The Department of Astronomy oversees the program in Astronomy. You will enjoy the benefits of a small department with close advising and individualized learning plans.
Independent study projects are common at all levels, and several seniors undertake thesis projects every year. Kennedy-Schelkunoff Professor of Astronomy M. Darby Dyar's research program is funded by more than $1,000,000 per year in awards from NASA and the National Science Foundation.
The Five College Astronomy Department is a collaborative program of the Five College Consortium.
By linking our teaching and research programs, we can offer a richer environment for doing astronomy than would be possible if we each operated independently. For example, the optical and infrared observing course, generally offered at Smith College, is taken by students from each of the five schools, thereby avoiding duplication of effort and at the same time creating a more diverse classroom experience.
By combining the traditional emphasis on small classes and individual attention that is found at small liberal arts colleges with the research opportunities and infrastructure of a large university, you can find a mix of fine teaching and rich opportunities for independent research. Some 10% of the professional women astronomers in the US did their undergraduate work in the Five College Astronomy program.
In addition to the academic year program, the department offers a wide range of summer undergraduate research opportunities such as the Five-College Astronomy Undergraduate Internship Program.
Happening at Mount Holyoke
After a three-year setback, Mount Holyoke College professor M. Darby Dyar can breathe a sigh of relief as NASA has resurrected its VERITAS mission to Venus.
Mount Holyoke College Visiting Professor of Astronomy and Director of the Williston Observatory Thomas Burbine was interviewed in The Wall Street Journal about the scientific impact of the sample.
Darby Dyar, Mount Holyoke College Kennedy-Schelkunoff Professor of Astronomy, was part of a team that solved a nearly century-old mystery of “Blood Falls” in Antarctica.
The Department of Astronomy helps students study and understand the nature of the universe and the various structures within it —galaxies, stars, planets, atoms— how they are formed and how they change.
