Planetary Science

UCLA's graduate program in Planetary Science is focused on training the next generation of planetary scientists by providing a curriculum of graduate-level courses as well as opportunities to conduct research at the forefront of knowledge in the field. Planetary Science encapsulates the scientific study of planetary bodies, a class of celestial objects that generally orbit stars but are distinct from stars in that their internal energy is not (and never was) derived from nuclear fusion. The 8 planets that orbit the Sun, their satellites, dwarf planets such as Ceres and Pluto, and minor planets such as asteroids and comets are all considered planetary bodies. Similar bodies orbiting other stars and those that have been ejected from their parent planetary system are also considered planetary bodies. Planetary Science addresses the formation and evolution of planetary bodies, their physical and chemical properties, their dynamical interactions, their geology, their climate, and their habitability. Components of interest include the interiors, surfaces, atmospheres, and magnetospheres of planetary bodies. Processes of interest include accretion, differentiation, heat production and transport including radioactivity, conduction, convection, and radiative transfer, dynamos, impact cratering, volcanism, tectonism, erosion, atmospheric dynamics and climates, tidal interactions, interactions between planetary layers, interactions with the host star. The field complements and overlaps with some aspects of Astronomy, Meteoritics, Geochemistry, Geology, Geophysics, Mineral Physics, and Plasma Physics, and employs a range of research approaches including theory, numerical modeling, experimental and observational studies using Earth and space-based telescopes and planetary spacecraft missions.

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Program Admission Requirements (Grad Division Site)

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Faculty In Planetary Science

Name	Title	Email
Vassilis Angelopoulos	Professor	vassilis@g.ucla.edu
Jonathan Aurnou	Professor	jona@epss.ucla.edu
Caroline Beghein	Professor	cbeghein@epss.ucla.edu
Mackenzie Day	Assistant Professor	daym@epss.ucla.edu
Mark Harrison	Distinguished Professor Emeritus	tmh@epss.ucla.edu
David Jewitt	Distinguished Professor	jewitt@epss.ucla.edu
Abby Kavner	Professor	akavner@igpp.ucla.edu
Jean-Luc Margot	Professor	jlm@epss.ucla.edu
Kevin Mckeegan	Distinguished Professor Emeritus	mckeegan@epss.ucla.edu
Jonathan Mitchell	Professor	mitch@epss.ucla.edu
Seul Gi Moon	Associate Professor	sgmoon@epss.ucla.edu
William Newman	Professor	win@ucla.edu
David Paige	Professor	dap@epss.ucla.edu
Christopher Russell	Distinguished Professor Emeritus	ctrussel@epss.ucla.edu
Hilke Schlichting	Professor & Associate Dean for Research	hilke@ucla.edu
Lars Stixrude	Professor	lstixrude@epss.ucla.edu
Edward Young	Professor	eyoung@epss.ucla.edu