New USQ Astronomy BSc Degree by distance!

[AstroStudentUSQ (Mark)]

Hi everyone,

Just thought I'd share some news for anyone who isn't aware and is interested in pursuing Astronomy studies formally and professionally, USQ (University of Southern Queensland) is introducing for 2018 a dedicated Bachelor of Science (Astronomical and Space Sciences) program which is fully online except for two residential schools in third year. I am excited to have been accepted into the program and am starting when the program kicks off in Semester 1, 2018!
The program will be accredited by the Australian Institute of Physics if you include the recommended electives and is suitable for study pathway as a professional astronomer.

If you already have a bachelor degree in another field, USQ also offers a similar program with a "catch up" emphasis through their online Master of Science (Astrophysics)
Both degrees are training for professional astronomy, and with the right grades enable you to progress into a Research Masters and PhD in Astronomy. The research programs are also available via distance.

Check out these links for more info!

Astrophysics research website: https://www.usq.edu.au/research/astrophysics
Astrophysics Group blog: http://astrophysics.usq.edu.au
Astronomy study programs: http://www.usq.edu.au/astronomy

There has been a lot of talk about Swinburne University's online astronomy programs. Important difference between Swinburne and USQ's online astronomy degrees: USQ's astrophysics programs are educating you in the knowledge and skill set to be a professional astronomer and conduct professional level astrophysics research. If you want to become a professional astronomer and are looking for a distance study option in Australia - USQ is the only way to go!

The Swinburne programs are not training in professional astronomy, nor does graduating from them qualify you as one. By their own admission their curriculum takes a "conceptual" rather than mathematical focus, and sounds great if you are wanting to stay firmly in the amateur camp but expand your general astronomy knowledge and sounds like it would be great for planetarium type work. The Swinburne programs by themselves would not lead to a PhD anywhere - as they are coursework based (minor projects, although fun, don't qualify as research content) and the content is not geared towards progression beyond the conceptual based Masters.
If you are wanting to shift towards professional astronomy and do this via distance study in Australia, USQ is the only way to go!

I've looked into and emailed between USQ and swinburne so much recently! If anyone has any questions, I'd love to share what I've learnt about these programs from the respective administrators / lecturers Everyone who has thoughts on formal astronomy studies should chime in

Cheers all!
Mark

[bojan]

Very interesting, thank you for sharing!

[brisen (Brian)]

I started the Masters program a few years ago and have completed a few of the required courses. I can certainly recommend the course and the teaching staff all have experience as professional astronomers. The program is targeted at the professional level and even for amateurs is an interesting course provided that your maths is up to speed as there is a significant maths focus as you would expect.

Health and work got in the way but at some point I hope to finish the qualification.

Brian

[deanm (Dean)]

Not wanting to be all doom-and-gloom, but realistically;
[1] just how many professional astronomer positions are there in Aus/NZ?
[2] How many new or newly-vacant positions are advertised annually?
My (wildish) guesses would be [1]: 20 and [2]: 0.25
Dean

[lazjen (Chris)]

Valid point Dean - I was looking through some of their pages and found this:

https://www.usq.edu.au/study/degrees/careers/astronomer

If I was retired, I'd consider this just for the learning/research aspect. It would certainly give the brain a good work out.

[AstroStudentUSQ (Mark)]

Brian - hope you can get back to your Masters and finish
Can I ask for your thoughts on the Celestron EdgeHD telescope optics you own? Does the performance match Celestron's marketing? I am very curious about the EdgeHD series...


Dean - I'm told it's quite normal for PhD graduates to have to seek several international postdoc positions prior to finding something permanent, as I am learning - astrophysics is a very international science. It is Australia's strongest research strength, but we still at at the mercy of politicians who are blind to the numerous off-shoot benefits - technological fueled economic prosperity as well as the social intellectual prosperity. Domestically the job market for astronomers isn't great (nor is it for academics in general), but I think you've got to do it if it's something you want to do irrespective of the job prospects at the end. You would be a Professional Astronomer based on your formal education and qualifications, as is not dependent on holding a position IMO. You can conduct your own meaningful astrophysics research in many areas with an astronomy degree and a high tech 14 inch celestron and suitable high end imager or similar...

