BA Degree (Students starting before Fall 2023)

The B.A. degree is designed for students seeking careers in teaching, museum work, science writing, pre-med, etc.

Astronomy Courses:

ASTRON 191A: First Year Seminar (1 credit, Fall semester only)
ASTRON 228: Astrophysics I: Stars and Galaxies (3 credits, Spring semester only)

JUNIOR YEAR WRITING: Students whose primary major is astronomy should take ASTRON 301: Writing in Astronomy (3 credits, Fall semester only) to satisfy the Junior Year Writing requirement. Students whose primary major is not astronomy, only need take the junior year writing course offered in their primary major.

INTEGRATIVE EXPERIENCE: Students whose primary major is astronomy can take ASTRON 339: Astronomy in a Global Context (3 credits, Spring semester only) to satisfy the Integrative Experience requirement. Students whose primary major is not astronomy, only need to take the integrative experience course offered in their primary major.

ASTRON 335: Astrophysics II: Stellar Structure and Evolution (4 credits, Fall semester only)

Three additional astronomy courses (at least 3 credits each) and one of these three additional courseS must be at the 300 level or higher. The 300+ level course can also be in closely related subjects such as Geoscience or Physics, but need approval by Department Advisor. Some options for 200+ and 300+ level astronomy courses:

ASTRON 220: Special Topics in Astronomy (3 credits)
ASTRON 223: Planetary Science (3 credits, usually in spring semester)
ASTRON 330: Topics in Astrophysics (3 credits.)
ASTRON 337: Techniques of Optical and Infrared Astronomy (4 credits, fall semester)

Physics Courses:

PHYSIC 181 Physics I – Mechanics ( 4 credits with lab, Fall semester only)

PHYSICS 182: Physics II – Electricity and Magnetics (4 credits with lab, Spring semester only)

PHYSICS 281: Computational Physics (3 credits, Fall semester only)

PHYSICS 284 (and associated lab PHYSIC 286): Modern Physics I (4 credits., Spring semester only)

PHYSICS 287 (and associated lab PHYSIC 289): Physics III – Waves and Thermodynamics (4 credits, Fall semester only)

Math Courses:

MATH 131: Calculus I (4 credits, Fall or Spring semesters)
MATH 132: Calculus II (4 credits, Fall or Spring semesters)
MATH 233: Multivariate Calculus (3 credits, Fall or Spring semesters) 

Suggested Course Schedule:

Freshman Year:

Fall: ASTRON 191A, PHYSICS 151, MATH 131 Spring: PHYSICS 152, MATH 132

Sophomore Year:

ASTRON 228 (spring semester), and one additional 200+ level astronomy courses, PHYSICS 281 (fall semester), PHYSICS 284/286 (spring semester), PHYSICS 287/289 (fall semester), MATH 233

Junior/Senior Years:

ASTRON 301 (fall semester), ASTRON 335 (fall semester), ASTRON 339 (spring semester), two additional 200+ level astronomy course and one additional 300+ level astronomy course