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Graduate Programs in Astrobiology

Astrobiology is the field of science through which humankind will strive to determine whether or not we are alone in the universe, and how life on Earth originated. If we are not alone, what is the nature of extraterrestrial life? UCLA is one of the eleven members of the NASA Astrobiology Institute, and is exceptionally well placed to address these issues because it fosters a group of talented scientists with complementary skills in biochemistry, paleobiology, evolutionary biology, microbiology, molecular biology, isotope geochemistry, geology, astronomy, planetary science, space physics, atmospheric sciences, earth system science, and nonlinear dynamics who work and teach collaboratively. Institutional strengths include the IGPP Center for the Study of Evolution and the Origin of Life (CSEOL); the UCLA ACCESS program for interdepartmental graduate education in molecular biology; the W.M. Keck Foundation National Center for Isotope Geochemistry; and major partnerships in the Keck and SOFIA observatories. 

Graduate Degree Programs:

• Astrobiology
• Astronomy and Planetary Science
• Geobiology and Paleobiology
• Geology and Geochemistry
• Microbiology and Geomicrobiology
• Molecular and Evolutionary Biology

How to Apply:

There are three principal ways to enter the graduate programs in Astrobiology at UCLA. These are through the Departments of Physics & Astronomy and Earth & Space Sciences or through the ACCESS Program for students in the Life Sciences. After you have decided on the program that interests you and meets your needs, click on one of the following links to obtain application materials.

UCLA Earth & Space Sciences

UCLA Astronomy (general info)

UCLA Astronomy (graduate info)

UCLA Astronomy (undergraduate info)

UCLA ACCESS
(programs in the molecular, cellular, and integrative life sciences)

Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics (IGPP)