Student-Led Classes Help Learning ‘STIC’
Astrophotography Course Focuses on Art to Accompany the Science of Astronomy
At UMD’s observatory, senior astronomy major Chaitanya Garg '25 (right) works with students taking his astrophotography Student Initiated Course. From left: Mackenzie Samartzis ’25, Jorge Argueta ’25, Oliver O’Brien ’26, Sofia Merchant-Dest ’26 and Garg.
Photo by Riley N. Sims
Astronomy research at the University of Maryland has rerouted asteroids on the fly, revealed environmental conditions on planets that orbit distant suns and helped uncover the mysteries of black holes. But one student saw an opening to take a celestial approach that the department's scientists haven’t prioritized.
“Sometimes, I just want to make pretty pictures of the sky,” admitted senior astronomy major Chaitanya Garg, who developed the idea for an astrophotography course he’s co-teaching this semester with Matthew Prem, a sophomore astronomy major.
It’s part of UMD’s innovative Student Initiated Courses (STICs) program, which allows students to follow their interests and create one- or two-credit courses they teach with guidance from a faculty adviser.
In “Introduction to Astrophotography”—the Department of Astronomy’s first STIC—that role is held by Elizabeth Warner, a principal faculty specialist who directs UMD’s observatory, located off Metzerott Road and next to the university’s golf course.
On a recent clear night at the facility, after Garg and a handful of class members rolled back the roof and polished off some McDonald’s, he provided the broad objectives for the night’s observations while Warner filled in some of the complicated details about how to aim telescopes and operate cameras.
“I try to not hover too much, but just be there to make sure everything is coming across clearly,” she said.
"Introduction to Astrophotography" co-instructor Matthew Prem (standing) helps a student in the class. (Photo by Stephanie S. Cordle)
Astronomy is typically about gathering and analyzing data to gain deeper understanding of everything from our solar system’s planets to the farthest ancient galaxies we can spot, and astronomers at UMD and elsewhere are laser-focused on scientific findings.
“Doing art is something you’re really only going to get in a student-led class,” Warner said as the students waited for camera sensors to cool down to air temperature to allow for clear images.
Almost anything students have a passion for can be a STIC, said UMD Chief Innovation Officer Dean Chang, who helped create the program in 2017 and has advised it since.
The most popular current offering is a computer science course known as “The Coding Interview,” in which students who’ve successfully earned internships at major tech firms talk about how to solve the complex math problems applicants face in their interviews. Others have covered unusual topics students might otherwise not have access to as formal classes: video games like Minecraft, cryptocurrencies, 3D printing.
While many universities offer opportunities for students to lead seminars, few allow them to lead credit-bearing courses.
“I just love the idea of democratizing education where students can take control of aspects of their education and have this unusual experience—there are really only a handful of places around the nation where this opportunity exists,” Chang said.
The original student initiator was Ishaan Parikh ‘19, who came to Chang with the model of student-taught, faculty-advised classes to get around the normal requirement that instructors have a minimum of a master’s degree. His basic argument for the classes, as he told Maryland Today in 2018: “Students know how students learn.”
Since then, thousands of students have enrolled in dozens of STIC courses across many departments, overseen by Chang and student volunteers who run the STIC organization much like a student club; in astronomy, Garg said he’s happy to hand off astrophotography to co-instructor Prem when he graduates in May. Prem said he’s likely to accept that offer.
“I like the idea of getting as many people as we can engaged with the sky,” he said. “It’s fun, but it also helps us be able to talk to more people about issues that affect astronomy, like light pollution.”
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