University of Chile opens enrollment for Master's and PhD programs in Astronomy

“Those who enter the PhD and Master’s programs in Astronomy at the University of Chile mainly wish to carry out research, teaching and development of astronomy to become professional astronomers,” explains Diego Mardones, PhD in Astrophysics and in charge of Postgraduate Studies at the Astronomy Center.

Applications to the PhD program (here link), are open between August 21 and September 22, “PhD students are mainly focused on doing frontier research, likely to continue  careers in institutions such as universities or observatories,” says the head of Graduate Studies.

Applications to the master’s program (here link), are open between September 4 and October 6. “Those who enter the master’s program wish to use advanced knowledge of astronomy and how it is known, to dedicate to outreach activities, instrumentation work, science policy, instrumental development work in industry, or work that requires intensive use of data,” adds Mardones, “or may subsequently pursue a PhD degree.”.

The Future of Astronomy at the University of Chile

“As a Department, our seal is characterized by excellence at an international level, by a strong historical tradition since the mid-nineteenth century, by social sensitivity and an inclusive and diverse environment,” says Mardones.

Astronomy has awakened great public interest in Chile, given the excellent observing conditions and the outstanding quality of our research environment.  In the past 25 years we grew from having dozens of astronomers in the country to hundreds today.

“The labor field of those who study astronomy has increased enormously. Today instrumentation, astro-engineering, data science, education, astrochemistry and astrobiology are employing a large number of astronomy graduates, in addition to outreach and management of scientific and technological development.  For these reasons, the fear of saturating the market has not yet been realized and today we believe that we have 20 more years of substantial growth, without fearing saturation”, concludes Mardones.

Find out the details to apply to the various postgraduate programs of the Department of Astronomy FCFM of the University of Chile, in the following link.