General degree requirements
An overview of degree requirements for a Bachelor of Science
in atmospheric sciences or meteorology is provided here (courtesy
of the American Meteorological Society).
Specific degree requirements
Requirements of specific degree-granting
institutions are listed to provide a sample of the similarities
and differences in the Bachelor of Science in atmospheric sciences
or meteorology. This list is not intended to be complete and
the inclusion (or exclusion) of a given institution should not
be considered as an endorsement by the Oklahoma Climatological
Survey. |
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Pennsylvania State University |
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Requirements for the Bachelor of Science in Meteorology
College of Earth and Mineral Sciences
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PROFESSOR WILLIAM H. BRUNE, Head of the Department
Meteorology
is a rigorous scientific discipline devoted to the attainment
of an increased understanding of the atmosphere and the development
of methods for applying that knowledge to practical problems.
Although this field is usually associated with weather prediction,
it also has significance in environmental, energy, agricultural,
oceanic, and hydrological sciences. For students wishing
to pursue many of these areas, the department offers several
options within the major.
The major requires a solid foundation
in mathematics and the physical sciences, and it provides
a comprehensive survey of the fundamentals of atmospheric
science. It has sufficient flexibility to permit intensive
advanced study in such related areas as mathematics, earth
sciences, or engineering. The department has particular
strengths in weather analysis and prediction, including
forecast uncertainty and severe weather; physical meteorology,
including radar meteorology, instrumentation and atmospheric
measurements; and applied areas, including atmospheric
diffusion, air pollution chemistry, dynamic meteorology,
tropical meteorology, climate, and remote sensing.
Graduating meteorologists are
prepared for professional employment with industry, private
consulting firms, government, and the armed forces or for
further study toward graduate degrees normally required
for research, university, or management positions.
The freshman and sophomore years are
largely devoted to preparatory work in science, mathematics,
and the liberal arts. The junior and senior years involve
a core of basic courses in applied and theoretical topics
and a choice of courses offering specialized training.
The courses unique to each option are normally taken in
the junior and senior years.
For a Meteorology course to serve as a prerequisite
for any subsequent prescribed or supporting Meteorology
course in the major, a grade of C or better must be earned
in the prerequisite course.
For the B.S. degree in Meteorology,
a minimum of 121 credits is required.
AIR-QUALITY STUDIES OPTION: This option
enables students to gain in-depth knowledge of important
areas within the air-quality field. Air-quality meteorologists
are employed in both the public and private sectors. Public-sector
positions include those with local, state, and federal
agencies charged with regulatory, enforcement, and research
activities. Within the private sector, air quality meteorologists
are employed by consulting firms whose clients are concerned
with meeting environmental regulations on emissions of
pollutants into the atmosphere or with determining the
effects of such emissions. Topics offered in the option
include the physical and chemical nature of air pollutants;
their sources in industrial processes and human activity;
their control at the source; their transport and dispersion
through the atmosphere; their interaction with other atmospheric
constituents; their removal through cloud processes, fallout,
and wet deposition; their effects on ecosystems, materials,
and humans; and their economic and societal impacts.
ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES OPTION: This option
challenges students to strengthen and broaden their understanding
of the physics and chemistry of the atmosphere and oceans.
It helps prepare them for employment in the diverse field
of the atmospheric sciences and for graduate study in the
atmospheric or related disciplines. Students are encouraged
to participate in undergraduate research projects under
the supervision of atmospheric and oceanic scientists in
the department.
CLIMATOLOGY OPTION: This option allows
students to learn about the earth's climate from regional
to global scales, with emphasis on assessing human impacts
on the climate system. Students who pursue this area of
study learn how the tropical, mid-latitude and polar regions
of the atmosphere interact, as well as learn how the atmosphere
interacts with the oceans, land masses and biosphere. Study
of the climate changes throughout earth's history provides
a perspective on potential climate changes due to human
activity. Analysis of the societal aspects of climate change
offers a mechanism to evaluate the importance of the magnitudes
and uncertainties of the expected physical changes.
