Undergraduate Studies

Basics of the Program

We offer an Astronomy Track within the regular Physics BS program. Details can be found in the Undergraduate Catalog. We also offer a minor in Astronomy; details on that can be found in the Undergraduate Catalog.

The Undergraduate Catalog also lists all of the undergraduate courses on the Courses page. Please note that as our program has evolved, we have added some courses, redesigned others, and completely dropped (for the time being) the offering of a few more. Therefore it is quite important for students to read this webpage — and to check the official course schedule — to find out what courses are actually happening.

About the BS program

As the catalog describes, the Astronomy Track requires 21 credits in addition to the core requirements for every track in the Physics B.S. program:

  • 6 credits from AST 2002 and AST 4700.
  • 3 credits from AST 4762 or AST 5765.
  • 6 credits from other AST 3000- or 4000-level courses,
    • i.e. two courses from among AST 3043, AST 3110, AST 3114, AST 3211, AST 3402, AST 4142, AST 4152.
    • AST 3905 is a possibility here too, i.e. Directed Independent Study, but note that this has to be a real course. It has to be set up with lecture and/or independent readings on a coherent and general topic, with sufficient engagement hours for the credit value of the course. Note that this cannot be a research class. Whether AST 3905 can satisfy this requirement is decided on a case-by-case basis, so get approvals from the instructor and the department before starting the course. 
    • AST 4912, i.e. Directed Independent Research, cannot be used for this requirement.
  • 6 credits from “courses at a 3000 level or higher, approved by the Physics Department. Courses must be chosen in Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry, Computer Science, or Engineering.”
    • Note that this includes the regular AST courses listed above.
    • Graduate-level AST courses may possibly be used for this requirement too.
    • But before you do anything like that with your course choices, it is really wise to talk with an ASC or with your faculty advisor about which courses to take to satisfy this requirement. Never assume that swapping a course will automatically fulfill a requirement!

All students in the Physics B.S. program, including in the Astronomy Track, should take 3 credits of PHY 3905 (Directed Independent Study) or PHY 4912 (Directed Independent Research). Note that it is usually far easier to take the latter rather than the former. Also note that you can take AST 4912 instead of PHY 4912 and that should be fine. In practice doing a 4912 class means doing some astronomy/planetary science/space sciences research. This is an outstanding opportunity to gain valuable research experience and be part of cutting-edge science. Many of the faculty members in the Planetary Sciences group have openings for interested and capable undergraduate students. The Office of Undergraduate Research lists some resources for getting involved in research, including funding opportunities. You may also wind up presenting your research at Student Research Week!

About Courses

Some course descriptions are available on our website. But please read through the following information on undergraduate course offerings.

  • AST 2002 and AST 2002K are offered every fall and spring semester. AST 2002 is often offered in the summer semester as well.
  • AST 2002L is offered only quite sporadically. Check the course schedule!
  • AST 2037 and AST 3114 are offered occasionally, at irregular intervals. Check the course schedule!
  • AST 3043 is a relatively new course (first offered Fall 2024) so we’re not sure yet how frequently it will be offered. Check the course schedule!
  • AST 3110, 3211, 3402, 4142, and 4152 are offered quite regularly, if not annually then at least every other year.
  • AST 4700 and AST 4762 are offered quite regularly, generally annually.
  • We highly recommend taking PHZ 3150 before taking AST 4762.
  • AST 5145, AST 5154, AST 5263, and AST 5765 are the graduate versions of some of our undergrad courses — in some cases, with the same instructor and meeting time! Advanced undergraduates may take these; speak with the instructor if interested.
  • AST 5038, AST 5151, AST 5334, AST 6112, AST 6146, AST 6156, and AST 6165 are graduate-level courses with no explicit undergraduate versions. The courses are offered regularly and sufficiently advanced undergraduates could take such a course after consulting with the particular course’s instructor.
  • If you have questions, contact the instructor of the course you wish to take.

In addition to these AST courses, our group offers some courses in MET and GLY, though as always check the course schedule! Additionally, we in the planetary science group often teach the physics courses PHZ 3150 and PHZ 3151.

  • MET 2104 is offered occasionally, though sometimes it is offered as a section of PSC 1121.
  • GLY 1030, GLY 2038, GLY 4730, GLY 4734 are offered occasionally, and sometimes by the Chemistry Department.
  • PHZ 3150 and PHZ 3151 are offered fairly frequently, with the former almost every semester and the latter about once a year.

Recent Course Schedule

Here is a list of recent upper-level undergraduate course offerings (we offer AST 2002 every semester). You can get a sense for how frequently (and when) a course may appear in the future. Note that, as the table shows, we hardly ever have an upper-level AST course in the summer semester.

SemesterAST 3043AST 3110AST 3211AST 3402AST 4142AST 4152AST 4700AST 4762CMET 2104PHZ 3150PHZ 3151
Fall 2022✓✓✓✓
Spring 2023✓✓✓✓✓
Summer 2023
Fall 2023✓✓✓✓✓
Spring 2024✓✓✓✓✓
Summer 2024
Fall 2024✓✓✓✓✓✓
Spring 2025✓✓✓✓✓✓
Summer 2025
Fall 2025✓✓✓✓
Spring 2026✓✓✓✓✓