Master after German "Diplom"

I have a German "Diplom" in mathematics and I'm considering to
apply for an online Master in astronomy (currently favoring JCU).
Does anyone have experience trying to get into a master program
with credentials outside the international bachelor/master system?

There seem to be some disputes regarding the value of the German
"Diplom" which I do not wish to go into here However it seems to
accepted to be at least as a bachelor degree by most. In math it was
nominally a 5 year degree in Germany though most need about 6.

Also, I'm not really sure what I'd provide as official "study transcript"
if such should turn out to be mandatory. The granularity of exams is
rather different and for the most part the university will not have an
official central record of individual courses I took - the basic idea is
you're expected to be knowledgable in the final exam and write a
lengthy thesis (officially you'd only have 6 months for the thesis
but professors usually gave you a years task with the very simply
arrangement of not telling anybody you'd already started).

Apart from that, there is also the question of prerequisites. Usually
a "bachelor-level degree in an appropriate discipline" is required, with
preferences to physical sciences, although computer science and
mathematics are probably not too far off the mark. However, it
is all a bit vague.

I have an amateur knowledge of astronomy, work experience as
professional software developer and I expect my math background
to be more than adequate. However, I don't really have any
university-level physics background.

I'd appreciate comments on whether any of this makes sense

 

I guess I could say two things. The first is that you can have your German degree evaluated for equivalency with US degrees. This might help you to know where you stand and might help you in the admissions process at some US university. Here's a reputable organization for this task:

http://www.naces.org/

The second thing is, in my limited experience, Astronomy IS Physics. If you have no Physics background then you might expect to be required to take a set of prerequisite courses in Physics before being formally accepted into a grad Astronomy program.

 

A simple, but maybe not expedient, fix is to have your credentials evaluated by an agency like World Education Services and see where you stand in the American system. You might need physics classes before you can do graduate astronomy work. A good plan is to take some prerequisite physics courses or get a second degree in physics or astronomy. If you already have BS you probably won't need but another year of school, 30 semester hours, to get the second degree. A shortcut might be to search for German-educated astronomy professors in the USA who might understand your situation. Good luck!

 

To belatedly wrap up this thread: Thank you for the comments!

I am now enrolled in the JCU Master of Astronomy program at JCU and it
started about three weeks ago. They seem to expect people from a
variety of backgrounds to enrol in this program and the level of physics and mathematics required up to now was not very high. It appears the first semester is intended to cover a broad range of topics without diving too deeply. But it's fun
and you learn more detail by actually doing something even when you generally
knew about it beforehand.

Regarding formalities, I ended up writing a list of everything I did during my
studies in Germany and talked the professor heading the examination commission
into putting a stamp under it