ENVIRONMENTAL METEOROLOGY
OPTION: Environmental Meteorology prepares the
student for understanding the impact of the weather on
the environment, which is to say the impacts of air and
water on ecosystems at human scales. In order to do this,
the option establishes links between atmospheric physics
and a variety of environmental disciplines pertaining to
land, water, soils, and plants. Depending on his/her interests,
the student will select courses in the biological sciences,
air or water quality, human dynamics, data analysis and
surface microclimate. An important component of this program
is an undergraduate research project, in which the student
is encouraged to develop a topic that addresses problems
related to the environment and society, if possible by
interacting with public agencies or groups.
GENERAL OPTION: This option has sufficient
flexibility to serve the needs of students who wish to
pursue topics chosen broadly from subdisciplines of meteorology
or from related areas. The General option is appropriate
both for students who intend to pursue postgraduate degrees
and for students who want to emphasize a topic for which
no option exists.
WEATHER FORECASTING AND COMMUNICATIONS
OPTION: This option
prepares students for careers in which their skills are
weather forecasters are effectively used in a variety of
ways, from science reporting and television broadcasting
to web design and computer-based weather graphics production.
Scheduling Recommendation by Semester Standing given
like (Sem: 1-2)
GENERAL EDUCATION: 45 credits
(24 of these 45 credits are included in the REQUIREMENTS
FOR THE MAJOR)
(See description of General Education in front of Bulletin.)
FIRST-YEAR SEMINAR:
(Included in REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJOR)
INTERCULTURAL AND INTERNATIONAL COMPETENCE:
(Included in ELECTIVES or GENERAL EDUCATION course selection)
WRITING ACROSS THE CURRICULUM:
(Included in REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJOR)
ELECTIVES: 1-8 credits
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJOR: 92-99 credits
(This includes 24 credits of General Education courses:
9 credits of GN courses; 6 credits of GQ courses; 9 credits
of GWS courses.)
COMMON REQUIREMENTS FOR THE MAJOR
(ALL OPTIONS): 74 credits
PRESCRIBED COURSES (55 credits)
CHEM 012 GN(3), EM SC 100S GWS(3)[71],
MATH 140 GQ(4), MATH 141 GQ(4)[1], PHYS
211 GN(4) (Sem: 1-2)
MATH 251(4), PHYS 212 GN(4) (Sem: 3-4)
METEO 300(3), METEO 411(4)[1], METEO 421(4)[1],
METEO 422(4)[1], METEO 431(3)[1],
METEO 436(3)[1], METEO 437(3)[1], METEO
445(1)[1], METEO 446(1)[1], METEO 473(3)[1] (Sem:
5-6)
ADDITIONAL COURSES (19 credits)
ENGL 015 GWS(3) or ENGL 030 GWS(3) (Sem: 1-2)
CMPSC 101 GQ(3), CMPSC 201C GQ(3) or CMPSC 201F GQ(3) (Sem: 3-4)
MATH 230 (4)[1] or MATH 231(2) [1] and
MATH 232(2) [1] (Sem: 3-4)
ENNEC 472 or STAT 301 GQ(3) or STAT 401(3) (Sem: 3-6)
CAS 100 GWS(3) or ENGL 202C GWS(3) (Sem: 3-8)
METEO 101 GN(3) or METEO 200A(1.5) and METEO 200B(1.5) or METEO 201(3) (Sem:
1-5)
REQUIREMENTS FOR THE OPTION: 18-25 credits
AIR-QUALITY STUDIES OPTION (18-21 credits)
PRESCRIBED COURSES (12 credits)
CHEM 013 GN(3) (Sem: 1-6)
M E 470(3), METEO 454(3), METEO 455(3) (Sem: 6-8)
ADDITIONAL COURSES (6 credits)
Select 6 credits from ENNEC 484W(3), E R M 430(3), F SC 401(3), F SC 422(3),
