Atmospheric Sciences - South Dakota School of Mines and Technology

Atmospheric Sciences from South Dakota School of Mines and Technology is a Campus Master Meteorology degree that prepares you for a Science career. Program Summary Mission The M.S. program in Atmospheric Sciences (ATM) is the flagship program of the Department of Atmospheric Sciences. It supports the university's mission to educate students to function at their highest possible levels, and to develop their problem-solving abilities. The program supports the institutional mission by preparing students for an enhanced quality of life through both educational and social interactions. Objectives The primary program objective of the Master of Science in Atmospheric Sciences program is to bring students to an understanding of the basic processes involved in weather, and to understand the major components of the earth-biosphere-atmosphere system and their interactions. These include solar and terrestrial radiation; laws of fluid motion and thermodynamics as applied to the atmosphere; physical, chemical, and radiative processes in clouds; global ecological and biogeochemical cycles, atmosphere-land-surface interactions. A sub-objective is to educate students in the acquisition and interpretation of data, including conventional weather data, satellite data, and radar data; observations collected by specially-instrumented platforms such as aircraft, towers located above various terrestrial ecosystems, and tethered balloon systems, and to train students how to evaluate and analyze and visualize such data using various types of data-processing and display equipment. Graduate students are expected to carry out original research in the atmospheric sciences and participate in disseminating their results at conferences and through the scientific publication process. Outcomes The educational experience of our students is broadened with 24 or more hours of graduate-level coursework in diverse areas of the atmospheric and earth system sciences as well as related fields. Students contribute to the expansion of knowledge through basic research and scholarship as they serve as graduate research assistants to faculty on research projects funded by various local, state, and federal agencies. All students prepare theses describing the results of their efforts. Almost all theses lead to conference presentations by the students themselves or by their faculty supervisor. Roughly half of these theses serve as the basis for formal publications in the refereed literature. Students completing the program are prepared for employment in research and operational activities in private industry, government, and academic settings. Faculty expertise is applied to regional and global needs in atmospheric research with support from external research grants. Faculty perform state-of-the-art research in satellite remote sensing, meteorological radar analysis, numerical modeling of cloud and mesoscale processes, analysis of field data from diverse combinations of platforms, and complex interactions between components of the earth system. Program Description The Department of Atmospheric Sciences offers advanced undergraduate and graduate courses leading to the Master of Science degree in Atmospheric Sciences with specializations in Meteorology or Earth Systems Science, and Doctor of Philosophy degree in Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences (AES). Faculty in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences are members of the Institute of Atmospheric Sciences (IAS), an active research group that conducts research with sponsorship from the State of South Dakota and various federal agencies. The primary objective of the atmospheric sciences graduate program is to give students a basic understanding of the factors influencing atmospheric phenomena, including solar and terrestrial radiation, the laws of fluid motion and thermodynamics, microphysical and electrical processes in clouds, ecology, atmospheric chemistry, and biogeochemistry. Instruction is offered in the interpretation of conventional weather data, satellite data, and radar data; observations collected by specially instrumented aircraft, trace-gas flux towers, tethered balloon systems, and laboratory gas analysis instrumentation; and output from numerical models of atmospheric processes. The graduate student is expected to carry out original research in the atmospheric sciences using some of these tools and resources. In addition, the student must successfully complete the coursework and program requirements enumerated below. A student applying for admission to the Master's degree program in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences should have a baccalaureate degree in meteorology or atmospheric sciences, one of the biological or physical sciences , earth system sciences, mathematics, or engineering. It is desirable for applicants to have received undergraduate credit for mathematics through Calculus 2 (for the earth systems science specialization - see below) or ordinary differential equations (for the meteorology specialization). For the meteorology specialization, undergraduate physics is required, and for the earth systems specialization undergraduate physics and chemistry are desirable. Experience with computer programming is recommended. Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores from the General Test are optional. TOEFL scores are required of all applicants from colleges outside the U.S. View more details on South Dakota School of Mines and Technology . 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