Graduate Planetary Sciences
Both the Earth Sciences and Astronomy departments offer PhD's and Master's degrees in Planetary Sciences. People in other departments may also be looking for planetary students; click here for a list of potential advisors and here to get an idea of the kind of research being carried out.

General information on graduate applications to UCSC may be found here. The application deadline is generally early January. Any graduate program will require applicants to take the General GRE exam; the Astronomy department also requires a Physics GRE. Although high grades and previous research experience are important in an application, the most important part of the application is the letters of recommendation. It is also usually to the applicant's advantage to choose a prospective advisor and talk to that person prior to making the application.

The Astronomy and Earth Sciences graduate programs are significantly different in the number and type of courses required. More details on the Astronomy graduate experience may be found here and the Earth Sciences graduate experience here.