US Accredited Distance Learning Bachelor's degree in Astrophysics

[juventino]

Hi,

I'm completely new to Astrophysics/Astronomy and would like to pursue it. Does anyone know of such a program available online anywhere in the world that has proper accreditation?

Thanks in advance.

[rayian]

I ran into this awhile back. I'm not sure if it helps but it's worth a look.

Swinburne Astronomy Online

[juventino]

They don't have a Bachelor's degree. I was hoping to get a Bachelor's degree via distance learning and then maybe try my hand at an on-campus Master's degree.

[juventino]

bump......

[Fraggle]

Hi Juventino,

If you have another accredited degree or relevant experience then Swinburne Uni Astronomy Online can still accept your enrollment for the Graduate Certificate and/or Graduate Diploma (you can progress to Masters from there). You stated that you are new to Astrophysics/Astronomy so I can recommend that you enrol on the Swinburne Uni Astronomy Short Course which goes for 6 weeks on line. This will give you a comprehensive intro to core astronomy subjects and may assist you in determining your future education focus.

The short course is not accredited, but the Online graduate courses are and even if you complete one or two of them, they would most likely count as credits towards other University astronomy programs. You can also enrol in single-subject units instead of a full graduate program which will give you some good exposure to Astrophysics subjects to see if you like it.

[OleCuss]

To touch back just a little on the fact that the OP is interested in an undergraduate program?

I doubt that you can get a good distance learning undergraduate degree in Astrophysics. It'd be really difficult to do the experimental work required for a decent Physics program of any type without actually being physically present at a Physics lab. You really need to be dealing with radiation sources, various pieces of timing equipment, you need to take a decent course or two in Chemistry with the attendant labs, etc.

There is just some stuff that you are not going to be able to do as online learning.

At the graduate level things can be a bit different. You will likely be doing less hands-on experimentation. Shucks, you can be a professional astronomer nowadays without ever having looked through the eyepiece of a telescope (sounds kinda weird, but it has happened). So you really don't need to be physically present at an observatory, you can analyze data collected by the technicians - and you can do that pretty much anywhere in the world.

So it may seem a little strange, but online as a graduate student is more doable. But I think that the experience at a good physical campus will be richer and you will likely have a better exchange of ideas.

[Pinkfuzzysocks34]

I honestly don't think you're going to be able to get a bachelor's degree in astrophysics online. Like the above posts said, much of the work associated with an astrophysics bachelor's degree is not memorization or mere information, but being able to conceptually grasp what occurs in a lab. Though I suppose you could get a degree from somewhere, you would be hard-pressed to use it to get your master's due to the lack of research, internships, and other experience which cannot be obtained via online.

I'm in the process of obtaining a bachelor's in physics/astrophysics, and I cannot imagine doing such a program online. I'm not the type of person who learns by doing a lab, but the research and lab work that I do probably makes up about 80% of my degree. I also can't imagine doing so without being a full-time student due to the mathematics, computer science, and engineering classes involved with obtaining a degree that will get you accepted into grad school.

In short, yes, you could get your bachelor's degree in astrophysics, but unless you can nab an internship from somewhere, your lack of (professional) experience due to having merely completed an online degree program will probably prevent you from getting into grad school.

[LittleGreyJK]

I've seen a few posts on this topic recently and I have to say it's something that interests me... more to further my own knowledge and understanding of the universe and space in general. There are a few on-line things available but I agree with Olecuss and Pinkfuzzysocks34 in that to obtain a full qualification I can imagine that practical hand on learning in a lab with all the facilities it offers would be essential. That said, personally, I am not looking for any pieces of paper - just to further my own knowledge int his area. I think i'm going to start by watching the videos posted in another thread and then maybe look at some on-line basic astrophysics courses to take it to the next level... we shall see how it goes

[jrkirkham]

Most accredited bachelors degrees also require courses in composition, speech, humanities, fine arts, biological sciences, mathematics, and social sciences. A person might be able to complete these courses at a community college or online, then locate to a face to face classroom for the core classes required by the major.

[WileECoyote]

Something to look at if all you want to do is further your understanding of Astronomy is Coursera...They offer free courses from Duke and I think from Cal on the subject. I am thinking about joining the Astronomy 101 from Duke this fall.