A Students entering the program with a master's degree in a related field. At minimum, the applicant needs to demonstrate above average academic performance (B average, usually a 3.0 on a 1.0-4.0 scale) for undergraduate course work and for any post-baccalaureate or graduate course work.TOEFL) exam with a score of 560/220 (paper/computer) or higher.Applicants to the University of Hawai‘i Astronomy Graduate Program should normally have a strong background in physics, including some classical mechanics, electromagnetism, optics, thermodynamics and statistical mechanics, special relativity, quantum mechanics, and nuclear physics. Courses in mathematics through differential equations are also required. An undergraduate course in introductory astronomy is recommended.
Applicants to the University of Hawai‘i Astronomy Graduate Program should normally have a strong background in physics, including some classical mechanics, electromagnetism, optics, thermodynamics and statistical mechanics, special relativity, quantum mechanics, and nuclear physics. Courses in mathematics through differential equations are also required. An undergraduate course in introductory astronomy is recommended.

In selecting applications for entry to the astronomy program, we pay attention to academic achievement, to the letters of recommendation, and to evidence of independent research ability and experience.

Applicants must take the general (verbal, quantitative, and analytic) Graduate Record Examination (GRE), but we no longer require or accept the physics subject GRE. Average GRE scores for students admitted to the program are about 80th percentile verbal and quantitative, and about 70th percentile analytic. Other evidence of a strong physics background is factored into admissions decisions. We don't have minimum scores, but a student with scores much lower than these must present a compelling case on other grounds to obtain admission.

GRE website
At least three independent letters of recommendation must be supplied. Applicants must also submit the astronomy program's supplementary information form, as well as a personal statement describing their goals and achievements.

Students for whom English is not the first language must also pass the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) exam with a score of 560/220 (paper/computer) or higher. If they wish to be considered for a teaching assistantship (the most common kind of financial support for first-year graduate students) they need to have a TOEFL score of 600/250 (paper/computer) or higher.