LASP: Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics

LASP employs CU graduate students as Graduate Research Assistants. LASP faculty act as the formal or informal supervisors of graduate students, and serve on graduate student committees. Graduate students working with LASP researchers are enrolled in one of several graduate programs:

Students have great flexibility in finding a program that suits them, and researchers can draw from a wide spectrum of students.

The graduate program in planetary and space sciences is one of a small number that exist nationally. It is one of a very small number of programs in which students can get hands-on experience developing spacecraft instrumentation or doing the first analysis of data returned from the initial observations made by spacecraft.

Procedures for graduate student recruitment, curriculum development, advising and examination / assessment are controlled by departments and vary significantly between departments. In recent years, however, there has been an effort to coordinate between departments to develop a coherent graduate program in planetary and space physics, the largest graduate research area within LASP. Specifically, LASP faculty from multiple departments have coordinated the teaching of planetary courses, including a core sequence of 4 courses (one per semester), and have coordinated recruitment of new students.