Astronomy Major

Professors Andereck, Haring-Kaye, Harmon, Trees

Ohio Wesleyan offers both a Bachelor of Science in Astrophysics and a Bachelor of Arts in Astronomy. The B.S. in Astrophysics prepares the student for graduate study in astrophysics or in physics, or for astronomy- and physics-related jobs in government and industry. The B.A. in Astronomy is appropriate for students with a strong interest in astronomy who wish to pursue a career in secondary education or graduate school in a cognate field. As freshmen, students wishing to pursue the B.S. in Astrophysics or the B.A. in Astronomy will normally complete the general physics sequence (PHYS 110 C , PHYS 110 L , PHYS 111 C , and PHYS 111 L ) and the introductory calculus sequence (MATH 110 and MATH 111 ).

The astronomy major leads to the Bachelor of Arts degree and is appropriate for students with a strong interest in astronomy who wish to pursue a career in secondary education or graduate school in a cognate field.

Students may not earn more than one major within the department. The only permitted way to combine a major and a minor within the department is to major in physics and minor in astrophysics.

Learning Objectives

A. Students will develop the ability to think analytically and reason correctly about physical systems. This includes developing a mindset that involves seeing the big picture, recognizing and articulating key physical phenomena in a complex situation, and visualizing and analyzing a situation before writing down and manipulating equations. (Think like a physicist.)

B. Students will develop the ability to solve multi-step, quantitative problems about physical systems using appropriate physical concepts as a guide and mathematics as a tool. (Be good problem solvers.)

C. Students will develop the ability to perform careful measurements and or computational simulations and to analyze the experimental or computational results using standard techniques. This includes the ability to make, manipulate, and interpret graphs, to use simple statistical measures to characterize data, and to assess (experimental) uncertainty. (Experimental/computational techniques.)

D. As they progress through the courses in the physics or astrophysics major, students will develop a body of knowledge about the structure, behavior and natural history of the physical universe. (Basic physics/astrophysics knowledge)

E. Students will develop the confidence and persistence to tackle new and challenging problems and questions in creative ways using the knowledge and tools in physics/astrophysics that they have acquired. (Independence)

OWU Course Catalog and Handbooks

Astronomy Major

Learning Objectives

Major Requirements