The course runs from October through May and is available by distance learning to students from around the world. You should expect to study for an average of 6 hours per week. The course materials comprise printed notes, a collection of key articles, and a CD containing a web-based version of the course complete with links to selected sites around the world, computer simulations and video clips. Some sample course notes are available. The computer-based nature of the course requires you to have a computer with access to the internet.
Tutorial assistance is available by telephone, email and a web-based discussion forum .
More details are available by accessing the pages in the navigation bar on the left. A non-frames version of the information in these pages combined into one file and suitable for printing is available here . The observatory has more than 50 staff involved in research and instrument development in areas ranging from the evolution of stars to the origin of the universe. The Department is also top-rated at research with a grade 5 in the Government's most recent 1996 Research Assessment Exercise.