The University of North Carolina Asheville’s Department of Physics and Astronomy recently launched a new astronomy major — the first in the state school system and second in the state.
The field is trending, and interest is growing. The number of astronomy bachelor’s degrees in the U.S. has increased by over 300% in the past 20 years. Developing this major, alongside the University’s popular astronomy minor program, will continue to expand the department’s indelible impact on the field in North Carolina and globally.
“We have a thriving astronomy minor at UNC Asheville, which has tripled in enrollment during my time at the school,” says UNC Asheville Carson Distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy Britt Lundgren, who is also Chair of the federal Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee (AAAC). “That shows an appetite amongst our students for this kind of offering as a major concentration. An astronomy major has always been a departmental goal.”
A generation of astronomers who grew up with the U.S. space program fueled advancements in telescopes, computers, and other critical technology, heralding a golden age for astronomy and securing the U.S. as a leader in astronomical sciences.
This new major will enable students to learn in the classroom and the lab, with a comprehensive curriculum, cutting-edge research opportunities, cross-departmental collaborations, and hands-on experiences at the University’s on-campus Lookout Observatory telescope, which has been instrumental in establishing the major. With an astronomy degree, students can pursue a career as a data scientist, planetary physicist, educator, software engineer, in science communications, science policy, at a planetarium, and in many other areas.
“Astronomy is very important because it’s a science that pretty much can be linked to any other science or areas, including ones that you may not even imagine,” says visiting Assistant Professor of Astronomy Dr. Luis Chavarria, an observational astronomer from Chile. “It tries to answer questions that humanity has had since we started thinking and looking up — the first thing that we did! Astronomy provokes by asking these very important questions,” he explains, and encourages students to “improve their critical thinking. It’s inspiring!”
The study of astronomy provides students with the opportunity to develop skills and interests in physics, engineering, chemistry, math, and computational and data science while gaining a deeper understanding of how they work together to explain celestial bodies and their movement.
To learn more about UNC Asheville’s astronomy program and degrees, visit https://new.unca.edu/academics/programs/astronomy/.
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