Teaching · Minor
Minor in Astronomy & Astrophysics
A rigorous yet accessible 15-credit programme — the first and only of its kind in Bangladesh — open to any student grounded in the natural sciences and mathematics.
Overview
Situate your major within the largest possible context
Offered by IUB's Department of Physical Sciences, the Minor in Astronomy & Astrophysics is a rigorous yet accessible 15-credit programme. Anchored by two mandatory core courses — Introduction to Astronomy (AST 201) and Introduction to Astrophysics (AST 301) — and complemented by electives spanning planetary systems, stellar evolution, galaxies, radio astronomy, and space physics, it equips curious minds with the conceptual and observational tools to grapple with the universe's grandest questions. Designed to be completed within five semesters, it complements majors in physics, mathematics, engineering, and computer science.
CASSA is a contributor to the Minor, assisting with its research components; every course is taught by a CASSA member or Director.
The curriculum is approved by the University Grants Commission (UGC) of Bangladesh — see page 18 of the curriculum document ↗. Full syllabi and lecture materials are published openly on Abekta ↗.
Mandatory
Two core courses
Introduction to Astronomy
The full observational pipeline of modern astronomy — the history of the field, the physics of light, coordinate systems and statistical uncertainty, telescope optics, the technology of CCD and infrared detectors, and hands-on digital image processing.
Course page on Abekta ↗Introduction to Astrophysics
Where observation meets theory — the standard model of cosmology via the Friedmann–Lemaître equations, the thermal history of the universe, structure and dark-matter halo formation, and the 21-cm hydrogen line at the frontier of radio astrophysics.
Course page on Abekta ↗Build your path
Electives across three tracks
Electives
Choose your concentration
Electives are organised into two tracks — A&A (Astronomy & Astrophysics) and SPS (Space & Planetary Science). A course may belong to both tracks; its tags are shown on each card.
Planets and Planetary Systems
Our cosmic neighbourhood and its counterparts: planet formation from disk to world, the solar system, the five methods of exoplanet detection, and astrobiology — including habitable environments on Titan and Europa.
Course page on Abekta ↗Stars and Interstellar Medium
The life of stars: binary dynamics and the Hertzsprung–Russell diagram, stellar interiors and nucleosynthesis, a dedicated treatment of the Sun, the interstellar medium, and the physics of star formation.
Course page on Abekta ↗Galaxies and Intergalactic Medium
Galaxies and the cosmic web: the Milky Way, galaxy types and scaling relations (Tully–Fisher, Faber–Jackson), AGN and quasars, galaxy-formation theory, and the intergalactic medium at cosmic dawn.
Course page on Abekta ↗Radio Astronomy
Listening to the invisible universe: radio-radiation physics and Stokes parameters, telescope and receiver engineering, interferometry and aperture synthesis (ALMA, SKA), and the 21-cm HI radio sky.
Course page on Abekta ↗Atmospheric and Space Physics
Earth and its space environment: atmospheric structure and meteorology, charged-particle motion and drifts, Earth's magnetosphere and ionosphere, and auroral electrodynamics. Renumbered from PHY 434.
Course page on Abekta ↗Every course in the Minor is taught by a CASSA member or Director — the Directors Khan Muhammad Bin Asad and Syed Ashraf Uddin among them. The necessary mathematics and physics are introduced from the ground up, keeping the courses accessible to students from the physical and life sciences, electrical engineering, and computer science.