ASTRO at Cornell University

The map

Intro tiers at the top, advanced work below; arrows point from a prerequisite to the course it unlocks. Courses from other departments appear where they gate ASTRO work. Click any course to see what it requires and unlocks without leaving this page; hovering lights up its neighbors. The lists on this page carry the same courses in text form.

Showing the 37 ASTRO and feeder courses that have prerequisite links. 42 more ASTRO courses have no recorded prerequisites. They are listed under Tracks below, not drawn as loose dots here.

Concentration routes

The concentrations and majors that build on ASTRO, and how their requirements are structured. Expand a program to see which courses satisfy each group, then plan it in the Planner.

Tracks

Upper-level clusters, grouped by the gateway that opens them.

The longest ladders

The deepest prerequisite chains in ASTRO. These are the routes that take the most semesters to climb.

• 10 courses deep, ending at ASTRO 4940

  1. MATH 1110Calculus I
  2. MATH 1120Calculus II
  3. PHYS 1116Physics I: Mechanics and Special Relativity
  4. PHYS 2217Physics II: Electricity and Magnetism
  5. PHYS 2218Physics III: Waves and Thermal Physics
  6. PHYS 3327Advanced Electricity and Magnetism
  7. PHYS 3323Intermediate Electricity and Magnetism
  8. PHYS 4443Intermediate Quantum Mechanics
  9. ASTRO 4431Physics of Stars, Neutron Stars and Black Holes
  10. ASTRO 4940Independent Study in Astronomy

• 7 courses deep, ending at ASTRO 4432

  1. MATH 1110Calculus I
  2. MATH 1120Calculus II
  3. PHYS 1116Physics I: Mechanics and Special Relativity

• 5 courses deep, ending at ASTRO 3302

  1. MATH 1910Calculus for Engineers
  2. MATH 1920Multivariable Calculus for Engineers
  3. PHYS 2213Physics II: Electromagnetism

• 4 courses deep, ending at ASTRO 4523

  1. MATH 1910Calculus for Engineers
  2. MATH 1920Multivariable Calculus for Engineers
  3. ENGRD 2700Basic Engineering Probability and Statistics

Grade medians

Teaching in Fall 2026

Instructors on ASTRO sections in Fall 2026, from the registrar's schedule.

• Alexander Hayes
• Anna Ho
• Erich Mueller
• Jim Cordes
• Liam McAllister
• Lisa Kaltenegger
• Nicholas Battaglia
• Nikole Lewis
• Shami Chatterjee

Clubs & organizations

No clubs or organizations on record under ASTRO yet.

Clubs students here join

Department events

ASTRO does not run a page here yet. When it does, its events show up here and on the Cornell campus feed.