The 21st century will herald a new era in astronomy. Larger and more sensitive telescopes will continue to be built at the cutting edge of technology revealing the nature of the Universe in more detail than ever before. Investigating the origins of matter and life is likely to shift from earth bound laboratories to the Universe at large, and stronger links will be made between Astronomy and more traditional sciences such as Biology and Physics. Mathematical modelling is likely to play an ever increasing role in shaping our understanding of the Universe. The ANU, with its prowess in Astronomy, Physics, and Mathematics, is expected to play a leading role in these developments.

Undergraduate Astronomy courses will be taught by experts in diverse areas such as the formation and the dynamics of galaxies; quasars; black holes, neutron stars and white dwarfs; dark matter; and cosmology and gravitational lensing. The program gives students an opportunity to study Astronomy at various levels of sophistication. Students will be able to use the facilities of Mt Stromlo Observatory, which is situated 17km from the ANU campus, as a part of some of their courses. A student completing the program at a sufficiently high standard will be adequately prepared to undertake post-graduate studies in Astronomy at any University.

The undergraduate Astronomy program is well structured and flows from the 1st year to the honours year, and will cater for most student needs. It is designed to teach both the fundamentals of Astronomy, and to introduce students to modern discoveries and unsolved problems. The units can count towards a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics, Physics or Astronomy, depending on the choice of other units taken.

For those not planning to continue onto astrophysical research, the degree gives a grounding in a broad range of mathematical, physical and computational skills. Astronomy graduates are sought-after for careers as diverse as financial derivative training, scientific management and consultancy, defence research, computer systems analysis and spacecraft engineering.

FIRST YEAR

Introduction to Astrophysics ASTR1001
- designed for students with a strong background in Mathematics and Physics who wish to specialise in Astronomy.

SECOND YEAR

Advanced Astrophysics ASTR2001
Advanced Astrophysics (Honours) ASTR2002

THIRD YEAR

Stellar Structure and Evolution ASTR3001
Galaxies and Cosmology ASTR3002
Relativity, Black holes and Cosmology MATH3329

HONOURS YEAR

Students proceeding to the honours (fourth) year have a choice of enrolling in either BSc(Hons) Mathematics, BSc(Hons) Physics or BSc(Hons) Astronomy and Astrophysics. The type of degree that will be awarded will depend on the nature of the research project, and of the choice of units taken in the honours year.

The research project forms a major component (50%) of the assessment in the honours year. The remaining 50% will be in the form of coursework.

Honours courses :

High Energy Astrophysics
Diffuse Matter in the Universe
Astrophysical Fluid Dynamics

for more information, please contact:

Dr Lilia Ferrario: lilia@maths.anu.edu.au
telephone: +61-2-6125 0346

Dr Paul Francis: pfrancis@mso.anu.edu.au
telephone: +61-2-6125 8031