UNC Asheville Announces New Astronomy Major
Last month, the University of North Carolina at Asheville announced its new Bachelor of Science in Astronomy. This is the first Astronomy major in the University of North Carolina System and only the second in the state.
Establishing a Bachelor of Science in Astronomy has always been a departmental goal for UNC Asheville Carson Distinguished Professor Britt Lundgren “We have a thriving Astronomy minor, which has tripled in enrollment in the time I’ve been here,” she says. Currently, there are about 30 UNC Asheville astronomy minors and six majors, with plans to grow. “It’s clear there’s an appetite amongst our students for this kind of offering as a major concentration.”
UNC Asheville’s new major will allow students to focus on astronomy interest before graduate school and participate in cutting-edge research. Typically, astrophysicist and astronomer major in Physic and focus on Astrophysics in graduate school. 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.
The Astronomy program features leading professionals in the field. Lundgren is finishing her term as the Chair of Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee (AAAC), a federal advisory committee that provides recommendations to the National Science Foundation (NSF), NASA, and the Department of Energy (DOE) on matters of mutual interest in astronomy and astrophysics. While Assistant Professor of Astronomy Luis Chavarria, is an observational astronomer from Chile. UNC Asheville Astronomy faculty members David Wake and Zack Hutchens recently brought international astronomers to campus to study the team’s new observations of distant galaxies for a meeting of the James Webb Space Telescope's OutThere collaboration.
