Job Openings

We are currently accepting new members in the group.

USC undergraduate students interested in carrying out research should contact Prof. Pierpaoli.

Prospective graduate students should apply to the USC Physics PhD program and visit the admissions webpage.

There are no current funded openings for postdocs, but specific opportunities may be pursued.  Interested prospective postdocs should contact Professor Pierpaoli.

FAQ by prospective graduate students:

Q: I’m very interested in studying the universe and cosmology. What are the group’s current research activities?

A: Projects for new students may vary from year to year and are not represented on this web page. In order to have an idea of past research projects led by students, please consult the Research section and the Publication list (specifically, look at papers with few authors which are most likely student-led projects).

Q: I would like to know about the Ph.D. program at USC.

A: The USC  graduate program requires a series of core physics courses. Any applicant should be comfortable with this situation, and they should visit the Departmental web page to become familiar with the requirements.

As for Astronomy/Cosmology course offering, I am teaching a graduate course approximately every 2 years, and I adapt the course to the expertise/interests of the audience. USC offers every year Astronomy 400 level classes which are completely adequate for students interested in Astro/Cosmo but who never had any formal preparation in that area.

Additionally,  graduate students can take physics and astronomy courses at Caltech and apply these credits towards their degree at USC. Caltech has a more expanded graduate program that complements very nicely what taught at USC.

Other tangentially relevant courses (like computer science and statistics ones) are offered at USC in other departments. Some of them may be included in the PhD curriculum, if the Director of Graduate studies allows for it.

Q: What is the group environment like?

A: I have limited insight on this matter, but my last batch of students all invited each other to their weddings, they hang out together, and actually one of them married another grad student! It will probably depend year by year though. The chemistry of people is not predictable a priori.

Q: Are there any graduate students who would be willing to talk about their research experiences?

A: To the extent an email is available on the web page, feel free to contact whomever you want.