Undergraduate Advising
Astronomy is a “capacity constrained” major. Entrance into the Astronomy major is by application, and admission is twice each year. Application deadlines are the third Friday of Autumn quarter and the third Friday of Spring quarter. *Winter Quarter Transfer Admission: Students transferring to the UW in Autumn or Winter quarter may also apply the third Friday of Winter quarter. Here is the application form.
Our Undergraduate Advising Team (astroadvising@uw.edu) is available to help with academic and career planning, and answer questions and concerns of undergraduates, alumni and prospective students. They can assist with registration holds, distribution of major course add codes, application to major questions, or applying for graduation.
SCHEDULE AN UNDERGRAD ADVISING APPOINTMENT
NB: In-person advising is currently not available.
Graduate Advising
The Astronomy department has designed a Graduate Mentoring Program to help students progress towards their PhD. In brief, this program has 5 main components:
- A flexible "mentoring team" of 3 people to serve as resources and advocates, consisting of at least 2 Astronomy faculty members
- A regularly updated Major Milestones tracking form
- An annual student-led Individual Development Form (IDP), to help students and mentors come to a shared understanding of the student's goals and plans for the year
- An annual structured discussion of student progress, incorporating feedback from both the student and the advisor, to help reflect on the past year while setting the student up for a successful coming year
- A 1-2 page research plan, to allow the student, research advisor, and mentoring team to assess the feasibility and scope of the student's current research project
VIEW GRAD MENTORING PROGRAM HANDBOOK (PDF)
The Graduate Program Advisor is available to discuss degree requirements and planning; however, graduate students are encouraged to regularly meet with their mentoring team. Please consult the department’s online Graduate Mentoring Program handbook for the most detailed and up-to-date information on the Ph.D. program structure and requirements.