Astronomy is as hard as you make it, and most people do.

The rules for concentration are a breeze two courses in physics, and two courses in math. And general exams are fairly easy.

If you want to pick up a smattering of science, the astronomy department will be glad to have you.

But most of the students in this field are serious about it. They spend days in the lab and nights in the observatory. They usually pick a project like building a new kind of telescope, and spend half their College life working on it.

Serious Astronomy majors don't mind the extra work, for they are morbidly interested in their field. They all know every professor in the department, and this makes tutorial unnecessary.

The staff includes the most famous astronomers in the world: Harlow Shapley, Donald H. Menzel, Bart J. Bok, and Fred L. Whipple. Harvard's astronomy department is the center of the star-gazing world, and is undoubtedly the best place in the world to learn the business.

Pass the Bread-and-Butter

Astronomy 1 is the department's bread-and-butter course. With little math and no prerequisites, the course is top-notch distribution but often child's play for the serious major. It is not required for concentration, and many students skip it.

Astronomy 3 is a basic half-course with heavy mathematics and detailed technicalities. In the upper levels, all of the department's' menu is intense and technical.

Prospective majors--whether fanatics or dabblers--should be warned of two things. First, that astronomy means a lot of mathematics; don't concentrate in it unless you find Math 1 easy going.

Second, there's one joker in the requirement of six courses. Only two of these can be on the freshman level. Thus, a student must either take seven courses, or start math, physics, or astronomy at the intermediate level.