Asheville, N,C, — The University of North Carolina Asheville’s Department of Physics and Astronomy recently launched a new astronomy major — the first in the state school system and second in the state, a UNCA news release announced on Aug. 21.

"The field is trending, and interest is growing," the release noted. "The number of astronomy bachelor's degrees in the U.S. has increased by over 300 percent in the past 20 years.

Developing this major, alongside UNCA's popular astronomy minor program, will continue to expand the department’s indelible impact on the field in North Carolina and globally. 

“We have a thriving astronomy minor at UNC Asheville, which has tripled in enrollment during my time at the school,” UNCA Carson Distinguished Professor of Physics and Astronomy Britt Lundgren, who is also Chair of the federal Astronomy and Astrophysics Advisory Committee, stated. “That shows an appetite amongst our students for this kind of offering as a major concentration. An astronomy major has always been a departmental goal.”