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oxbridge for NASA?

Hypothetically, if I go to oxbridge, study astrophysics, get a high qualification and then graduate and change my citizenship to US, would I have a chance of working at NASA as an astrophysicist?

(edited 1 year ago)

Reply 1

MouldyVinegar

This is a rather curious question. I'd say the answer is a solid no, you don't need all of these to get in (apart from US citizenship, that seems to be the one thing that is near non-negotiable).

A rather famous person who worked at NASA is Mark Rober. He didn't study astrophysics - he studied mechanical engineering, or go to an Ivy-League college - he went to Brigham Young university, which according to my brief search is generally ranked about 50th-100th nationally for the US, so clearly they aren't just looking for people who go to good universities.

Reply 2

Joinedup

Well you'd probably need a PhD. but I don't think they're necessarily very bothered about which university you went to...

e.g. British born NASA astronaut Piers Sellers did a BSc at Edinburgh and a PhD at Leeds... According to Wiki he was able to get a research gig at NASA Goddard before becoming a naturalized citizen of the USA

Reply 3

abcdefghow

Life is not a TV show! There are hundreds of amazing scientists who have top class PHD's who don't make it to NASA. Being an Astrophysicist is not just about NASA there is so much more to it than that.

Reply 4

mnot

Universities Forum Helper

Original post by eswhy

Hypothetically, if I go to oxbridge, study astrophysics, get a high qualification and then graduate and change my citizenship to US, would I have a chance of working at NASA as an astrophysicist?

better off at a top US institution. It’s not unheard of for UK university graduates to get postgraduate internships in NASA, but it’s a very slim percentage. US (particularly State operations) overwhelming back US institutions.

Also worth noting NASA is extremely competitive and pulls in the best of the best.. although lots of people only stay for internship or a few years due to (by US standards) moderate salary compared to top aerospace employers.