OverviewSalary and DebtIs a Bachelor's EnoughCareersSchoolsRelated ProgramsGenderRace/Origin
Overview
Planetary astronomy and science is a program that focuses on the scientific study of planets, small objects, and related gravitational systems. includes instruction in the structure and composition of planetary surfaces and interiors, planetary atmospheres, satellites, orbital mechanics, asteroids and comets, solar system evolution and dynamics, planetary evolution, gravitational physics, and radiation physics.
Explore Pathways
Careers for program graduates
Planetary astronomy and science majors work in these careers, which are sized by percentage of majors in the career (at least 1%) and colored by the predominant level of education.
Fewer details
Current completions
What level of degree do most graduates achieve, and do they match what your goals?
Completions over time
Have completions for astronomy and astrophysics changed over time? Increasing completions may mean you'll likely have an easier time finding a school that offers this degree, with the opposite being true as well.
Show percentages
Number of graduates
Research Doctorate
Master's Degree
Bachelor's Degree
Salary and Debt
Context: median salaries
How does the median (middle) salary for astronomy and astrophysics majors compare to the median salaries for other college majors?
Distribution: astronomy and astrophysics majors' salaries by education level
What is the salary distribution for graduates with a bachelor's inastronomy and astrophysics by the level of their highest degree (Graduate degrees may not be in the same field as the bachelor’s)
We only include salary data when the survey error is less than 20%, so you may see only partial information for some categories.
Is a bachelor's degree all you need?
Education level of workers with a bachelor's in astronomy and astrophysics
Is a bachelor's degree going to be sufficient to make you competative in the job market? We can look at the education level of workers with a bachelors in this degree to see if there is a likely need for a graduate degree. You'll also want to check out the careers section on this page to where they are employed.
This chart shows the level of education of workers with a bachelor's degree in astronomy and astrophysics. The worker's graduate degree may have been completed in a different field.
Education level of workers
Bachelor's Degree
Master's Degree
Professional Degree
Doctorate
Fewer details
Context: Graduate degrees in any field by undergraduate ACS degree
About 63% of astronomy and astrophysics majors chose to also earn a graduate degree (possibly of a different major). The percentage of astronomy and astrophysics majors who also earned a graduate degree is higher than about 96% of other fields.
Context: Percentage salary boost obtained with a graduate degree
How important is a graduate degree for earning a higher salary? We can see the difference in salary of workers with a bachelors in this degree to workers with a bachelor’s AND a graduate degree.
Careers
Top careers for those with a degree in astronomy and astrophysics
Following are the most frequent jobs held by people who earned a bachelor's degree in Astronomy and Astrophysics (which combines 3 programs), though may not be limited to just those with a bachelor’s.
Fewer details
Careers for astronomy and astrophysics majors
Where do astronomy and astrophysics majors work, and how well do those jobs pay? A ** in the job title indicates that the Department of Education recommends this job for this program.
Career
Select any column header to sort by that column, and select any row to explore that career.
**Postsecondary Teachers
Software Developers
Specialized Physical Scientists
Specialized Managers
Elementary and Middle School School Teachers
Chief executives and legislators
**Astronomers and physicists
Management Analysts
Specialized Life Scientists
Specialized Engineers
First-Line Supervisors of Retail Sales Workers
Not so much?
The top ten careers for workers with a bachelor's in astronomy and astrophysics
Take a minute to interact with this sankey diagram. Follow the top ten jobs held by astronomy and astrophysics graduates through to their most hired majors. Learn where it may easiest to find work. Expand the careers to explore other majors that might lead to the job that excites you the most. *For many majors, the top ten jobs don't even include half of graduates!*
Expand careers
What careers hire astronomy and astrophysics majors as one of their top 10?
To the left of this diagram, see all careers that hire astronomy and astrophysics majors as one of their top 10 majors, and on the right, see what proportion of openings for the jobs on the left are filled by astronomy and astrophysics majors.
Where can I complete this degree
Explore schools that offer planetary astronomy and science degrees and certificates
You can use this table to find schools that offer this program based on location and program level offered. Each entry goes to a school page similar to this one with all our information about that school.
Understanding the columns
The school list includes a few facts about each school that give you an idea of the educational quality each school might offer:
Student-Faculty Ratio: A small number of students per full-time instructor suggests individual attention for each student and an up-to-date curriculum.
Satisfaction Rate: A high percentage of returning first-year students should correlate with satisfaction (schools call this their retention rate).
Repayment Rate: A high repayment rate means most alumni earn enough to make progress repaying loans within 7 years of leaving.
We also show the total enrollment for the school as measured by full-time-equivalent (FTE) students enrolled annually.
Filter Schools
Offering this program at this level
All levels
Only schools within
200 Miles
of
Only schools in these states
6 schools offer this award at any level in the selected area.
School
Related Programs
Top 10 similar programs
Following are related programs, ordered by those with the highest number of completions. You can explore a full list by pressing the more details button.
Fewer details
Careers for astronomy and astrophysics majors
astronomy and astrophysics is part of a larger collection of programs: Physical Sciences. Is there a different program that's close to astronomy and astrophysics that might be a better match for your interests? You can use this table to see a little about the programs that fall under this umbrella. If you click on any of the table headers, that will sort the table by that column, or click on a row and see Ididio's profile for that program.
Gender
Gender of recent graduates
Of all people with any degree in planetary astronomy and science earned in the last academic year, 47% were women.
Gender
Men
Women
Fewer details
Completions over time
Have completions by gender changed over time, or at specific levels of education?
Award level
All levels
Women
Men
Context: Gender representation
How does the gender distribution in this major compare to all other majors?
Context: Percentage women
This major has a lower percentage of women than 59% other programs.
Distribution: salaries by gender
Does gender greatly influence your salary with this degree? The closer the bar are, the less discrepancy there is.
Context: Salary inequity
For astronomy and astrophysics graduates, men have a 38% higher median salary than women, This is high: 94% of programs have graduates with lower salary inequities.
Race/Origin
Race/Origin of recent graduates
Here is an overview of race/origin for all planetary astronomy and science graduates from this last academic year. We found a higher percentage of international graduates in this program than in 87% of other programs.
Race/Origin
White
Black
Pacific Islander
Hispanic
Asian
American Indian
Multiracial
Not Reported
International
Fewer details
Completions over time
Have completions by race/origin changed over time, or at specific levels of education?
Award level
All levels
International
Not Reported
Multiracial
American Indian
Asian
Hispanic
Pacific Islander
Black
White
Context: Percentage of Minority Graduates
Minority students comprise a lower percentage of graduates than in 41% of other programs.
