be sent electronically from the testing center, no institution code is required. Our address for identification purposes is: University of California, Berkeley, Graduate Division, Sproul Hall Rm 318, MC 5900, Berkeley, CA 94720. Please do not mail any score reports to us. For Fall 2026, tests taken before June 1, 2024 will not be accepted. Your most recent overall Band score must be at least 7 on a 9-point scale.
International applicants may convert their GPAs to the 4.0 scale used by UC Berkeley, but doing so is optional. For conversion, please follow these instructions: International GPA Conversion
Email Astrophysics Graduate Admissions.
When reviewing applications, the committee takes a holistic evaluation process and uses transcripts, statements, resumes, writing samples, and reference letters to look for evidence of proficiency in physics, mathematics, astronomy, and written communication.
After reading the above material, if you have further questions on admission to our program, you can send e-mail to gradinfo@astro.berkeley.edu.