College of Mines and Earth Sciences
Department Office: 819 William C. Browning Building, 581-6136
Mailing Address: 135 S. 1460 E., Rm. 819, Salt Lake City, UT 84112-0110
Web Address: www.met.utah.edu
Department Chair, Edward J. Zipser, Ph.D.
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Professors. J. D. Horel, S. K. Krueger, J. Paegle, E.J. Zipser.
Associate Professors. G. G. Mace, W. J. Steenburgh.
Assistant Professors. T. J. Garrett, K. D. Perry.
Assistant Professor-Lecturer. E. a. Robl.
Adjunct Professors. R. Errico, Q. Fu, M.A. Jenkins, A. Kasahara, S. M. Lazarus, K. N. Liou, K. Mo, K. Sassen, F. Stenger.
Professor Emeritus. N. Fukuta, J. N. Paegle, T. D. Potter.
Undergraduate Advisors. John Horel, 483 INSCC, 581-7091; Kevin Perry, 815 WBB, 581-6138; Jim Steenburgh, 488 INSCC, 581-8727. Email for all is
advising@met.utah.edu.
Meteorology seeks to understand the behavior and predictability of the Earth's atmosphere and requires good foundations in mathematics, physics, chemistry, and computer science. Required undergraduate meteorology courses are combined with courses in other disciplines to develop an academic background that is appropriate for a variety of employment opportunities. Graduate students receive advanced training in meteorology and usually perform research under the direction of a faculty adviser in specialty fields that include climate modeling, cloud physics, dynamic meteorology, numerical weather prediction, large-scale and mesoscale modeling, remote sensing, radiative transfer, and synoptic meteorology.
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B.S.
The student must meet with the appropriate department faculty adviser at least once each year for program approval and a review of progress. On average, five years are required to complete the B.S. degree. To complete the degree program in less time requires a foundation in mathematics and science prior to entering the University.
There are two programs of study at the undergraduate level: (1) the professional meteorologist option, and (2) the atmospheric scientist option.
Admission to this program requires students to maintain an overall G.P.A. of 2.0 or higher and receive a C- or higher in all courses required for the major. This program satisfies the requirements of the federal government for employment as a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Other government agencies and private firms expect graduates to have completed course work similar to that required by the professional meteorologist option. This option is intended to provide each graduate with a solid foundation in meteorology as well as allowing the student to become conversant in related fields such as hydrology, air pollution, oceanography, computer science, and communications. Students must consult with the adviser for approval of elective courses.
Admission to this program requires a combined GPA in all college courses of 3.0 or better and the consent of the adviser. This program is intended for the student who excels academically and who may wish to attend graduate school. It is intended to develop further background in math, physics, and computer science. Students who enroll in this program will meet all of the federal employment requirements for meteorologists.
It is becoming increasingly common to have students interested in obtaining a second B.S. degree in meteorology after obtaining one in another discipline. Students must satisfy the University requirements as well as the lower-division math, chemistry, physics, and computer science courses. Contact the undergraduate adviser/department for details.
Total Hours: 122
Lower-division Required Courses
- METEO 1010, 2810, 1020, 3000
- MATH 1210, 1220
- MATH 2250, 2210, 3150
- CHEM 1210, 1230
- PHYCS 2210, 2220, 2219, 2229
- CP SC 1000, 1010
- WRTG 2010
A minimum of 122 credit hours are required for graduation, of which at least 40 credit hours must be upper-division courses. Students must also meet University and meteorology requirements to graduate.
Fall Semester
METEO 2810
METEO 3110
METEO 3410
WRTG 3400
Technical elective
Spring Semester
METEO 5110
METEO 3510
Technical elective
Fall Semester
METEO 5210
METEO 5530
METEO 5810
Technical elective
Spring Semester
METEO 5120
METEO 5540
METEO 5810
METEO 5140
Technical elective
Fall Semester
METEO 2810
METEO 3110
METEO 3410
MATH 3160
WRTG 3400
Spring Semester
METEO 5110
METEO 3510
MATH 5600
Fall Semester
METEO 5210
METEO 5530
METEO 5810
PHYCS 3740
Spring Semester
METEO 5120
METEO 5540
METEO 5810
METEO 5140
PHYSICS 3760
M.S., Ph.D.
Prospective graduate students must satisfy the admission requirements specified in the Graduate Information section of this catalog. In addition, graduate students are expected to have passed basic courses in math, physics, chemistry and computer science equivalent to those required for the B.S. These requirements can be summarized as follows: one year of calculus, one year of additional mathematics that includes ordinary and partial differential equations and linear algebra, one year of calculus-based physics, one semester (two quarters) of college chemistry, and a minimum of one quarter of computer science. The combined GPA of these courses should exceed 3.0.
Faculty research areas include cloud and boundary layer modeling, tropical convection, hurricanes, cloud physics, remote sensing of clouds and precipitation, regional climate, mountain meteorology and climate, numerical weather prediction, mesoscale modeling and data assimilation, and cloud parameterization in climate models
After the end of the first year, a departmental committee conducts an examination to test the student's problem-solving aptitude and knowledge of course content. The examination serves as both the M.S. comprehensive examination and Ph.D. qualifying examination. Satisfactory performance on the examination permits the student to pursue the thesis option for the M.S. degree. Outstanding performance on the examination permits the student to choose between: (1) direct admission into the Ph.D. program, (2) the thesis option for the M.S. degree, or (3) the nonthesis option for the M.S. degree.
Requirements for the M.S. degree include the following: (1) receive at least a B in all three meteorology core courses, (2) pass a minimum of 11 additional semester hours of approved courses, (3) maintain an average grade of B or better, (4) pass the graduate examination described above, and (5) complete a satisfactory thesis.
Requirements for the Ph.D. degree include the following: (1) one year of the doctoral program in full-time academic work at the University of Utah (2) maintain an average grade of B or better (3) pass the graduate examination described above (4) complete a dissertation that demonstrates independent research and contributes significantly toward a better understanding of atmospheric phenomena (5) successfully defend the dissertation at a final oral examination.
Graduate students usually receive a research or teaching assistantship and a waiver of tuition.
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Meteorology 
