Welcome to the Physics and Astronomy Department
The Department of Physics and Astronomy has instituted a guarantee to assure that students will find the courses they need to graduate with a Physics or Astronomy degree when they need them. Presently, the teaching guarantee is being revised by the Department. It will be posted here, when it becomes available .
The University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo (UH Hilo) offers an excellent undergraduate program within the Natural Sciences Division, designed to prepare students for a wide range of careers in physics, astronomy and other sciences. In addition, the number and quality of astronomy research telescopes within easy reach of Hilo is unique, as is Physics and Astronomy's role as the State's only academic program that affords local students access to these facilities.
UH Hilo is, primarily, an undergraduate, liberal arts school with an enrollment of over 3,000 full-time students. It is ranked third in overall quality among regional public liberal arts campuses in the western United States. UH Hilo offers high-quality education in a multicultural environment. Average class size is only 22 students, which provides plenty of opportunity for student-faculty interaction both inside and outside of the classroom. UH Hilo is continuing to expand its programs and buildings to house those programs.
The Physics and Astronomy Department has moved into a new Science and Technology Building on the UH Hilo campus, during the Summer of 2011. The building houses the Physics & Astronomy and Chemistry departments. Physics and Astronomy now has new classrooms, laboratories, faculty offices, and a control room for remotely controlling the UH Hilo Educational Telescope, at the summit of Mauna Kea after it becomes operational. Completion on the upgrade construction of the observatory building was completed in October '08. The telescope, dome, and operating software are presently being evaluated and re-engineered to suit UH Hilo's present and future needs. The new 0.9m telescope is hoped to be to be operational for students by the Fall of 2012.
Have questions? Prospective students can get more information about the Physics and Astronomy programs at UH Hilo by emailing the department at uhhpachr@hawaii.edu.