Physics in Astronomy: Graduate-Level Courses

[creepypasta13]

So I'm curious as to how much upper-div and graduate-level physics is actually used in astronomy (grad-level courses), since I hear a lot that they're very related. I'm pretty interested in the research in numerical simulations of star and galaxy formation.

I've seen some general lecture notes for upper-div Star Formation classes, and it looked pretty interesting as it used concepts from classical physics, a little quantum, and almost no E&M. But I saw some lecture notes for a Black Holes and Galaxies class, and it used a lot of special and general relativity, which I hate. What else should I expect at the graduate level? Does it get as difficult as the level of Jackson's E&M?

 

[phyzguy]

If you "hate" special and general relativity, perhaps astronomy/astrophysics is not the place for you. These fundamental concepts permeate most current research.

 

[creepypasta13]

If you "hate" special and general relativity, perhaps astronomy/astrophysics is not the place for you. These fundamental concepts permeate most current research.

Well its not so much hate as it is that those concepts are very difficult for me to learn. How is the difficulty in Astro grad courses compared to the core Physics courses (mech, E&M, quantum, thermo)?