The Astronomy-Physics option provides courses and laboratory work in astronomy and physics, featuring an astronomical observatory with one eight-inch and one 14-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, an eight-inch Newtonian telescope, an eight-inch fixed focal point telescope for persons with disabilities, two spectrographs, a hydrogen-alpha filter, an objective prism, and two charge-coupled devices (CCD). A 20-inch telescope and a 16-inch telescope are installed under dark skies at a site remote from the campus. They are used for training advanced students and for research work in photometry and spectroscopy. Opportunities are provided for students to do research with astronomy-physics faculty.
Admission
Courses are open to undergraduate and master's degree students. In 400-level courses, however, graduate students are expected to do additional work, including reading selected primary sources and, when appropriate, completing additional observatory/laboratory work.
Individualized Degree Option
Students may pursue an individualized degree that includes astronomy-physics through UIS' Liberal Studies Department (bachelor's degree) or Individual Option Department (master's degree). A typical core group of courses for a degree might include:
ASP 201 University Physics I
ASP 202 University Physics II
ASP 203 Modern Astronomy
ASP 404 Astrophysics
ASP 406 Modern Cosmology
ASP 407 Practical Astronomy
ASP 408 Observational Astronomy
ASP 409 Galaxies: Structure and Evolution