Departmental Honors
The honors program is designed for superior students who plan to pursue graduate studies in astronomy and astrophysics. Students wishing to pursue the honors program should contact the undergraduate advisor in the Department of Astronomy during the second semester of their sophomore year or first semester of their junior year. To be admitted to the honors program, students must have a minimum overall GPA of 3.300 and a minimum GPA of 3.300 in their astronomy, mathematics, and physics courses. Students must maintain these GPAs to receive a degree with honors in astronomy and astrophysics.
Requirements
In the honors program, students complete the same requirements as for the regular B.S. in Astronomy and Astrophysics and in addition take AST-S 499 Honors Research. AST-S 499 is to be taken one or both semesters during the senior year and counts for 3 credits each time it is taken. Students will carry out research supervised by a faculty member in the department. During the second semester of the senior year, the student will write a research report and make an oral presentation describing the work to the Department of Astronomy in a minicolloquium.