Astrochemistry Questions

College Majors
1

I need advice!!!

I’m a sophomore at University of Vermont who changed to a chemistry major this year. This means I’m just beginning my science courses, so my freshman year credits are all gen-ed credits, which has its pros and cons.

Anyway, I’m extremely interested in astronomy, which is currently my minor. I’ve been considering combining the two and becoming an astrochemist. Not only have most aspects of astronomy and cosmology fascinated me since a young age, I also love chemistry – specifically topics like electromagnetic radiation and mass spectrometry, which are important in astronomy.

Unfortunately, my current university doesn’t have an astronomy major, so I can’t double major with chemistry and astronomy; however, I’m considering transferring to a university where I could do this.

My questions are:

  1. If I stay at my current university, is my chemistry major along with my astronomy minor enough to be seriously considered in a grad school program for astronomy? Or, despite the fact that I prefer chemistry, should I be considering a physics major with an astronomy minor instead? (I do understand that physics is much more foundational in an astronomy education.)

  2. When I do apply for transfer this fall, what do you think I should declare as my intended major on my application? It only lets me check off one, though, at the risk of sounding too ambitious, I suppose I could write in a desire to double major in the extra info section? (I’m aware that it’s very likely I’d have to do a fifth year of school if I began a new astronomy-related program at a different college, even with a single-major.)

I’m currently taking General Chemistry 1 (for majors) and Fundamentals of Physics 1 (for majors), and I’ve been liking my chemistry labs and much more than my physics labs, and I’ve been liking the chemistry lecture content more than the physics lecture content. For the record, in case it helps for advice, I’m also enrolled in Calculus 2 and an astronomy course for my minor called Stars & Galaxies.

2

The required preparation for a PhD in astronomy is physics. A quick perusal of PhD programs in astronomy shows that while they vary on how much astronomy coursework they expect (some departments expect you to have some; others don’t), all expect you to have basic foundational research in physics.

So I don’t think you need to transfer, but if you do want to do your graduate work in astronomy, I think you need to consider majoring in physics with a concentration in astrophysics instead (which is an option at UVM), and then double major or minor in chemistry. UVM’s physics department says that the major in physics with the astrophysics track is more appropriate for students with a pre-professional interest in astronomy than the minor in astronomy. (http://www.uvm.edu/~physics/?Page=minor_astronomy.html&SM=ugprogramsubmenu.html).

If you do transfer, then you should declare physics or astronomy as your intended major, since that’s the reason you’re transferring. You can always write that you intend to double major in both chemistry and astronomy and pursue a career in astrochemistry.

HOWEVER - after a bit more poking, it seems that astrochemistry is usually housed in chemistry departments. PhD programs are flexible, too. So if you really love chemistry more than physics and you want to study astrochemistry specifically, I think you should strongly consider pursuing graduate work in chemistry in a department that has professors doing astrochemical research (and potentially at a university with a strong astronomy/astrophysics department as well where you could take courses and have a professor on your committee).

3

Hmmm… can you major in chemistry and minor in physics? If the astronomy minor is not math heavy it may not be preparing you for science grad school. How many math classes are in your degree plan?