Announcements
Announcements
Embedded Files
Navigating the Astronomy and Physics Majors (w/ Tamales)
Navigating the Astronomy and Physics Majors (w/ Tamales)
Presenters: Dr. Gurtina Besla (Professor of Astronomy and TIMESTEP Director), Kristy Merdinger (astro/physics academic advisor), Suhani Surana (TIMESTEP student leader)
Presenters: Dr. Gurtina Besla (Professor of Astronomy and TIMESTEP Director), Kristy Merdinger (astro/physics academic advisor), Suhani Surana (TIMESTEP student leader)
September 10th: Steward Observatory, room 204 or Zoom: https://arizona.zoom.us/j/82615759625
Join us for a beginning-of-the-year student mixer and opportunity to learn about the supports available for astronomy and physics majors and minors. We will help you think strategically about planning your courses and out-of-class experiences (research, internships, jobs, study abroad, etc.) to best prepare you for either graduate school applications or to be competitive in the job market. All are welcome!
Announcing: Fall Study Abroad Fair
October 29th, 2025
Study Abroad to see the world and enhance your education through once-in-a-lifetime global experiences! Visit the Fall 2025 Study Abroad Fair from 10AM-2PM on the UA Mall to learn more about our exciting programs, scholarship opportunities, and how you can get ahead academically and stand out professionally by studying abroad.
Students who check in at the fair will be automatically entered into a drawing for a $1000 Study Abroad scholarship!
Students can preregister and sign up for reminders on our event page.
Don’t forget to connect with the #WildcatsAbroad community on Instagram and Facebook to get a sneak peek into what awaits when you study abroad!
See you there!
Undergraduate Research Travel Grant Application Now Open in AZ Cultivate! Application window 9/2/25 – 9/12/25
Who is eligible? Any undergraduate involved in research (broadly defined) and connected to a faculty or staff mentor, who has plans to travel to a conference or other event. Students are asked if they plan to present, but presentation of research is not required to receive a travel grant.
When is the deadline? Complete application (Student application, student-created simple budget & submitted Mentor Support Form) due by 11:59 pm on Friday, September 12th, 2025
When can the student travel? Between September 1, 2025 and February 28, 2026. A separate application window will open in January for travel between March and June.
How much will be awarded, and when will awards be announced?
Up to $1,000 will be awarded in Fall 2025 based on student-submitted budgets.
Awards will be announced by Friday, October 10th, 2025.
Link to Undergraduate Research Travel Grant Information on UR.Arizona.edu (includes a “preview” document that shows students exactly what will be asked on the application)
***Link to the Undergraduate Research Travel Grant Application in AZ Cultivate ***
2025 Fall Career Days - STEM Fair
2025 Fall Career Days - STEM Fair
Date: Tuesday, September 23rd
Time: 11am - 3pm
Location: Student Union Memorial Center
https://career.arizona.edu/events/2025/09/23/2025-fall-career-days-stem-fair/#
Course Repeat Policy (Effective Fall 2025)
Course Repeat Policy (Effective Fall 2025)
Link to UA Catalog to read the policy: https://catalog.arizona.edu/policy/courses-credit/grading/course-repeat
Effective the Fall 2025 semester, the University of Arizona has updated and changed the Course Repeat Policy. The link to the policy is above, but there are a few things that you should be mindful of:
Repeating a Course
Repeating a Course
Students may attempt the same course at the University no more than three times.
Undergraduate Grading for Repeated Courses
Undergraduate Grading for Repeated Courses
When undergraduate students repeat a Regular Graded undergraduate course, the student's GPA reflects only the highest grade earned in the repeated course. Credit is earned only for the completion that is included in the GPA.
All grades earned in the course remain on the academic record and transcript; grades from each attempt on a course may be taken into consideration for students applying to competitive majors or graduate programs at the University of Arizona or other institutions.
What this means:
What this means:
Students cannot attempt a course more than three times -- this is now the official policy. If you are unable to pass a course with the required grade in three attempts, please meet with one of the advisors.
Grade Replacement Opportunity (GRO) has effectively been changed - the "spirit" of GRO remains, but how it is applied has changed:
A) Students will no longer be required to "file" for GRO; it is now an "automatic" process. If a student repeats a course, only the highest grade will be counted as part of their GPA.
B) Under the old policy, students could only GRO up to three unique courses. With this new policy, there is no limit on the number of courses a student can retake and benefit from the highest grade. Please note, students can still only repeat the same course three times.
C) As a reminder, only UA courses count towards UA GPA. Students hoping to retake a UA course and benefit from this policy, must retake the same UA course.
Please meet with an advisor if you have questions about this new policy and how it might affect you, including upper-class students who might benefit from this new policy!
Undergraduate Telescope Operators
Undergraduate Telescope Operators
Dear Astronomy Majors & Minors,
The Department of Astronomy is now accepting applications for Undergraduate Telescope Operators. The job entails operating the Raymond E. White, Jr. Telescope (aka. the “21-inch”) in the historic Steward Observatory building (aka. the “Dome”) for public viewing as part of the Steward Observatory Public Evenings. In addition, undergraduate TOs operate the telescope on Mon – Thu evenings for students in our General Education Astronomy courses to complete their assignments.
Undergraduate TOs will be trained to open, operate, and close the telescope. You will also be expected to explain to our General Education students and members of the public what they are viewing through the telescope.
The position pays $15.00 per hour and involves, on average, 4 hours of work per week. The minimum requirements to apply are that you are an undergraduate student at the University of Arizona, registered for courses in the Fall 2025 Semester, and you must have completed the ASTR 250 course with a grade of “C” or better.
If you wish to apply for this position, please complete the attached application and email it to me at taf@arizona.edu. Please change the PDF file name to include your last name.
SO TO Application.pdfSummer Internship with the Nuclear Security Enterprise
Summer Internship with the Nuclear Security Enterprise
Fall 2025 Opportunities
Fall 2025 Opportunities
The CosmicAI Winter School will be held virtually from December 15–19, 2025 and will focus on building foundational skills in Python programming, statistics, and PyTorch. These core skills will prepare participants for more advanced machine learning topics in the CosmicAI Summer School.
Eligibility:
Open to undergraduate and postbaccalaureate students
U.S. citizens or permanent residents
You can access the application form from either of the following links below:
Main NRAO CosmicAI webpage: https://superknova.org/main-cosmica/
Student Opportunities page: https://superknova.org/student-opportunities/
Application deadline: Monday, September 15, 2025, at 11:59 PM ET
If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact Aida Wofford (awofford@nrao.edu; CosmicAI Program Coordinator, NRAO).
Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU)
Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU)
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