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Thank you for your application for CERT/ Astronomy Cert/UCLAN Preston

sanmatt

By sanmatt
in The Astro Lounge

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ollypenrice

ollypenrice

Posted
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So... what does one actually do with an astronomy certificate or degree? I imagine the job opportunities that require one are somewhat limited.

And if it has ANY physics or maths in it what so ever then that would be me straight out of the door!

What do you do with it? You benfit from all the new understanding and knowledge you've aquired! What a terrible thing it would be to feel that education had to be a form of job training. I've never seen it that way.

Until I decided to make it my living astronomy was, for me entirely 'useless.' Gloriously so! In the spiritually dismal and bereft eighties the idea came about that education was there to train people to make widgets. To hell with widgets, give me Bok Blobules, give me The Hubble Flow, give me General Relativity, Light Echoes, Roche Lobes... Bring it on!!

It's a good course, Sanmat, with excellent support and friendly staff and students. I've done half a dozen of their courses and enjoyed them all.

Olly

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Tyr

Tyr

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I'm sure you won't regret it, learning is indeed fun when it's something you're interested in.

I've got another evening class starting (hopefully) next week run by Oxed, nothing like the same level of commitment but I'm looking forward to it

Galaxies and the Cosmos | Oxford University Department for Continuing Education

I'm lucky they are running it on my door step as I find physically being there works well for me.

The text book Universe looks like the same one, I managed to pick one up second hand for about £5 from amazon last year when I did the first course. It reads like erm a school text book and appears to be printed on paper only one step up in quality from a magazine. That's not to say it's not full of useful information though.

It looks like John Moores offer a nice selection of courses, I think I'd be keen to try that in the future, either that or the OU ones.

Tyr

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George Jones

George Jones

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The used books are a lot less though. I'm going to get one thats battered and scribbled all over - it'll be cheaper!

This is a good book. If you get a used copy, make sure that you get the latest edition, because:

1) our knowledge of astronomy and cosmology changes quite quickly;

2) end of chapter questions and numbering change (old questions deleted, new questions added).

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NickBloodworth

NickBloodworth

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Just been told by a real uni that "Unfortunately there is not nearly enough maths on this course for this to be considered for entry onto the 1st year of our Physics Degrees.

There's no taught maths component and to get on the source requires C in GCSE (not A-level).

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Nillchill

Nillchill

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Hope you enjoy the course San,

UCLAN is an excellent college, I studied Physics there when it was still a Polytechnic. and the Physics and Astronomy depts were recognised as some of the best then, and the Lecturers tutors were always very good.

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LukeSkywatcher

LukeSkywatcher

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I wish you well Sandra on your endevour. I could NEVER undertake an educational course in astronomy, because it is a passion to me and i hate studying and exams. I think if i ever took such a course it would kill the passion for me and i would give up the hobby simply because i would fail the exams due to lack of study to pass. The course content i would enjoy.................just the exams i would not.

I'm all for reading about astronomy related subjects and learning but only on a personal level and in my own time.

It should be a breeze for a person like you who is almost a chartered bio-chemist?.

You have the study gene in you to pull it off.

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George Jones

George Jones

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How does the UCLAN astronomy BSc (Hons) course compare with a normal astrophysics degree? Will it prevent me from masters level astrophysics?

Even though I think this B.Sc. programme has loads of pluses (and before I saw your post I was working on a positive post), I would say that it is not sufficient for entry into any physics M.Sc., including astrophysics. I might give specific reasons in another post.

Just been told by a real uni that "Unfortunately there is not nearly enough maths on this course for this to be considered for entry onto the 1st year of our Physics Degrees.

There's no taught maths component and to get on the source requires C in GCSE (not A-level).

Do the mean that another university has told your that finishing the UCLAN B.Sc (Hons) is not sufficient for entry into their B.Sc. programme, or that finishing the module Introduction to Astronomy AA1051 is not sufficient?

