Boulder is home to cutting-edge research in a wide array of disciplines spanning astrophysics and planetary science. The department has research strengths in observational and theoretical astronomy, planetary science, solar and space physics, instrumentation, and astronomy education. Most of the departmental faculty conduct their research at one of three institutions (CASA, JILA, LASP), and undergraduate and graduate students in APS do research either with these faculty or with scientists at other Boulder-based research institutions

As the largest public academic recipient of NASA funding in the nation, CU-Boulder has particularly distinguished itself in the area of space-based astronomy: it is the only academic institution to have designed and built missions and instruments to explore every planet in the Solar System - and Pluto! By housing both astrophysicists and planetary scientists, APS is a unique environment where observers, theorists, and instrumentalists regularly come together, discuss their results, and forge new paths of inquiry to better understand the universe.

Are you looking for research opportunities? If you are a graduate student, talk to faculty and scientists with whom you’d like to work. If you are an undergraduate student, read about undergraduate research at CU and beyond.