Bachelor of Environmental Design (Honours)

Students can specialise in areas such as Astrophysics, as demonstrated by honours student Morgan Febey who focused on optical astronomy and studied a close contact binary star system called OY Carinae for her thesis.

Physics students have access to the University of Tasmania's Greenhill Observatory north of Hobart, which houses 50cm and 1.3m optical telescopes used for astronomical observations and research.

Yes, Honours students undertake original thesis research. For example, Morgan Febey is studying OY Carinae, a close contact binary star system that is under-researched and uniquely observable from the southern hemisphere, making her work a distinct scientific contribution.

Graduates can progress to a PhD. Morgan Febey, for instance, plans to continue studying OY Carinae as the subject of her PhD and intends to remain within the University of Tasmania's physics department.

The University of Tasmania's location in the southern hemisphere gives it a unique observational advantage. For example, the star system OY Carinae is located very close to the south celestial pole and is easily observable from Tasmania but cannot be seen from most of the northern hemisphere.