2025-2026 Catalog
Physics and Astronomy
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 Return to: Academic Departments, Programs, and Requirements for Majors and Minors
Physics and Astronomy
Professors Perkins (Chair), Lundgren; Assistant Professors Kerpal, Lynch, Wake; Lecturer Undrieu
The Department of Physics and Astronomy offers a range of concentrations well suited to students intending to pursue careers in industry, government, education, and science communication, or advanced work in graduate school. Students interested in a Physics major may elect one of four concentrations: Preparation for Graduate School, Applied Physics, Physics with Teacher Licensure, and Physics with Comprehensive Science Licensure. Our Astronomy major is the only such offering in the UNC System.
The department is dedicated to excellence in undergraduate instruction. The professional interests of the faculty cover a wide range of current research in physics and astronomy, and the size of the department affords ample opportunity for the close student-faculty contact we consider a major asset of our program at UNC Asheville. The department offers a wide range of activities and opportunities in physics and astronomy. Our elective classes and rigorous curricula provide excellent formal introductions to these fields of study. In addition to coursework, a multitude of research opportunities on campus enable students to work hands on with advanced instruments (for example in: electron microscopy, spectroscopy, lasers and optics, and acoustics) and to explore cutting edge data from telescopes in space and on the ground.
The Physics and Astronomy majors and minors complement related natural sciences and liberal arts offerings at UNC Asheville, with the goal of broadening students’ scientific perspectives through the application of scientific methods and knowledge to empirical observations of the universe. The various major concentrations offer students flexibility to tailor their electives towards advanced study, applied fields, or careers in education, outreach, and teaching. The astronomy minor facilitates two paths: one is designed for physical science majors and provides a rigorous preparation suitable for graduate studies in physics and astrophysics; the other is open to students of all majors, who are interested in a comprehensive study of astronomy from historical and applied perspectives. Students with a professional interest in astronomy/astrophysics are encouraged to either combine the astronomy major with a physics minor, or the physics major with the astronomy minor, since a thorough grounding in fundamental physics is required for graduate studies in astronomy/astrophysics. As graduate programs increasingly prefer students to have undergraduate research experience, many students supplement the required coursework with independent undergraduate research.
Students pursuing Astronomy at UNC Asheville have access to unique research and outreach facilities, such as the on-campus Lookout Observatory, which is used for student research, and offers free public observing nights monthly as weather permits, and is where many of our students are also employed part-time as docents. Through our faculty’s active participation in external research collaborations, our students additionally benefit from access to exclusive data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey, the Hubble Space Telescope, and the James Webb Space Telescope. UNC Asheville is a member institution in the North Carolina Space Grant Consortium, which provides funds to support educational research and projects, and our students are eligible to apply for North Carolina Space Grant scholarships.
Physics and Astronomy
CoursesAstronomyAstronomy - Special TopicsPhysicsPhysics - Special Topics
Return to: Academic Departments, Programs, and Requirements for Majors and Minors
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