Class will meet Mondays and Wednesdays at 3:20pm.

There will be no required text.

We will use the following books which are on reserve in the astronomy library for reference:
Galactic Astronomy by Binney and Merrifield, second edition.
Galaxies in the Universe, by Sparke and Gallagher, Second edition.
Galaxy Formation by Longair

There will be six homework sets, a midterm and a final.

Group work: Some of the homework assignments will include group work. As well as taking on different parts of the work (and describing each contribution at the end) you are each responsible for reading and understanding the group assignment that you hand in.

Grades for undergraduates:
Homework: 50%
Midterm: 20%
Final: 30%

Grades for graduates:
Homework: 40%
Midterm: 25%
Final: 35%
In addition, a 'B' standard is required for both homework and the final-plus-midterm grade in order to earn a B in this course. This is because the homework is an important part of the course, but the midterm and final are better preparation for the written graduate qualifying exam.

Grade mapping from percent to letter grades:
85% or greater: A
75-85% : B
65-75% : C
50-65% : D
less than 50% : F

Classes will be interactive, with group discussions of the material.