Penn State Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science (2024)

Information about when you can declare a major can be found in the University Undergraduate Bulletin. Before you can be officially admitted into a major, you must meet certain entrance-to-major (ETM) requirements. These differ based on your intended major as well as the year you were admitted to Penn State. You may view the entrance-to-major (ETM) requirements here.

If your current academic status is our pre-major EM SC (if in doubt check your data in LionPath, and if you meet the above criteria, and if you would like to enter the major that you indicated to us as your goal when you entered the college (i.e. the major to which your assigned faculty adviser belongs), you may do so using the "Update Academics" option in LionPath. Remember that you must also choose an option. If you are unsure which option to choose, please talk with your faculty advisor or the undergraduate program adviser in the Meteorology and Atmospheric Science main office. LionPath has a very helpful tutorial that willguide you through the steps onhow to declare your major.

Finally, if you have completed four semesters and your GPA is 2.00 or higher, you MUST declare your major. You can't remain in generic EM SC status! You won't be able to graduate in EM SC status! Declaring your major sooner rather than later will also ensure you are considered for all department specific scholarships and awards.

Meteorology is the study of weather, climate, and the characteristics, structures, and processes of the atmosphere.

Broaden your education by seeking a minor the applied science of meteorology. You will consult with a meteorology adviser to choose elective courses from a variety of specialties, including air quality studies, atmospheric dynamics, atmospheric physics, climatology, computer applications, and weather analysis and forecasting. This minor will help prepare students 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.

Information can be found in the University Undergraduate Bulletin: Meteorology, Minor

The Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science offers an integrated B.S./M.S. (IUG) Program that is designed to allow academically superior students to obtain both the B.S. and the M.S. degree in Meteorology in five years of study (or less in unusual circ*mstances). In order to complete the program in five years, students interested in the IUG Program in Meteorology must apply to and meet admission requirements of the Graduate School and the IUG program no later than the end of the second week of the semester preceding the semester of expected conferral of the undergraduate degree. Students interested in the IUG program should talk to the Associate Head of the Graduate Program in Meteorology and Atmospheric Science as early as possible in their undergraduate studies.

During their undergraduate studies, the student will follow the course scheduling of one of the options in the B.S. degree, normally the Atmospheric Sciences or the General option (see the Undergraduate Bulletin). Students who intend to enter the IUG program are encouraged to take upper level classes during their undergraduate career whenever appropriate.

During the final year of undergraduate study, IUG students follow the scheduling of the selected B.S. Meteorology and Atmospheric Science option, with an emphasis on completing 500-level course work as appropriate. Also during this year, IUG students begin research that serves as the basis for the M.S. thesis. Typically during the fifth year (but sometimes earlier in unusual circ*mstances), IUG students take courses fulfilling the departmental M.S. degree requirements and complete their M.S. theses. Typical scheduling plans for students pursuing the General or Atmospheric Sciences options are given below. If a plan similar to one of these plans is followed, then the student will have completed all requirements for the B.S. by the end of the fourth year (or earlier).

Admission requirements

Students who wish to enter the IUG Program in Meteorology and Atmospheric Science must apply to the Graduate School and the Meteorology and Atmospheric Science IUG program and meet the following requirements:

• Have completed entrance to their undergraduate major.
• Have completed no less than 60 credits.
• Be admitted no later than the end of the second week of the semester preceding the semester of expected conferral of the undergraduate degree.

  Typically, successful students will be admitted formally into the graduate program in Meteorology and Atmospheric Science in the spring semester of their third year, but earlier admission is also possible in some unusual circ*mstances. In all cases, admission to the program will be at the discretion of the Associate Head of the Graduate Program in the Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science. IUG students must meet all of the requirements for admission as regular incoming M.S. students.

Degree Requirements

The total degree requirements are as follows. The new program will fulfill the present rigorous requirements of the existing M.S. program. In particular, all IUG students must defend their theses or papers, as do all M.S. students, in a public presentation toward the end of their graduate program.

B.S. Degree Portion

Total B.S. Requirements: 121 Credits (12 double-counted with the M.S. Requirements)

• General Education: 45 Credits, 24 of which are included in the requirements for the major.
• Requirements for the Major: 93-94 Credits, 24 of which are included in the General Education requirements
• Common Requirements for the Major (All Options): 75 Credits
• Prescribed Courses: 56 Credits
• Additional Courses: 19 CreditsRequirements for the General Option: 18-19 Credits

M.S. Degree Portion

Total M.S. Requirements: 30 Credits (12 double-counted with the B.S. Requirements)

• Prescribed Courses: METEO 520, 521, 533, 535 (12 credits)
• Additional Courses: 18 credits
• 6 credits are 500-level coursework
• 6 credits are 400- or 500-level coursework
• 6 credits of METEO 600 (thesis option) or
• 6 credits of 400- or 500-level coursework

More Information

The details of the program requirements can be found in the Graduate Degree Programs Bulletin.

A student must take 9 credits of GWS. If they take EM SC 100 (EMS First Year Seminar), that satisfies three of them. All EMS students have to take English 15 or 30--that's another three. They then have to take three more credits. Unless the Department specifies the course that they have to take, then it doesn't matter which GWS course they choose. At present the only options are CAS 100 or ENGL 202. If a student doesn't take EM SC 100, then they need to get all nine credits of GWS from outside the College. Again at present, that means taking all of ENGL 15/30, CAS 100 and ENGL 202. EMS doesn't usually allow substitutions for any of these courses unless it is transfer credit from another institution.

All students have to take a first year seminar. If students start as freshmen in EMS, they have to take EM SC 100. If they start elsewhere at Penn State, we accept any first year seminar.

If students entered Penn State as a freshmen, and did not take a first year seminar, they are required to:
(1) The student must submit a degree audit petition to the associate dean for education with a two-page double-spaced letter attached, signed by the academic adviser, that summarizes how course work to date has prepared the student to think critically, write effectively, and make oral presentations.
(2) The student must attach a sample of writing from any University "W" course, passed with a C or better, to the petition.

Students for whom this process applies must submit the above stipulated documents before approval for graduation may be granted.

Guide to help identify, locate, evaluate, and effectively use information to communicate science.

Writing well is in your best interest. It will give you options, including:

• getting better grades,
• publishing more articles,
• participating on more research teams,
• receiving employment offers with higher salaries,
• gaining support from funding agencies for your initiatives, and
• being accepted into more graduate programs.

Beyond improving your life by giving you more options, writing helps us think. Writing is not something we do after our thinking is complete. The very act of writing generates new insights. We improve our comprehension of material through the process of writing it down and sorting it out.

This guide will give you the sources you need to improve your ability to communicate science and develop your own research activities.

2024 Tutoring (Coming Soon)

Do you need some extra help in your meteo, math, or physics classes? Let those who have already been through them help you out! Please contact one of the names below to set up a tutoring time.

Please email these tutors first to set up an appointment and they can prepare the material you wish to cover

METEOROLOGY COURSES

CHEMISTRY

ENGLISH

MATH

PHYSICS

STATISTICS

Academic advising promotes intellectual discovery, encourages students to take advantage of both in- and out-of-class educational opportunities, and helps them identify and achieve their goals. In addition, advising supports students’ successful navigation of the University’s academic opportunities, policies, systems, and procedures.

Visit Penn State's Undergraduate Advising Portal