Female Astrophysicists Face a Gender Imbalance

Kate Minker always had an interest in space and math, so when she came to the University of Maryland, she decided to double major in astronomy and physics 

It’s very common for Astronomy majors to also add the physics major. Since astronomy is heavily based on physics, the double major is only six more classes than the physics major alone at UMD. 

“This is actually one of the best departments in the country for physics (generally ranked in the top 15), and there are very few dedicated astronomy departments nationally,” said Minker in an email. 

Photo courtesy of Kate Minker

The classes are mainly math-based, but physics is just math with an application, and astronomy is just physics in space. The physics classes are generally relatively large lecture hall types, and the astronomy classes are smaller lectures. Some of the lectures in small peer group work. There are also several lab classes where students do hands-on experiments.  

“I think more in confidence than anything else. I was super intimidated at the beginning because there’s so much to know, but then I realized that nobody is an expert in everything,” said Minker. 

Currently, there is roughly about 20% of women in the physics major and 30% or 40% in astronomy major, according to Minker. 

Photo courtesy of Kate Minker

 “Almost all of the professors I’ve had so far have been wonderful and surprisingly feminist… I can say that I’ve known the name of almost every woman in any of my classes, and then maybe like six of the guys total. If I were at a university with a lot smaller of a department, it would’ve affected my experience a lot more,” said Minker. 

Minker is roommates with fellow astrophysics major, Jordan Willis. 

“Studying astrophysics has been a bit rough but fun. There is still a significant gender imbalance in the field of physics, which makes it all the more important to me that I do the best I can. It does help to have a roommate in the same major. It makes it easier to work on homework and study together, and our study habits balance each other out very well too,” said Willis. 

For students interested in studying in this field, “I definitely wouldn’t say that it’s an easy field of study, but in my opinion, it’s one of the most interesting ones since basically everything else in the universe comes back to physics in some way,” said Minker

Photo courtesy of Kate Minker

• Astrophysics
• major
• UMD
• women