Shia LaBeouf Enrolls in Graduate Program for Astrophysics at MIT Following Viral Internet Debate
CAMBRIDGE, MA — In an unexpected development, actor and performance artist Shia LaBeouf has officially enrolled as a graduate student in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Department of Physics, specializing in astrophysics and quantum mechanics, university officials confirmed Tuesday. According to a brief statement from MIT’s admissions office, LaBeouf applied under a pseudonym in March 2023 after a series of widely circulated online clips showed him engaging in a detailed, hour-long debate with a theoretical physicist on a live-stream platform, arguing about the nature of dark matter. The 37-year-old former "Transformers" star, who has been largely absent from mainstream Hollywood since 2020, reportedly met with a full faculty panel last week and passed an impromptu oral examination. "His research proposal regarding time dilation and consciousness was, frankly, anomalous but rigorous," said Dr. Elaine Kurz, the department chair, in a press release. Neither LaBeouf nor his representatives have issued a public comment. The actor is scheduled to begin coursework in September, with a planned thesis on "The Intersection of Cinematic Narrative and Quantum Entanglement."