Much of the maths seems to be taught in the module Energy, Matter and the Universe AA1056. From its syllabus

Mathematics: understanding functions in physics, physical variables and parameters; manipulating and displaying variables, simple functions and plots; properties and use of trigonometric functions; interpreting and solving algebraic equations in physics; describing motion; co-ordinates and vectors; physical meaning of differentiation and integration; differentiating and integrating useful functions in physics; the meaning of simple differential equations in physics, Newton’s laws, equations of state ...

Suggested further reading: Stroud, K.A and Booth, D. (2007), Engineering Mathematics 6th Ed. Palgrave Publishers Ltd.

This book looks to be quite good for maths self-study.

I don't think that a goal of the UCLAN programme is to put folks on a professional astrophysics path. I do think that a goal of the UCLAN programme is to give interested folks a quantitative understanding of astronomy, astrophysics, and cosmology that far deeper that the level in magazines (I do love some of the magazine articles, though). I think that this is a laudable goal.

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richbyers

richbyers

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to whoever asked about the amount of physics and maths- any astronomy courses that are at a higher level than pure beginner will have a considerable amount of this in- its unavoidable as its a core part of astro physics and astro biology- you will need to have a general basing in wavelengths, particles, re-arranging equations, and dealing with powers, and 5.23 x 10 power -23 and so on, you also need to know your way around a scientific calculator

to me this is one of the most fascinating parts of astronomy, and is actually the bulk of modern day astronomy

alot of people who ask me what i study just think its about sticking your head out the door of a clear night....nope...sorry

i had to buy a white board especially just to get my head round some of the equations used

sorry thats either advice or a warning to those interested in astro courses- any of considerable level contain alot of these 2 things- maths and physics

rich

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richbyers

richbyers

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I, too, seem to understand equations much better when I work them through on a board.

yep, my trick is a black and red pen- the core equation is in black, then the working is in red.- i guess this is bascially the same as what teachers do in marking.....i have had alot of success with this is figuring them out this way

oh and to add to my post above- you may want to try some extra curricular reading, i know i have a pile of text books, and at least 70% are of my own choice- backgrounding in your chosen field is a precious thing :)

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George Jones

George Jones

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Leicester Uni says that completion of the 6 1st level modules at UCLan (the CertED) is not sufficient for entry to their 1st year Bsc Hons physics degrees.

Now, I am confused. I thought that this thread is about cert astronomy, not cert ed. I have looked at things very quickly, so maybe there is more overlap than I realize.

What about if you just take the module Energy, Matter and the Universe AA1056? This has GCSE maths as prerequisite, and seems to have real maths content.

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Earl

Earl

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I, too, seem to understand equations much better when I work them through on a board.

I think that's due to having space to work the idea without been physically constrained to the one location.

Free the body and the mind follows :)

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George Jones

George Jones

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All I am saying is that doing 6 level modules will not get you into a uni to do physics.

I don't mean to be argumentative, but why should it? Leicester Uni requires maths beyond GCSE for entry into their B.Sc. physics programme. The UCLan certed doesn't have any required maths beyond GCSE.

Again, this thread is not about certed.

If your goal is entry into Leicester Uni B.Sc. Physics, don't do the UClan certed, do something else.

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JamesF

JamesF

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I wonder how many online applications they actually get? I've managed to break their application system twice already.

Still have to write a "personal statement", apparently, explaining why they'd want me as a student. I'm tempted to just fill it in with "Never mind that. Why should I choose you as a university?"

James

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JamesF

JamesF

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There are bits of the application form that just leave me stumped, to be honest. Such as when it asks you for your academic qualifications and what topics you studied. Now I can remember that I received a BSc. 2.1 in Computer Science from the University of Warwick in 1988, but beyond that, I can't recall the topics I studied, when, or how well I did in them. Just as well they don't want to know O-levels too, as I'm certain I can't recall all of those. I know I did eleven, but I'm unable to list them all.

James

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George Jones

George Jones

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It's a bit of a pain and maybe not worth it, but, for a fee, North American (don't know about the UK) universities will send copies of unofficial transcripts to former students. This would at least give you the titles of the courses you took

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sanmatt

sanmatt

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James I didnt add in all my modules that for sure. I put both my degs down and left it that. I didnt give references either, and I think for personal statement I just said I rather liked looking up but was struggling to learn so wanted formal learning. That was it.

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