Master's in Astronomy, Mentions in Observational Astronomy, Astrobiology, and Astroengineering

Specific Goals

• To deliver a solid foundation in General Astronomy.
• To train graduates with research experience in a specific area of Astronomy or an Astronomy-related area.
• To deliver essential knowledge for the graduate’s potential specialization in the fields of Astroengineering and Astrobiology.
• To deliver graduates field work experience.
• To provide graduates with experience in the obtaining and reduction of astronomical data.

Graduates of the Master’s in Astronomy program will master current astronomy topics and their scientific bases, and will have specific knowledge about their specialization topic, defined by the set of courses they take and the thesis topic they develop. This knowledge will allow them to work at a basic level in different fields in scientific research centers and/or to participate in a doctorate program.

Graduates from the Master’s in Astronomy project will be able to:

• Use a set of observation techniques, data reduction and international databanks and to manipulate astronomical instruments (telescopes, CCD cameras, etc.)
• Propose and put into practice methods and techniques that support basic research in the academic field.
• Communicate efficiently with qualified engineering professionals by delivering appropriate requirements. Work efficiently on real projects, be it on an individual basis, on a group, or in complex interdisciplinary environments, being able to study for life.
• Deduce and use solutions through their knowledge of Astronomy, engineering, biology, and their scientific bases.
• Use, manipulate, and create computer systems to benefit their research.
• Work efficiently on research projects or in complex interdisciplinary environments.
• Write theses, reports, projects, and publications at a standard professional level, with a quality equivalent to that of publishable works, and to make their work known to an audience composed by their peers.

The program is taught in a modular way to a total of 120 credits, distributed as shown in the Curriculum.
Curriculum Download

Since Astronomy is based in scientific research, it is not possible to carry out research without previous knowledge of the topic to be researched. This program has a research-centered nature and is formed by courses that ensure the teaching of theoretical knowledge to students as well as providing them with practical tools for their professional future through directed research projects starting from their first semester. The program is taught in person and requires exclusive dedication.

2021 Fees

• Registration fee: $200.000 CLP
• Annual fee: $2.500.000 CLP

Scholarships

External Scholarships

• This is an accredited master’s program, therefore, all regular students, including new entrants, may apply for ANID scholarships meant for master’s studies. For more information, read:
  https://www.anid.cl/concursos/
• Foreign students may apply to AGCI scholarships in their home country. For more information, read: https://www.agci.cl/index.php/becas/becas-para-extranjeros

Internal Scholarships

• Program Fee Release scholarships exempt their beneficiary from the obligation to pay their respective program’s tuition fees, either fully or partially. However, they must still pay the registration fee in full.
• Academic Excellence scholarships are awarded to postgraduate students in accredited programs or programs in accreditation or reaccreditation processes (with a report sent to the accrediting entity), considering the beneficiary’s Academic merits, and they consist in a reduction of the program’s total tuition fees along with a monthly allowance. However, they must still pay the registration fee.
• Financial Aid to attend congresses, which consists in support for accredited postgraduate students (or those in the accreditation process), will be granted after an application process that is available twice a year (first semester of each year for congresses taking place within that year’s second semester, and second semester for those taking place in the following year’s first semester). This support will consist of a financial aid equivalent to a verifiable maximum of 15 UF for national congresses and 25 UF maximum for international congresses. For this purpose, that year’s January 2nd UF value will be used.
• Productivity Allocation scholarships are intended to incentivize students taking postgraduate programs to publish their research in scientific journals. If the publication is in a journal indexed in Web of Science’s (WoS) Journal Citation Report (JCR), this will consist of 15 UF. If the publication is in the SCOPUS or Scielo systems, this will consist of 6 UF. For this purpose, that year’s January 2nd UF value will be used, and it will only be awarded once per publication.
• Other scholarships, without excluding the aforementioned benefits, Research Centers or other units within the University may use their own resources to provide the University’s graduate students with other benefits.

* If the entire annual fee is paid upfront, a 10% discount is applied.

There are several scholarships for students of the Master’s in Astronomy program that may be used to pay the student’s fees or other expenses, but could require additional research work to be carried out by the student.
Other benefits (such as partial or total exemption from fees) may be added throughout the selection process.
If you are interested in receiving a scholarship, please state so in the letter of intent you must include in your application.
All candidates applying for a scholarship will be subject to an interview with the academics.

To hold a Bachelor’s degree or a professional diploma with contents equivalent to those required to be obtain a bachelor’s degree in fields compatible with the program’s (however, those that wish to apply despite coming from other areas may still be considered on a case-by-case basis):

• Mechanical engineering.
• Electrical engineering.
• Physics.
• Astronomy.
• Science.
• Biology.

To submit an application request using the Postgraduate Direction’s official forms within deadlines established for the 2019 call.  Application form download

Attach the following documents to your application:

• A letter of intent, written by the applicant, explaining their interest in entering the program.
• Two letters of recommendation.
• Original degree or professional diploma. A legalized copy is also accepted for application purposes.
• Undergraduate grades report.
• An indication of the source of the financial resources to be used during the study period (e.g., their own resources, a scholarship, etc.).
• Accreditation of an upper intermediate English knowledge through TOEFL or TOEIC test results.
• Alternatively, the applicant may request (in their letter of intent) to directly prove their English level through an interview with the program’s academics.
• Birth certificate.

Applications
July 1 to July 15; however, questions and expressions of interest are received year-round at:

• astro.magister@uantof.cl
• www.astro.uantof.cl/magister