Meteorology - Pennsylvania State University - Penn State Main Campus

Meteorology from Pennsylvania State University - Penn State Main Campus is a Campus Bachelor Meteorology degree that prepares you for a Science career. Meteorology is a rigorous scientific discipline devoted to the attainment of an increased understanding of the atmosphere and the development of methods for applying that knowledge to practical problems. Although this field is usually associated with weather prediction, it also has significance in environmental, energy, agricultural, oceanic, and hydrological sciences. For students wishing to pursue many of these areas, the department offers several options within the major. The major requires a solid foundation in mathematics and the physical sciences, and it provides a comprehensive survey of the fundamentals of atmospheric science. It has sufficient flexibility to permit intensive advanced study in such related areas as mathematics, earth sciences, or engineering. The department has particular strengths in weather analysis and prediction, including forecast uncertainty and severe weather; physical meteorology , including radar meteorology, instrumentation and atmospheric measurements; and applied areas, including atmospheric diffusion, air pollution chemistry, dynamic meteorology , tropical meteorology, climate, weather risk, and remote sensing. Graduating meteorologists are prepared 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. The freshman and sophomore years are largely devoted to preparatory work in science, mathematics, and the liberal arts. The junior and senior years involve a core of basic courses in applied and theoretical topics and a choice of courses offering specialized training. The courses unique to each option are normally taken in the junior and senior years. AIR-QUALITY STUDIES OPTION: This option enables students to gain in-depth knowledge of important areas within the air-quality field. Air-quality meteorologists are employed in both the public and private sectors. Public-sector positions include those with local, state, and federal agencies charged with regulatory, enforcement, and research activities. Within the private sector, air-quality meteorologists are employed by consulting firms whose clients are concerned with meeting environmental regulations on emissions of pollutants into the atmosphere or with determining the effects of such emissions. Topics offered in the option include the physical and chemical nature of air pollutants; their sources in industrial processes and human activity; their control at the source; their transport and dispersion through the atmosphere; their interaction with other atmospheric constituents; their removal through cloud processes, fallout, and wet deposition; their effects on ecosystems, materials, and humans; and their economic and societal impacts. ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCES OPTION: This option challenges students to strengthen and broaden their understanding of the physics and chemistry of the atmosphere and oceans. It helps prepare them for employment in the diverse field of the atmospheric sciences and for graduate study in the atmospheric or related disciplines. Students are encouraged to participate in undergraduate research projects under the supervision of atmospheric and oceanic scientists in the department. CLIMATOLOGY OPTION: This option allows students to learn about the earth\\\'s climate system, with emphasis on how the atmosphere and ocean interact. Students can choose among courses that focus on tropical regions, planetary atmospheres, remote sensing, long-term climate change, human dimensions, the biosphere, and statistical methods used in climate science, as well as on their own independent research. ENVIRONMENTAL METEOROLOGY OPTION: Environmental Meteorology prepares the student for understanding the impact of the weather on the environment, which is to say the impacts of air and water on ecosystems at human scales. In order to do this, the option establishes links between atmospheric physics and a variety of environmental disciplines pertaining to land, water, soils, and plants. Depending on his/her interests, the student will select courses in the biological sciences, air or water quality, human dynamics, data analysis and surface microclimate. An important component of this program is an undergraduate research project, in which the student is encouraged to develop a topic that addresses problems related to the environment and society, if possible by interacting with public agencies or groups. GENERAL OPTION: This option has sufficient flexibility to serve the needs of students who wish to pursue topics chosen broadly from subdisciplines of meteorology or from related areas in consultation with the academic adviser. The General option is appropriate both for students who intend to pursue postgraduate degrees and for students who want to emphasize a topic for which no option exists. WEATHER FORECASTING AND COMMUNICATIONS OPTION: This option prepares students for careers in which their skills are weather forecasters are effectively used in a variety of ways, from science reporting and television broadcasting to web design and computer-based weather graphics production, and developing innovative applications of weather and climate data to industry. WEATHER RISK MANAGEMENT OPTION: The option combines study of meteorology and atmospheric sciences with training in risk, finance, and decision-making. Weather affects a wide range of industries, including energy, agriculture, insurance, construction, retail, and transport, among others. Weather and climate variation play central roles in the availability of water resources, the spread of disease, and an array of other processes vital for human welfare. There are, consequently, many organizations that confront risks related to weather, and that have a demand for experts who can help them manage these risks. The option in Weather Risk Management is designed for students who wish to work professionally at this intersection of meteorology and risk management. View more details on Pennsylvania State University - Main Campus . Ask your questions and apply online for this program or find other related Meteorology courses.