New York University NYU Abu Dhabi 30 courses 70 total credits
Humanity’s interest in the stars is older than history itself. While for millennia, humanity could only passively study the cosmos, the dawn of the “space-age” nearly a century ago means that we now actively interact and engage with its celestial surroundings -- launching people, satellites, and probes to explore the innermost and outermost Solar System, and building observing facilities to study everything from our closest celestial neighbors to the earliest structures formed after the Big Bang. These explorations have enabled humanity's ability to communicate and monitor conditions literally across the globe, and are the direct result of improvements in the technology, data analysis techniques, and theoretical models used to try and understand the behavior of the tiniest subatomic particles to the largest clusters of galaxies, the motion of particles in the atmospheres of terrestrial planets like the Earth and Mars to the regions around black holes more massive than a million Suns. The PhD in Astrophysics and Space Systems at NYU Abu Dhabi aims to train the next generation of scientists and researchers who will be at the forefront of technological and scientific exploration of the cosmos. This program is the first of its kind in the UAE, and the NYU global network, and one of the first in the MENA region. Students will be prepared not only for positions in academia (as typical for a PhD in Astrophysics ) but also in the growing field of the space industry and space exploration. Students will qualify for various jobs in industry -- including consultancy companies, government agencies such as MBRSC and the UAESA, as well as positions at R&D and engineering firms. Moreover, students will have the research experience needed for postdoctoral fellowships at leading institutions around the globe, that might lead to careers in academia or leading roles in international, space-related, institutions (like NASA, UAESA, and other national space agencies). Finally, by requiring all students to develop, execute, and complete a multi-year-long research project before earning their PhD, we will ensure that our graduates have the skills needed to independently oversee/execute complex tasks regardless of their future career. Furthermore, such a project would necessitate students developing the computational and analytical skills required in a wide range of sectors. This is enhanced by the exposure of all students to the engineering, data analysis, and theoretical sides of space sciences, ensuring our graduates have a breadth of knowledge and skills rarely developed at similar programs across the globe. The program has a set of common classes (three core classes and two mandatory labs) and then offers two interconnected tracks: Astrophysics, and Space Systems. Elective classes are track-specific. The program is made up of 70 credits, completed over five years. 40 credits are completed through formal coursework, while 30 credits are awarded for the dissertation. Candidates must have completed at least a bachelor's degree before commencing the PhD program. Candidates need to provide information about any graduate-level courses and degrees have completed. While degrees do not have to be in a particular discipline, a successful application will need to demonstrate the mastery needed to engage effectively with doctoral-level work in this program.
Required Courses
| Code | Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| APHY-GH 6010 | Astrophysical Objects | 4 |
| APHY-GH 6011 | Detectors and Telescopes | 4 |
| APHY-GH 6012 | Radiative Processes | 4 |
Required Labs
Select two of the following:
| Code | Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| APHY-GH 6110 | Astroparticle Lab | 2 |
| APHY-GH 6111 | Optical Spectrometry Lab | 2 |
| APHY-GH 6112 | Optics and Photon Detection Lab | 2 |
| APHY-GH 6113 | Radio Astronomy Lab | 2 |
| APHY-GH 6114 | X-Ray Astronomy Lab | 2 |
Complete four electives for a minimum of 16 credits from one of the tracks below
Research Seminar
| Code | Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| APHY-GH 7010 | Research Rotation I & II | 4 |
| Total | 16 credits | |
PhD Dissertation Research
| Code | Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| APHY-GH 7090 | Dissertation Research: Astrophysics and Space Systems | 4-9 |
| Total PhD Dissertation Research | 30 credits | |
Elective Courses for Astrophysics Track
Elective Courses for Space Systems Track
Elective Common Courses for Astrophysics and Space Systems Tracks
| Code | Course Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| APHY-GH 7011 | Fluid Mechanics | 4 |
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