Meteorology - 5-Year Bachelor of Science and Master of Ocean Science and Technology
The combined program offers motivated and exceptional students the opportunity to achieve aspirations in an efficient program at Texas A&M, completing both the Bachelor of Science degree in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences Meteorology Program and the Master of Ocean Science and Technology degree in 5 years. There will be two courses used for dual credit in this program. There is a total of 150 hours of coursework. The concurrent degree program will enable these motivated students to coordinate the required B.S. coursework (120 undergraduate credit hours, including 6 dual credit graduate hours) and Master of Ocean Science and Technology coursework (36 credit hours, including the 6 dual credit graduate hours) to complete the required credit hours for each degree without diminishing scope or quality of work and within 5 years.
Application and Eligibility
- Applications to the combined program will be submitted by June 15 after the completion of the student’s junior year. Applications submitted after that time will be evaluated on a case by case basis. GRE scores are not required for admission to the program
- Applicants must have a minimum undergraduate GPA of 3.25. Applicants should also earn a C or better in all Chemistry, Calculus and Physics courses. Once admitted to the program, students must maintain a minimum 3.0 GPA on all graduate coursework.
- A faculty advisor will be assigned to each student. Students may seek additional mentors, but a formal committee is not required.
- Students admitted into the combined program must finish the entire 150 credit hours to obtain both the Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. Students will graduate at the completion of the 5th year in the combined program coursework (150 credit hours) with both Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees.
- Students admitted to the program will change from U4 to G7 status when they are admitted having completed at least 90 hours (end of spring semester, year 3).
- Students not accepted or not allowed to continue with the combined program will complete the 120-hour Bachelor’s degree under the standard 4 year curriculum. These students may still apply to the traditional graduate program.
| First Year | ||
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Semester Credit Hours | |
| ATMO 201 | Weather and Climate | 3 |
| CHEM 119 | Fundamentals of Chemistry I | 4 |
| ENGL 104 | Composition and Rhetoric | 3 |
| MATH 171 or MATH 151 | Calculus I 1 or Engineering Mathematics I | 4 |
| Technical elective 2,3 | 1 | |
| Semester Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Spring | ||
| ATMO 203 | Weather Forecasting Laboratory | 1 |
| CHEM 120 | Fundamentals of Chemistry II | 4 |
| MATH 172 or MATH 152 | Calculus II 1 or Engineering Mathematics II | 4 |
| PHYS 206 & PHYS 226 | Newtonian Mechanics for Engineering and Science and Physics of Motion Laboratory for the Sciences | 4 |
| Select one of the following: 4 | 3 | |
| Semester Credit Hours | 16 | |
| Second Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| ATMO 251 | Weather Observation and Analysis | 3 |
| ATMO 321 or CSCE 206 | Computer Applications in the Atmospheric Sciences or Structured Programming in C | 3 |
| ATMO 363 | Introduction to Atmospheric Chemistry and Air Pollution | 3 |
| MATH 251 | Engineering Mathematics III 1 | 3 |
| Select one of the following: 4 | 3 | |
| General elective 2,5 | 3 | |
| Semester Credit Hours | 18 | |
| Spring | ||
| ATMO 324 | Physical and Regional Climatology | 3 |
| MATH 308 | Differential Equations 1 | 3 |
| PHYS 207 & PHYS 227 | Electricity and Magnetism for Engineering and Science and Electricity and Magnetism Laboratory for the Sciences | 4 |
| Select one of the following: 4 | 3 | |
| Social and behavioral sciences | 3 | |
| Semester Credit Hours | 16 | |
| Third Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| ATMO 335 | Atmospheric Thermodynamics 6 | 3 |
