Atmospheric Sciences @ UGA

The undergraduate atmospheric sciences certificate has two tracks. The operational meteorology track meets both civil service course requirements and the American Meteorological Society's guidelines for meteorologists. The general atmospheric sciences track is designed for students who wish to supplement work in their majors with atmospheric sciences. The general track will prepare students for graduate work in the atmospheric sciences or employment in atmosphere-related positions consistent with their major. Both tracks require 21 semester hours of course work in atmospheric and related sciences. A student must earn a minimum of a "C" in all certificate courses. A minimum certificate GPA of 2.5 is required.

The certificate must be completed with an undergraduate degree, with the exception of students who already have a UGA undergraduate degree.

Required Prerequisites

The following list of courses includes prerequisites for courses within the certificate program. These prerequisites do not apply to all courses. It is NOT necessary for a student to complete all of the prerequisites before enrolling in courses within the certificate program. Please see the course descriptions in the undergraduate bulletin for the specific prerequisites for courses in the atmospheric sciences program. Students are commonly working on a few remaining prerequisites into their junior and senior years.

GEOG 1112/L: Introduction to Weather and Climate
MATH 2200, 2210, 2500, and 2700
PHYS 1211/L and 1212/L (PHYS 1111/L and 1112/L are NOT acceptable substitutes)
CSCI 1301/L
One freshman-level chemistry course

Course Requirements

The atmospheric sciences certificate consists of a common core of five classes, with two additional classes that depend on the track for a total of seven classes. The two additional courses are prescribed for students in the operational meteorology track, while students in the general atmospheric sciences track can tailor the two courses to their interests and career goals. Many of these courses will also count toward the students major, particularly for students majoring in Geography or Engineering.

Common Core Required in Both Tracks

GEOG 3120/L: Weather Analysis and Forecasting
ENGR/GEOG 4111/L: Atmospheric Thermodynamics
GEOG/ENGR 4112: Atmospheric Dynamics
ENGR 4131/L: Introductory Atmospheric Physics
One 3000- or 4000-level course in Climatology (see list below)

Additional two courses for Operational Meteorology Track

GEOG 4120: Synoptic Meteorology/Climatology
GEOG 4140: Satellite Meteorology/Climatology

Additional two courses for General Atmospheric Sciences Track

Choose 6 hours of course work from the list below. With permission from the program director, appropriate atmospheric science courses from participating departments may be approved to meet this requirement. The selected courses must present a coherent whole. The following list indicates those options that we expect to be most common for the general atmospheric sciences track. Students can tailor programs in consultation with an adviser in atmospheric sciences.

Atmospheric Chemistry and Air Quality (select two courses)

EHSC 4080: Environmental Air Quality
EHSC 4100-4100L: Industrial Hygiene
EHSC 4350-4350L: Environmental Chemistry
ENGR 4480: Instrumentation for Environmental Quality

Climatology (select two additional courses, not including the one course to meet the general requirements)

ENGR 4161: Environmental Microclimatology
GEOG 3110: Climatology
GEOG 4160: Applied Climatology
GEOG 4150: Physical Climatology

Hydrology (select two courses)

CRSS 3060-3060L: Soils and Hydrology
ENGR 2150: Fluid Mechanics
ENGR 3050: Soil and Water Conservation
FORS 4110: Forest Hydrology
FORS 4120: Quantitative Methods in Hydrology
FORS 4130-4130L: Field Methods in Hydrology

Physical Oceanography

MARS 4100: Physical Processes of the Ocean
MARS 4500: Field Study in Oceanography and Marine Methods