Departments & Programs

Astronomy

Major in Astronomy and Astrophysics

Students must complete the following Foundations, Intensive Writing, Foreign Language, Breadth of Inquiry, Critical Approaches, and Public Oral Communication requirements for the B.S. in Astronomy and Astrophysics: 

  1. Writing, same as the general requirements for the B.A. degree (English Composition, CASE Intensive Writing).
  2. Foreign language, 3 credit hours (or the equivalent) at or above the second-year level. French, Spanish, German, or Russian is normally required.
  3. Two courses in arts and humanities.
  4. Two courses in social and historical studies.
  5. Two courses in natural and mathematical sciences, fulfilled by major.
  6. One Critical Approaches course.
  7. One Public Oral Communication course.

Students must complete the following requirements for the major:

  1. Mathematics M211, M212, M311, and M343.
  2. Physics P221-P222, P301, P331-P332, and two of P441, P442, P453, or P454.
  3. Astronomy A221-A222, A305, and two 400-level astronomy courses other than S499.

Students must also complete the degree requirements of the College of Arts and Sciences.

Recommendations

The following physics courses are highly recommended for students planning graduate study in astronomy and astrophysics: PHYS-P 309, P340, P321, and two additional courses from PHYS-P 441, P442, P453, or P454. Other courses of interest are PHYS-P 460, P400; MATH-M 312, M344; CSCI-A 201-A202 or C211-C212; GEOL-G 121, G150; HPSC-X 222, X390, X391; CHEM-C 117, C118.