Chris - save that thought! I think that would be a fantastic idea and a great way to spend a retirement. I'm incredibly passionate about lifelong education. When people retire they may have 20 years left on the clock for instance (or more...) - self fulfillment is important at any age (hence why people should do an astronomy degree for passion, not job prospect alone)... and we need to continue to evolve as a society to broadly see education as a desirable activity of self fulfillment and self improvement where possible across the lifespan, and not limited to any one single period of life.

Best to you all,
Mark

[AstroStudentUSQ (Mark)]

I'm unsure if there are international visitors / members of this forum? Or only Australian?

If you are reading from outside of Australia, the USQ astronomy programs are available to be studied online from anywhere in the world (although international students places would be full fee paying). Australian students get HECS (Undergrad) or FeeHelp (Postgrad).

You get to play with telescopes from around the world via USQ's shared skies partnership for observations and data collection from both southern and northern skies.

[lazjen (Chris)]

Originally Posted by AstroStudentUSQ

Chris - save that thought! I think that would be a fantastic idea and a great way to spend a retirement. I'm incredibly passionate about lifelong education. When people retire they may have 20 years left on the clock for instance (or more...) - self fulfillment is important at any age (hence why people should do an astronomy degree for passion, not job prospect alone)... and we need to continue to evolve as a society to broadly see education as a desirable activity of self fulfillment and self improvement where possible across the lifespan, and not limited to any one single period of life.

After I posted my statement, I saw the fees which would make it far too prohibitive to undertake as a retirement "project", unfortunately. I would be better off directing that money elsewhere and just learning / doing research myself.

[el_draco (Rom)]

Fees?

[gaseous (Patrick)]

My thoughts exactly! Not that I'm near retirement age, but $350+ a week is pretty steep regardless.

[JaseD (Jase)]

I have actually just started the Masters course and it's pretty good. As for career path's, as someone said, Astrophysics is an international field and you might actually need to look outside, though some Uni's offer research positions etc.

Good luck with your studies, Mark.

J.

[AstroStudentUSQ (Mark)]

That's awesome Jase!

I'd be definitely keen to hear of your ongoing experiences in the USQ Astronomy Masters! Best of luck with your studies too! If you wanted to exchange USQ emails, feel free to PM me...

For those who may be considering Astro studies with USQ, I'm told by Prof. Brad Carter who is head of the astrophysics group there that the Bachelor of Science (Astronomical and Space Sciences) and Master of Science (Astrophysics) are close to being undergraduate / postgraduate mirror versions of each other, with the BSc version commencing in 2018 (and now open for admission) for those who have not yet completed a first degree... An additional difference being as most Masters units are each 2 unit value (compared to the BSc 1 unit value), the Masters units would have more extensive assessments compared to the bachelor degree versions. The BSc has additional general physics as well which with the appropriate maths electives is recognised for graduate membership of the Australian Institute of Physics. The Masters does have room for two electives which can be physics study, or else computing, maths or data science depending on your forte.

Both of these programs I'm advised are training for Professional Astronomy and with good grades, either of these degrees can serve as a basis for research Masters / PhD admission at both USQ and other Australian universities. By contrast, the online programs offered by Swinburne are not designed for this purpose. The swinburne units sound great if it is for interest sake only (maybe for dedicated retirees?) but the Swinburne Masters will not enable one to develop a professional astronomical skill set. That is the purpose of the USQ astronomy programs.

Mark

[Lyrwik (Trent)]

Hey Mark

How are you going with it? I also started this year, and am currently doing Astronomy 2 and Physics 2. Am thoroughly enjoying it so far.