The University of Texas at Arlington is turning its campus into a launchpad for space careers, rolling out a new Center for Space Physics and Data Science that is designed to plug local students directly into satellite, instrumentation and data science jobs. The center will anchor a new bachelor’s degree in space physics and data science along with a fast-track master’s program that trims the time between coursework and industry work. University leaders say the move builds on years of NASA and National Science Foundation research on campus and lines up with a growing aerospace cluster in the Dallas-Fort Worth region.
According to UTA News, the center was created with 1.5 million dollars in funding awarded in 2024 through the National Science Foundation’s Faculty Development in GeoSpace Science project. Physics professor Yue Deng will serve as director. “We are very excited to launch the Center for Space Physics and Data Science,” Dean Morteza Khaledi said in the university’s announcement.
New Degrees and Hands-On Training
The center is building curriculum and lab experiences across six focus areas: space simulation, space instrumentation, astrophysics, data science, aerospace engineering and physics education. It will roll out a B.S. in space physics and data science plus a fast-track M.S. program, according to the UTA College of Science. Course plans are structured to mix engineering classes on spacecraft and launch systems with space environment coursework and cross-disciplinary computing and policy training. The college says that blend is meant to make graduates immediately employable on satellite and space weather projects in both industry and government.
Tapping DFW’s Aerospace Ecosystem
UTA officials are pitching the center as part classroom upgrade, part workforce engine. The Dallas-Fort Worth region has been pulling in satellite and advanced manufacturing activity in recent years, and Arlington in particular has courted E-Space for a large manufacturing and headquarters site on the west side of the municipal airport, a project first detailed by The Dallas Morning News. City leaders and university officials say those kinds of projects are expected to translate into internships and hiring pipelines for students coming out of the new space physics and data science programs.
Research Funding and Student Opportunities
Faculty tied to the center already bring in close to 3 million dollars per year in research funding from NASA, the NSF and other agencies, according to the Center for Space Physics and Data Science. Deng and colleagues hold major grants and mission roles, including her position as an interdisciplinary scientist on NASA’s Geospace Dynamics Constellation. Students, the center notes, can plug into live instruments, simulations and data analysis projects rather than staying confined to textbook exercises…