| ATMO 336 | Atmospheric Dynamics 6 | 4 |
| STAT 211 | Principles of Statistics I 1 | 3 |
| Select one of the following: 4 | 3 | |
| General elective 2,5 | 3 | |
| Semester Credit Hours | 16 | |
| Spring | ||
| ATMO 435 | Synoptic-Dynamic Meteorology | 3 |
| COMM 203 or COMM 205 | Public Speaking or Communication for Technical Professions | 3 |
| Select two of the following: 7,8,9 | 6 | |
Atmospheric sciences elective | ||
Technical elective | ||
| Creative arts | 3 | |
| Language, philosophy and culture | 3 | |
| Semester Credit Hours | 18 | |
| Fourth Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| ATMO 446 | Physical Meteorology | 3 |
| ATMO 441 or ATMO 443 | Satellite Meteorology and Remote Sensing or Radar Meteorology | 3 |
| OCNG 604 | Ocean Observing Systems 8,9,10 | 3 |
| OCNG 608 | Physical Oceanography 8,9,10 | 3 |
| Select one of the following: 7,8,9 | 3 | |
Atmospheric sciences elective | ||
Technical elective | ||
| Select one of the following: 9,10 | 3 | |
| Biological Oceanography | ||
| Geological Oceanography | ||
| Chemical Oceanography | ||
| Semester Credit Hours | 18 | |
| Spring | ||
| OCNG 603 | Communicating Ocean Science | 3 |
| OCNG 657 | Data Methods and Graphical Representation in Oceanography | 3 |
| Select one of the following: 7,8,9 | 3 | |
Atmospheric sciences elective | ||
Technical elective | ||
| Select one of the following: 9,10 | 3 | |
| Biological Oceanography | ||
| Chemical Oceanography | ||
| Geological Oceanography | ||
| General elective 2,5 | 3 | |
| Semester Credit Hours | 15 | |
| Fifth Year | ||
| Fall | ||
| Advanced specialized OCNG graduate courses 6 | 9 | |
| Semester Credit Hours | 9 | |
| Spring | ||
| OCNG 661 | Advanced Oceanographic Data Analysis and Communication | 3 |
| Advanced specialized OCNG graduate courses 6 | 6 | |
| Semester Credit Hours | 9 | |
| Total Semester Credit Hours | 150 | |
| 1 | A grade of C or better is required. |
| 2 | General electives may not include CAEN 101-499; CAEX 101-499; DEVS 101-499; ENGL 103; KINE 198-199; MATH 102, MATH 131, MATH 141-142, MATH 150-152, MATH 171-172, MATH 221, MATH 251, MATH 253; PHYS 101, PHYS 201-202, PHYS 208, PHYS 218-219; AERS 100-499; MLSC 100-499; NVSC 100-499; SOMS 100-499. |
| 3 | GEOS 101 recommended. |
| 4 | Students must complete 6 credit hours of American history and 6 credit hours of government/political science. |
| 5 | MLSC, NVSC and AERS courses can be used as general electives if a minor is completed in Military Science. See an academic advisor for more information. |
| 6 | All students enter as Lower Level Meterology (METL) until completion of ATMO 335 and ATMO 336 and the associated prerequisite courses. Once students have completed these courses, their major will be changed to Upper Level Meterology (METR), and they will be eligible to take upper-level electives. This change should occur following Fall of the junior year. |
| 7 | Select in consultation with faculty academic advisor. Select from ATMO 281, 300-499 (except ATMO 321); GEOG 400-499; GEOS 400-499; MATH 311, MATH 400-499; OCNG 400-499. Up to 3 hours may be ATMO 484-Broadcast Internship and up to 6 hours may be ATMO 484-NWS Internship. SCSC 301; BESC 403; BIOL 111; CHEM 227, CHEM 237; ESSM 308, ESSM 309. Only 6 hours of 484 and 491 courses may apply towards this requirement. |
| 8 | If students use nine credits of allowed OCNG courses (e.g. OCNG 251, OCNG 252, OCNG 350, OCNG 451,OCNG 485) as technical electives and general electives, they will receive an OCNG minor with their BS in METR degree. |
| 9 | Students will not be permitted to receive credit for both the 400- and 600-level versions of certain courses because the content and learning outcomes are too similar (e.g. OCNG 440/OCNG 640). |
| 10 | Two graduate courses will be taken for dual undergraduate/graduate credit and will contribute to the technical electives. |
The program includes a total of 156 hours with 6 hours being applied toward both the Bachelor of Science in Meteorology and the Master of Ocean Science and Technology.