Meteorology Concentration

Contact our Student Services Office for more information about the program: clasp-um-ss@umich.edu

Program Overview

Graduates with a concentration in Meteorology are prepared for careers in weather forecasting, corporations that are increasingly the source of weather analyses and predictions modeling, and for graduate studies in meteorology and the technologies that enable weather and climate prediction.

Degree Requirements

CoE Core Courses (39 hrs)

The College of Engineering requires that every engineering student, regardless of their proposed engineering major, complete specific courses in the core subjects of mathematics, engineering, chemistry, and physics. The Climate & Space department requires that declared students must earn a “C-” or better in all CoE Core courses:

  • Math 115 – Calculus I (4)
  • Math 116 – Calculus II (4)
  • Math 215 – Calculus III (4)
  • Math 216 – Introduction to Differential Equations (4)
  • Engineering 100 – Introduction to Engineering (4)
  • Engineering 101 – Introduction to Computers and Programming (4)
  • Chemistry 130 (3) with Chemistry 125/126 (2), or Chemistry 210 (4) with Chemistry 211 (1)
  • Physics 140 (4) with Physics 141 (1)
  • Physics 240 (4) with Physics 241 (1)

Intellectual Breadth (16 hrs)

It is important that you learn about modes of thought and areas of human accomplishment to better understand the solutions in a global, economic, environmental, and societal context beyond the purely technical. To assist students in gaining a greater scope of diverse knowledge and to facilitate creativity, the College of Engineering (CoE) requires that students who have matriculated into the CoE complete the Intellectual Breadth requirement.
Under the Intellectual Breadth requirement, each student must select 16 credits of intellectual breadth courses, subject to these rules:

  • Humanities: At least 3 credits of Humanities classes marked HU in the LSA Course Guide; credit by test cannot be used to meet this requirement.
  • Professional & Creative Development Courses (PCDC): No more than 4 credits of PCDC. This means a student may count up to 4 credits of PCDC toward their Intellectual Breadth requirement, but completing a PCDC is not mandatory.
  • Liberal Arts Courses (LACs): The remainder of the 16 credits is drawn from any of the LACs.
  • At least 3 credits of Humanities or LACs must be at the 300-level or higher. This is known as the Upper Division requirement. Please note that PCDCs cannot fulfill this requirement.

For a complete explanation of the Intellectual Breadth requirement, and a listing of PCDC and LAC courses, please refer to the Intellectual Breadth section of the CoE Bulletin.

Core Courses (38 hrs)

  • CLIMATE 320 Earth and Space System Evolution (3)
  • CLIMATE 321 Earth and Space System Dynamics (3)
  • CLIMATE 323 Earth System Analysis (4)
  • CLIMATE 324 Instrumentation for Atmos & Space Sciences (4)
  • CLIMATE 350 Atmospheric Thermodynamics (3)
  • CLIMATE 380 Introduction to Radiative Transfer (3)
  • CLIMATE 401 Geophysical Fluid Dynamics (3)
  • CLIMATE 410 Earth System Modeling (4)
  • CLIMATE 414 Weather Systems (3)
  • CLIMATE 423 Data Analysis and Visualization (4) 
  • CLIMATE 455 Capstone Design (4)

Concentration Courses (35 hrs.)

  • CLIMATE 411 Cloud and Precipitation Processes (3)
  • CLIMATE 463 Air Pollution Meteorology (3)
  • CLIMATE 440 Meteorological Analysis Laboratory (4)
  • CLIMATE 485 Remote Sensing (3) 
  • Technical Electives (13) 
  • General Electives (9)