F SC 430(3), GEOG 357(3), GEOG 406(3), M E 405(3), STAT 462(3) (Sem: 7-8)
SUPPORTING COURSES AND RELATED AREAS (0-3 credits)
Select 0-3 credits from any writing-intensive (W) course
offered by the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences
(Sem: 7-8)
ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES OPTION: 18-19 credits
ADDITIONAL COURSES (12-13 credits)
Select 12-13 credits from METEO 414(4), METEO 433(3), METEO 434(3), METEO 448(3),
METEO 451(3), METEO 452(3), METEO 454(3), METEO 455(3), METEO 465(3), METEO
466(3), METEO 470(3), METEO 471W(3), METEO 472W(3), METEO 475W(3), METEO
480W(3) (Up to 9 of these credits in relevant courses in Acoustics, Chemistry,
Engineering, Mathematics, and Physics may be substituted with the approval
of the student's adviser.) (Sem: 7-8)
SUPPORTING COURSES AND RELATED AREAS (6 credits)
Select 6 credits of W courses or their equivalent. Three of these six W credits
must be selected from any writing-intensive course offered by the College
of Earth and Mineral Sciences. (Sem: 7-8)
CLIMATOLOGY OPTION (18 credits)
PRESCRIBED COURSES (15 credits)
GEOG 406(3) or GEOG 408W(3); GEOSC 320(3); METEO 451(3), METEO 470(3), METEO
475W(3)/GEOSC 475W(3) (Sem: 6-8)
ADDITIONAL COURSES (3 credits)
Select 3 credits from GEOG 406(3)*, GEOG 408W(3)*, GEOG 432W(3), GEOG 433W(3),
GEOG 437(3), METEO 452(3), METEO 466(3), METEO 472W(3) (Sem: 6-8)
*If not taken as a Prescribed Course
ENVIRONMENTAL METEOROLOGY OPTION: 22 credits
PRESCRIBED COURSES (16 credits)
BIOL 110 GN(4), C E 370(3), GEOG 121 GS(3), METEO 454(3), METEO 480W(3) (Sem:
2-8)
ADDITIONAL COURSES (6 credits)
Select 6 credits from A B E 400(3), C E 475(3), ENNEC 100 GS(3), E R M 430(3),
F SC 430(3), GEOG 330(3), GEOG 352(3), GEOG 357(3), GEOG 453(3), M E 033(3),
M E 405(3), M E 470(3), METEO 448(3), METEO 455(3), STAT 462(3), W F S 209
GN(3) (Sem: 2-8)
GENERAL OPTION: 19 credits
SUPPORTING COURSES AND RELATED AREAS (19
credits)
Select 3 credits from any writing-intensive (W) course
offered by the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences
(Sem: 7-8)
Select 16 credits from 400-level METEO courses and/or 200-, 300-, or 400-level
courses from the Colleges of Agricultural Sciences, Earth and Mineral Sciences,
Engineering, and/or Science (Sem: 7-8)
WEATHER FORECASTING AND COMMUNICATIONS
OPTION (22-25 credits)
PRESCRIBED COURSES (13 credits)
METEO 481(3), METEO 482(3) (Sem: 5-6)
METEO 414(4), METEO 415(3) (Sem: 6-8)
ADDITIONAL COURSES (9 credits)
Select 9 credits from CAS 211(3) (Sem: 5-8), ENGL 416(3), GEOSC 402W GI(3),
METEO 412(4), METEO 413(3), METEO 416(3), METEO 418W(3), METEO 483(3) (Sem:
7-8)
SUPPORTING COURSES AND RELATED AREAS (0-3 credits)
Select 0-3 credits from any writing-intensive (W) course
offered by the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences
(Sem: 7-8)
[1] A student enrolled
in this major must receive a grade of C or better, as
specified in Senate Policy 82-44.
[71] The following
substitutions are allowed for students attending campuses
where the indicated courses is not offered: CAS 100 GWS or ENGL 202C GWS can
be substituted for EM SC 100S GWS.
For more information about The Pennsylvania State University's program click here. |
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