BS in Astronomy And Astrophysics

What is an Astronomy and Astrophysics Degree?

Space sciences at Florida Tech have set the standard since 1958, successfully preparing students for high-tech careers at top space agencies and research firms. The astronomy and astrophysics degree option, which is focused on the study of celestial bodies beyond the Earth's solar system, is designed to meet the needs of students intending to pursue graduate education and a career in astronomical sciences.

Whether you want to study the mysteries of black holes, examine the physical behavior of stars, or determine the origins of the universe, the Astronomy and Astrophysics degree from Florida Tech gives you a strong background in physics and hands-on experience with high-tech observational instrumentation.

Gain Practical Experience

Astronomy and astrophysics at Florida Tech isn't just something you study–it's something you go into the lab or onto the roof (where the telescopes are) and do! Florida Tech students gain scientific skills through hands-on experience in small classes with intensive faculty-student interaction.

The Astronomy and Astrophysics Research Group at Florida Tech is concerned primarily with observational and theoretical studies of white dwarf stars, M dwarf stars, and cataclysmic variable systems. During your study at Florida Tech, you have an opportunity to undertake exciting collaborative research with a peer or professor or work independently on a topic of your choosing, gaining practical experience for an enhanced job search portfolio and the perfect preparation for graduate and professional school and employment.

Earn an Advanced Degree

After receiving their astrobiology degree, many of our students go on to master's and doctoral programs at Florida Tech and other prestigious universities, including Johns Hopkins, Dartmouth, and Yale.

Peerless Internship Opportunities

Because of Florida Tech's location at the heart of the Space Coast, there are a plethora of opportunities for our students to obtain both astronomy and astrophysics internships during their studies. Some of the organizations that provide astronomy and astrophysics internships include:

• NASA
• Leonardo DRS
• Lockheed-Martin
• Harris
• Northrop Grumman

Students participating in astrophysics and astronomy internships have monitored the Deep Impact Mission’s collision at Kitt Peak National Observatory, worked with the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at Brookhaven National Laboratory, and helped develop and test new night-vision optics used by the US Army.

Stunning Undergraduate Research Opportunities

In addition to astrophysics or astronomy internships, astronomy and astrophysics students are encouraged to utilize Florida Tech’s F.W. Olin Observatory, which houses the Ortega telescope to take part in research projects. These projects may entail hands-on observations with our telescopes or work with data from space-based observatories such as the Hubble Space Telescope, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, or the Kepler Observatory.

SARA also sponsors an NSF-funded summer Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) program that provides 10–12 students from around the US the opportunity to work with scientists at SARA institutions.

Department faculty operates the world's largest X-ray array for measuring lightning. Faculty also co-operate (with UCLA) a chain of ten geomagnetic field observatories from Central Florida to Maine, and maintain a NASA-qualified clean room.

Valuable astrophysics and astronomy internships and research give students real-world experience and learning opportunities.

It All Started With 37 Cents

Florida Tech was founded in 1958 as "Brevard Engineering College." It all started as an idea in the mind of Jerome P. Keuper, a visionary physicist working at Cape Canaveral.

As university lore would have it, Keuper expressed his desire to create a scientific and technological university to a friend over drinks at a local pub. Overhearing the conversation, a fellow patron pushed 37 cents in change across the bar and said, “There’s your first donation, Jerry. Now, go and build that college.”

So, Keuper did. And what started with 37 cents as a night school for the early “missilemen” of the U.S. space program is now a comprehensive national research university recognized worldwide for excellence in preparing students for careers of the future.

Core Values

• Research for the Benefit of All Humankind
• Education for a Lifetime of Success
• Global Citizenship for a Better World

Mission Statement

Florida Institute of Technology’s mission is to provide high-quality education to a culturally diverse student body in order to prepare students for entering the global workforce, seeking higher-education opportunities, and serving within their communities. The university also seeks to expand knowledge through basic and applied research and to serve the diverse economic, cultural, and societal needs of our local, state, national and international constituencies.

In support of this mission, we are committed to:

• Promoting student development by fostering and sustaining a productive institutional culture of assessment that leads to the continuous improvement of academic and administrative programs
• Developing an organizational culture that values and encourages intellectual curiosity, a sense of belonging and shared purpose among faculty, students, and staff, and the pursuit of excellence in all endeavors
• Recruiting and developing excellent faculty to become leaders in their respective fields and internationally recognized scholars
• Achieving recognition as an effective, innovative, technology-focused educational and research institution
• Recruiting and retaining an excellent, highly select, and culturally diverse student body
• Continually improving the quality of campus life for all members of the university community
• Providing personal and career growth opportunities for both traditional and nontraditional students and members of the faculty and staff
• Securing and maintaining professional accreditation for all appropriate programs

We Are Florida Tech

What we are is a private, coeducational, residential, research-intensive, doctoral-granting university located in Melbourne on Florida’s sunny “Space Coast.” But who we are is so much more. We are a community of researchers, scholars, and learners hailing from all around the world. We are engineers, aviators, innovators, leaders, educators, athletes, and astronauts. We have the brains of rocket scientists and the hearts of Panthers. We are Florida Tech.

We Are Relentless

Florida Tech is a university of leaders and learners—a diverse community of students, staff, faculty, and alumni who are united in the relentless pursuit of greatness.

We Are International

Students from more than 90 countries worldwide choose to live and learn at Florida Tech, making us a truly global university. When we say #YouAreWelcomeHere, we mean it.

We Create The Future

One of the primary tenets of Florida Tech’s mission is advancing science and technology for the benefit of Earth and all of its inhabitants. So, that’s what we do.

We Have Panther Pride

You may feel it the first time you visit the campus, the day you graduate, or at some point in between. But when you do, you’ll see that Panther Pride is more than school spirit. It’s a family.

We Make Connections

Florida Tech is proud to be part of the Brevard County community and welcomes its neighbors to explore the many personal, professional, corporate, and cultural opportunities we have to offer.

We Are STEM

There's a reason Florida Tech is known as Florida's STEM University™. To put it simply: Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math are in our DNA. This makes STEM a driving force behind who we are, what we do, and why we exist.