2025-2026 Undergraduate Catalog

Major in Meteorology and Climatology (BA/BS)

The major in Meteorology and Climatology appeals to students with primary interests in weather forecasting and/or atmospheric research. This major meets American Meteorological Society (AMS) qualifications for the title "meteorologist," and Federal Civil Service requirements (GS 1340) for employment by the National Weather Service (NWS). Both students with broadcast meteorology aspirations and those pursuing public or private sector meteorology careers benefit from the systematic investigations of earth-atmosphere system and subsystem dynamics and training in the use of technology (satellites, radar, automated weather observations, and numerical weather prediction) to analyze these systems on a variety of spatial and temporal scales. The department offers a number of opportunities for students, including cross-training in Geographic Information Science, participation in the Cardinal Weather Service, and optional coursework in Broadcast Meteorology.

78-83 credits

Core Requirements List, 66 credits

Students must take METC 426 for 3 credits.

GEOG 101Earth, Sea, and Sky: A Geographic View

3

GEOG 150Global Geography

3

GEOG 240Maps and Spatial Reasoning

3

GEOG 250Spatial Analytical Methods in Geography

3

GEOG 265Introduction to Geographic Information Systems

3

METC 230Elementary Meteorology

3

METC 330Weather Analysis

3

METC 331Global Climatology

3

METC 425Physical Meteorology

3

METC 426Client-Based Forecasting

1-3

METC 435Satellite, Radar, and Forecasting

3

METC 447Thermodynamic Meteorology

3

METC 449Synoptic Meteorology

3

METC 450Mesoscale Meteorology

3

METC 451Dynamic Meteorology

3

MATH 165Calculus 1

4

MATH 166Calculus 2

4

MATH 374Differential Equations

3

PHYC 120General Physics 1

5

PHYC 122General Physics 2

5

Advanced Geographic Techniques electives, choose 3 credits from:

GEOG 433Cartography and Visualization of Spatial Data

3

GEOG 434Maps, Environment, and Society

3

GEOG 436Introduction to Remote Sensing

3

GEOG 438Advanced Geographic Information Systems Analysis

3

Meteorology and Climatology electives, Choose 2 courses (6-10 credits) from:

METC 332Climate Change and Modification

3

METC 334Atmospheric Hazards

3

METC 410Broadcast Meteorology

3

METC 490Field Observation of Severe Local Storms

6

MATH 267Calculus 3

4

Science electives, choose 3-4 credits from:

CHEM 111General Chemistry 1

4

CS 120Computer Science 1: Programming Fundamentals

4

GEOL 206Oceans and Nations

3

GEOL 420Oceanography

3

PHYC 450Electricity and Magnetism 1

3

Additional course work in the basic sciences such as mathematics, physics, and computer science is encouraged. Recommended minors include natural resources, environmental management, and telecommunications.