Financial Aid

UNDERGRADUATE

Campus Financial Aid Office

Students can apply for various Federal and University grants and loans made available through the Office of Financial Aid (located in 201 Sproul Hall). U.S. federal financial aid is not available to students who are not citizens, or permanent residents, of the United States.

Scholarships and Grants

UC Berkeley has numerous grants and scholarships available to their students including the Blue and Gold Opportunity Plan and the Middle Class Scholarship Program. Another option is exploring privately funded scholarships; we suggest checking in with your school adviser and local entities to see what is available. Make sure to report any obtained scholarships!

Work-study Program

Work-study is a federally subsidized hourly wage job program for undergraduate and graduate students. For more information please contact the Work-Study program office.

TA & Reader Appointments

Undergraduates can obtain positions as an Teaching Assistant or reader for one of our Undergraduate courses. Open positions will be advertised each semester.

Off-Campus Employment

There are numerous opportunities for off-campus employment. Please check out the UC Berkeley Career Center site.

Student Prizes and Awards

The department offers various merit-based prizes and awards for Astronomy majors. Students are also able to apply for funding for assistance with covering costs related to research (BPURS) and travel for Astronomy-related conferences and meetings (travel scholarship).

In addition to department prizes, campus sponsors multiple competitive prize contests aimed at rewarding creative expression and scholarly achievement by Berkeley’s finest students.


GRADUATE

Graduate Funding

Astronomy graduate students are provided financial assistance in the forms of fellowships, teaching positions, and research appointments.  This support is meant to cover costs such as registration costs (all fees and nonresident supplemental tuition) and provides a stipend for living expenses while attending Berkeley. For more information pertaining to general campus costs please visit the Graduate Division website. For specific information related to Astronomy, please contact Yasasha Ridel.

Fellowships

While the department provides graduate funding, we encourage applicants to apply for fellowships from sources other than U.C. Berkeley. U.S. citizens and permanent residents are particularly encouraged to apply for fellowships such as the National Science Foundation (NSF), the NASA Harriet Jenkins Predoctoral Fellowship, and the DOE Computational Science Graduate Fellowship.

TA/Teaching

Graduate students obtain funding through TA appointments; this is also a great opportunity to develop teaching and consultation skills. There are also opportunities for instructor positions at other local colleges.

Student Prizes

The department offers various merit-based prizes and awards for Astronomy majors. In addition, students are able to apply for funding for assistance with covering costs related to research and travel for Astronomy-related conferences and meetings.