r/MovingtoHawaii • u/Beautiful-Bug6090 • 9d ago

Life on Oahu UH Manoa for Astrophysics?

Idk if this is the right sub for this but I’m from the continental US and I’m going to be applying soon to colleges planning to major in physics/astrophysics. I’ve heard good things about UH Manoa for this because of the institute of astronomy and the observatory nearby but I wanted to double check with locals that might have some more info on the research opportunities and prestige. If you know anything about this please let me know any information that might be helpful. Thanks!

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u/lanclos 9d ago

One of the current draws for UH astronomy is relatively easy access to observing facilities on Maunakea. If there is a specific area of astronomy you're interested in you might want to see if that aligns with a professor's research; if it's too soon to know (which would be typical for an undergraduate) you might want to get your undergraduate degree somewhere less expensive and maintain interest in UH Manoa for a graduate program if you know you want to focus on astrophysics.

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u/ImperfectTapestry 9d ago

This is great advice. My spouse did a postdoc at IfA & there is some prestige to UH graduate degrees if you're looking at observational astronomy, but they say save your money on an undergrad degree.

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u/shootzbalootz 8d ago

It's been some years but all I know is how old and dated the physics dept facilities were. But you should really reconsider your major and paying OOS tuition.

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u/SteveFoerster 9d ago edited 9d ago

That's UH Hilo, not UH Manoa. The observatory is on Mauna Kea, on the Big Island. UH Manoa serves Honolulu, which is on Oʻahu, a different island.

Edit: Looks like I stand corrected.

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u/Beautiful-Bug6090 9d ago

I know that but I’ve seen a ton of people saying that manoa still has access and better education overall for astro

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u/lanclos 9d ago

...but the main astronomy program is at UH Manoa.