Astronomy Major
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About the Major
Astronomy focuses on broad questions with deep implications. What is the history of our galaxy? What is the fate of the universe? Are we alone? Astronomy is suitable for students who wish to cultivate the ability to ask critical questions about the universe and seek a solid understanding of that phenomena that governs it.
Jobs in Astronomy
- Telescope technician
- Observatory manager
- Planetarium guide
- Space mission outreach specialist
- Science writer
Past Elon Astronomy Internships
- Cornell University
- Uplift Aerospace
Related Majors
Professors helped open doors for student, propelling her toward aerospace career goals
Samantha DiRenzo envisioned a full plate for her college experience: She wanted to double major in astronomy and engineering — two weighty course loads — but also spend a semester abroad. Plus, as an Elon College Fellow, she knew she would need to make room for a two-year research project.
But in the hands of her college advisers and other professors who wanted to see her succeed, DiRenzo was able to make it all work. She graduated from Elon in 2024 with a Bachelor of Arts in astronomy, a Bachelor of Science in engineering, minors in mathematics and physics, and memorable experiences both on the Elon campus and abroad.
“I was set on wanting to study abroad when I was away at school, and I knew Elon had a really good study abroad program, so I definitely knew that was going to somehow make it into my four-year plan,” she said. “And my four-year plan was pretty crazy with a lot of tight scheduling, but my advisers were really great in the sense that they helped me stay on track. They knew what I was aiming for with a double major and helped me achieve the things I wanted to do while I was there.”
That was such a big part of my experience — those connections with my professors and the relationships I had with them in and out of the classroom.
Her professors were also keyed in to DiRenzo’s ultimate goal of working for NASA as an aerospace engineer and presented her with opportunities to propel her in that direction — including a weeklong radio astronomy program in West Virginia and a summer internship at Honda Aircraft Company.
“You see that your professors want you to succeed, and to be on the receiving end of that is really very heartwarming, honestly,” she said. “You can get swept up in coursework and classes and homework, but to step back and see that your professors are aware of the work you’re doing and be able to talk to them on that level is really reassuring.”
DiRenzo knew when she applied to Elon that its astronomy program was relatively new — she was one of only two students in the Physics Department’s graduating class — but she could also see during her tour of the campus that the university would offer her unique opportunities she might not get elsewhere.
One of those opportunities was with undergraduate research. For two years, DiRenzo worked with astrophysics Associate Professor Chris Richardson studying active intermediate-mass black holes in dwarf galaxies through the use of multi-wavelength observations.
“That was extremely rewarding,” she said. “A lot of my coursework went hand-in-hand with my research, so it was really cool to be able to tie that together. When Dr. Richardson told me what his research was about, I knew that was exactly what I wanted to spend my time working on in school.”
Not only did she gain experience with the subject matter, research methods and technical writing, but she also had the opportunity to present at the prestigious American Astronomical Society Conference in New Orleans (where she earned the Astronomy Achievement Student Award) and at Elon’s annual Spring Undergraduate Research Forum.
The conferences gave her experience presenting her work to both those who understood the research and those who had never encountered the topic, she said. “That was a really good learning curve in adapting the material for a different audience,” she said.
DiRenzo also got plenty of hands-on learning experiences putting her astronomy lessons to use. She was a teaching assistant for the introductory astronomy lab — setting up telescopes on the rooftop and guiding students as they observed the night sky — and mentored underclassmen through a Women in STEM program. In 2022, she was encouraged by her professors to apply for the Educational Research in Radio Astronomy Program sponsored by UNC-Chapel Hill at the Greenbank Observatory in West Virginia
“It’s a radio silent area, so no phones, no TVs, no anything that could cause any interference, and that was an awesome opportunity,” she said. “First of all, it was beautiful out there — there’s not a lot of light so you could see a lot at night, which is really exciting — and we got to operate the radio telescopes at the observatory, which was absolutely awesome.”
True to her original goals, DiRenzo also studied abroad in the spring of 2022 through the Semester at Sea program, a four-month program that allowed her to visit 13 countries across Europe while completing coursework on the cruise ship.
DiRenzo is now working on a master’s program at Penn State University, studying aerospace engineering. Prior to leaving, she worked as an engineering intern at Honda Aircraft Company in Greensboro, working on stress engineering — fatigue analysis as well as damage tolerance on the structural aspect of planes. She was introduced to the company by a few of her engineering professors who knew about her career goals.
Because both the astronomy and engineering programs are fairly small, she was able to get personal attention not often seen at larger universities. For example, during her final semester, she needed to take an upper-level course that related to the astronomy field but wasn’t one of her designated astronomy classes. To help her achieve that, her engineering professors were able to weave astronomy and astrophysics content into her thermodynamics class and her Structures and Properties of Materials class.
“It was really cool because I got to see both things come together,” she said. “Especially in Structures and Properties of Materials, we talked a lot about the material selection for the Apollo missions and the space shuttle program, and I geeked out a little bit for sure.”
She advises new students to take advantage of the smaller class sizes to get to know their professors and make important connections. While the astronomy program has grown since her first year at Elon — reaching the double digits for incoming classes — she said the faculty continue to play important roles in the lives and future careers of students.
“That was such a big part of my experience — those connections with my professors and the relationships I had with them in and out of the classroom,” she said. “It can be kind of daunting at first to pursue those relationships, but once you get the ball rolling, it’s a great tool to have and a great way to spend your four years.”
Did You Know?
- Elon University is the only institution in North Carolina that currently offers a degree in astronomy. Majors are encouraged to combine astronomy with another discipline, which Elon is well suited to facilitate given the emphasis on creating connections across the curriculum. Astronomy students have double-majored in such disciplines as English, music and computer science to create a novel skill set for a future career.
- The astronomy curriculum focuses on uncovering content about planets, stars, galaxies and cosmology at both introductory and advanced levels. Because observations are an inherent part of the scientific process in astronomy, students are given the skills to analyze detailed images, interpret complex graphs and use visual aids. They are taught how to write computer code.
- Students have many opportunities to get hands-on experience. After taking Introduction to Astronomy, many serve as teaching assistants for the nighttime astronomy lab, guiding non-majors through operating telescopes and using their phones for astrophotography. Astronomy majors also are routinely tasked with writing and presenting their research findings to audiences with a wide range of backgrounds.