About the course

This exciting new discipline is a natural outgrowth of Caltech's strong traditions in geobiology, geochemistry, geology, and planetary science. If geobiology asks what the interactions are between life and environment on Earth, then planetary geobiology extends that question to other planetary bodies. There we can ask if the current or past history of our solar system's planets and moons are, or were ever, habitable for microbial life. Loosely defined, a habitable environment is one that has water, sources of carbon and nutrients to enable organism metabolism, and a source of energy to fuel organism metabolism – in other words, the essential ingredients for life as we know it on Earth. Furthermore, if microbial life did originate on those planets, then which environments and materials might best be sampled to test that hypothesis This requires application of conceptual models for microbial and microfossil/biomarker exploration built on experience with Earth's geobiological record, global to local mapping by orbiting satellites, and landed missions using rovers equipped with advanced analytical laboratories. Increasingly, this research this seems a lot like doing geobiology on Earth, but with robots instead. Scholarships - View all scholarships Internships

　　

Start dates and prices

Course fees are indicative and should be used as a guide. Speak to a counsellor to get an accurate price.

　　Duration: 6 Semester(s)Fees: US$175,437

Intake	Location
Fall (September), 2024	Pasadena
Fall (September), 2025	Pasadena

　　

How to apply

Entry requirements for California Institute of Technology

Applicants must have completed a bachelor's degree or the equivalent before beginning graduate study. Transcripts, three letters of recommendation, a CV, and the applicant's statement of purpose are required components of the application and are carefully and equally weighed during the evaluation process. GRE scores (subject and general) may be required, strongly recommended, or optional based upon the specific option requirements. Applicants who are required to submit test scores should include self-reported scores on the application, if available, and request official score reports from ETS. The official scores will be used to verify the self-reported scores.

　　Caltech does not have a minimum GPA requirement. However, most successful applicants have a US GPA of at least 3.5 on a 4.0 scale and/or are in the top 5 to 10% of their class. Applicants whose first or native language is not English are asked to demonstrate English proficiency as part of the application procedure. Caltech recognizes scores from the Educational Testing Service (ETS), Pearson's Test of English Academic (PTE)

　　

English language requirements

　　6.0

　　Overall IELTS band score

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　　About IELTS

　　Practice and prepare

　　TOEFL Internet based overall score: 60.0

　　

Application deadline:

This date isn’t available – speak to an IDP counsellor to get detailed information.

　　

Further information

Career outcomes

　　

Reviews and rankings

World ranking

　　7th / 1250

　　THE World ranking

　　

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