NASA looks for the best and the brightest, so it makes sense that they would look at how well students apply themselves to their studies. At this point, too, students should begin to think about a specific direction of study, such as engineering, biological or physical science, or mathematics. This will help them direct their education once they get to college.
Again, though, books are only part of the process. It's a good idea to look for out-of-school opportunities like internships or apprenticeships, summer programs, and fieldwork, to help balance textbook learning. After all, going into space is a real-world -- not a virtual -- experience; the more experience you bring to it, the better you'll be able to deal with the demands of the job. Internships are also a good way of finding out if your career choice is the right one for you. Many students, when faced with the realities of a particular field, decide it's not what they wanted, after all. It's better to decide early on that this is the case, before you devote a lot of time and effort to something you don't enjoy.
But choose your activities wisely. "If you do things thinking that, 'This will look good on a resume, or 'I'm not going to like it but it'll help me get selected someday,' you will do yourself a disservice. You're not going to do as well as you would at something in which you're interested," said Reightler.
The "minimum degree requirement" for an astronaut is a Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution. Three years of related increasingly responsible professional experience must follow that degree. Most astronauts to date, however, have continued with their education to the post-graduate (Master's and Ph.D.) levels; they have been able to substitute that education for all or part of their work experience requirement.
NASA contributes funds to 51 colleges and universities through its Space Grant @Consortia. If you attend one of these institutions, you are ensured that the curriculum for space programs will conform with the guidelines NASA finds acceptable. However, you can attend any college or university that you wish, since almost all offer degrees in technical fields, math, and science. You should check with a guidance/college counselor -- and NASA -- before you go to confirm that the school will offer the subjects you need.
Regardless of which school you do attend, you once again need to go for the grades. For one thing, you will need them to be accepted into a good Master's program. And for another, NASA needs applicants who can demonstrate success at the higher-education levels.
Math and science are obviously critical to becoming an astronaut, but they are not the only subjects you will need to get where you're going. @English -- an ability to communicate, both written and verbally -- is also vital. So is history, not just of the space program, but of the world. And Bolden, who had to wake up extra early to attend a class in basic @Russian language to prepare for his mission with a cosmonaut, suggests that every American should be -- at the very least -- bilingual.
"Space," he says, "is a multinational and multicultural operation.
