Students wishing to participate in the Astrobiology Program must be accepted for admission in the usual way by one of these departments. Astrobiology requires intense interdisciplinarity, something not provided by traditional graduate programs. This program presents an opportunity to breach the walls between overly specialized disciplines and departments. The goal is to create a cadre of students each of whom has particularly strong expertise in one aspect of astrobiology and is reasonably knowledgeable in a variety of others. Our program's goal is to fully integrate research and education, and to create intellectual coherence around the central theme of astrobiology, thus creating a truly new community of scholars and investigators.
Students have a choice of three degree paths.
Regardless of the option, all students must satisfy the course, seminar, and workshop requirements. Science and Engineering Departments Students are admitted by existing departments and need to satisfy most of those departments' usual Ph.D. requirements. In some cases, the astrobiology program is negotiating with each department to modify their usual requirements for astrobiology students. Modifications can include changes in course work, examination structure, and title of degrees granted. Independent Ph.D. Program Once admitted to a participating department, some students may wish to apply to the Graduate School for permission to pursue an independent Ph.D. program.