Astronomy Minor

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A minor in astronomy is offered to students who are preparing for a career in astronomy or astrophysics or to those who are interested in an in-depth survey of modern astronomy. The minor is open to students with a major in any discipline.

The minor consists of 20 credits:

PHYS 121-Introductory Physics I (4.00)
PHYS 122-Introductory Physics II (4.00)
PHYS 304-Fundamentals of Astronomy and Astrophysics (3.00)

and any three courses from

PHYS 315-Galaxies and the Interstellar Medium (3.00)
PHYS 405-Stellar Astrophysics (3.00)
PHYS 415-Astroparticle Physics (3.00)
PHYS 416-Extragalactic Astronomy and Cosmology (3.00)
PHYS 425-Relativistic Physics (3.00)
PHYS 499H-Senior Research (3.00) (permission required)

Note:

PHYS 122 is a prerequisite for PHYS 304 , and PHYS 304 is the prerequisite for PHYS 415 and PHYS 416 . In PHYS 415 and PHYS 499H , students will gain some hands-on experience with real data extracted from recently-archived data, or obtained using the department’s 0.8 meter Cassegrain telescope. Students pursuing the astronomy minor will be assigned an astronomy advisor in the Department of Physics.