Astro courses

Tentacles (James) · #1 14-02-2012, 08:29 PM

Hi everyone

I have been interested in taking up something Astronomy related as a career for quite a while now, and after doing a search on this site, I discovered a lot of good information about universities offering online degrees.

I have been studying astronomy/maths/physics in my spare time for over a year now and I love it, and I consider myself reasonably knowledgable in all of these areas. I have a decent amount of hands on scope experience as well.

Universities such as Swinburne and JCU offer Masters courses. Recently I applied for the Swinburne Grad Certificate, but unfortunately I was knocked back because I do not have an undergrad degree

. It was a bit of a longshot hoping to get in, but I thought maybe my prior experience might get me in (provided they believed me

).

So I should get to the point. I have a couple of questions about how I should pursue this and I'm hoping somebody out there can give me some advice. Any advice is appreciated.

What undergraduate degrees should I take a look at in order to eventually attempt a higher degree in Astronomy? Ideally, it would be an undergrad astronomy degree, but i'm not sure if that is possible. Would maths/physics be a good path to take?

I should mention that I am looking for an online course so it doesn't necessarily have to be an Australian university. Has anybody done any undergrad degrees online that are related to what I am after?

I apologize that I have not made a proper introduction on the forums and that I may come across as demanding and lazy. I am a little bit demoralized about my Swinburne application being declined and I am a little bit stressed about the small time frame that I have to apply for courses as the first semester starts very soon, so I am chasing information quickly. I am searching for information on google trying to find some relevant courses but I am not having much luck with Australian online universities. I am hoping that people with a bit of experience with these kind of online courses may be able to provide a little bit of guidance.

Thanks

CarlJoseph (Carl) · #2 15-02-2012, 12:49 PM

It's tough getting knocked back like that, especially from something you really want to do.

Have you tried writing to them to ask what you could do in the interim before applying again? Perhaps it's the lack of essay writing experience? Perhaps a lack of maths/science background? Best to try and find out so that you can focus your efforts in the right area.

There might also be some "bridging courses" you can do to help give you some of the university and formal study experience.

Don't be disheartened though, you can get into some post graduate degrees with no (or part) undergrad. Just a matter of showing you have the capacity to take on formal academic study.

As an alternative, you might want to check out Open Unviersities.

Good luck and don't give up!

Cheers,
Carl

mswhin63 (Malcolm) · #3 15-02-2012, 01:01 PM

Have a look at Physics in general as they have astronomy based topics included. Astronomy and Astrophysics looks like a post graduate course or Masters course only as it is specialised.

Myself though am doing a double degree, 1 in Physics the other in electronics. The double degree information says the selection will provide an avenue in Astronomy. I decide later depending on my strengths what I choose.

My course structure - http://handbook.curtin.edu.au/courses/13/131510.html

Tentacles (James) · #4 16-02-2012, 08:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Afro Boy

It's tough getting knocked back like that, especially from something you really want to do.

Have you tried writing to them to ask what you could do in the interim before applying again? Perhaps it's the lack of essay writing experience? Perhaps a lack of maths/science background? Best to try and find out so that you can focus your efforts in the right area.

There might also be some "bridging courses" you can do to help give you some of the university and formal study experience.

Don't be disheartened though, you can get into some post graduate degrees with no (or part) undergrad. Just a matter of showing you have the capacity to take on formal academic study.

As an alternative, you might want to check out Open Unviersities.

Good luck and don't give up!

Cheers,
Carl

I have emailed Swinburne back asking for a bit of advice, but have got nothing back. The truth is, I don't have a maths/science background. Nothing written on a piece of paper saying that I am worthy anyway.

I'm not ready to give up though. I'm glad that I got a reality check in a way. If the course proved to be too hard for somebody without an undergrad degree then I would just be wasting money.

I'll be looking into actually attending a university as it seems there is nowhere in Australia that offers a relevant online undergrad degree to get into Astronomy with. I am thinking about looking at some online overseas universities but i'm a bit sketchy about it.

Anyway, I won't be asking any more questions. The semester start is very close and I'm not going to make any speedy decisions to join that I might regret.

Thanks for the advice. I did try the website you suggested and it was pretty useful.

Tentacles (James) · #5 16-02-2012, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mswhin63

Have a look at Physics in general as they have astronomy based topics included. Astronomy and Astrophysics looks like a post graduate course or Masters course only as it is specialised.

Myself though am doing a double degree, 1 in Physics the other in electronics. The double degree information says the selection will provide an avenue in Astronomy. I decide later depending on my strengths what I choose.

My course structure - http://handbook.curtin.edu.au/courses/13/131510.html

That double degree looks pretty heavy. I work full time so I doubt I could pull off something like that. Looks really interesting though. Good luck with it mate.

Thanks

CarlJoseph (Carl) · #6 16-02-2012, 09:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tentacles

I'm not ready to give up though. I'm glad that I got a reality check in a way. If the course proved to be too hard for somebody without an undergrad degree then I would just be wasting money.

That's a good way to think about it mate. Also remember that your work experience can be a big help in these things too. Not sure if you submitted your resume at the same time, but it might be something to consider next time around when you're ready.

Quote:

I'll be looking into actually attending a university as it seems there is nowhere in Australia that offers a relevant online undergrad degree to get into Astronomy with. I am thinking about looking at some online overseas universities but i'm a bit sketchy about it.

Let us know how you get on. Don't stop asking questions, keep searching and take it one step at a time.

Good luck

CarlJoseph (Carl) · #7 16-02-2012, 09:55 PM

A little out of left field here, but if you're considering going to uni and doing an undergrad degree first before jumping into astro study, you might want to look at a Diploma or Bridging course.

They'll give you some experience of uni study, maths, physics, etc. which should be looked on favourably when you apply for a post grad. That coupled with some solid/professional work experience would definitely help.

Here's what I found after a few minutes of Googling and going through some uni sites ...

http://sydney.edu.au/future_students...idging_courses

http://www.cqu.edu.au/study/special-...programs/steps

http://www-public.jcu.edu.au/study/a...tive/index.htm
http://www-public.jcu.edu.au/courses...serText=50121-

http://www.qut.edu.au/study/short-co...nd-mathematics

http://www.scu.edu.au/preparingforsuccess/