Welcome to the Physics and Astronomy Department

The Department of Physics and Astronomy has instituted a guarantee to assure that students will find the courses they need to graduate with a Physics or Astronomy degree when they need them.
This policy and guarantee are posted on the following pages.


The University of Hawaii at Hilo (UH Hilo) offers an excellent undergraduate program within the Natural Sciences Division, designed to prepare students for a wide range of careers in physics, astronomy and other sciences. In addition, the number and quality of astronomy research telescopes within easy reach of Hilo is unique, as is Physics and Astronomy's role as the State's only academic program that affords local students access to these facilities.

UH Hilo is, primarily, an undergraduate, liberal arts school with an enrollment of approximately 3,000 full-time students. It is ranked third in overall quality among regional public liberal arts campuses in the western United States. UH Hilo offers high-quality education in a multicultural environment. Average class size is only 22 students, which provides plenty of opportunity for student-faculty interaction both inside and outside of the classroom. UH Hilo is continuing to expand its programs and buildings to house those programs.

The Physics and Astronomy Department will move into a new Science and Technology Building on the UH Hilo campus, after construction is completed. Construction is scheduled to begin on the Science and Technology building in the Fall of 2008. The building, in its present proposed configuration, will house Physics & Astronomy and Chemistry departments. Physics and Astronomy is scheduled to have new classrooms, laboratories, faculty offices, and a control room for remotely controlling the proposed, upgraded, Educational Telescope, at the summit of Mauna Kea. Completion on the upgrade construction of the observatory building is scheduled for late October '08, with the telescope to be installed by Late 2008. The new 0.9m telescope is hoped to be to be in operation by early 2009.

Got questions? Prospective students can get more information about the Physics and Astronomy programs at UH Hilo by clicking this link to e-mail Dr. Richard Crowe .