Atmospheric and Oceanic Science (AOSC)

Abstract

The Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science offers graduate study leading to the Master of Science and Doctor of Philosophy degrees. Course work in atmospheric sciences and physical oceanography is also offered at the upper division and graduate level as a service to other campus graduate programs. The educational program in the atmospheric sciences is broadly based and involves many applications of the mathematical, physical and applied sciences that characterize modern atmospheric sciences and physical oceanography. Research specializations include atmospheric dynamics, atmospheric radiative transfer, global climate change, remote sensing of the atmosphere and the surface, climate dynamics, numerical weather prediction, atmospheric chemistry, synoptic meteorology, mesoscale meteorology, air pollution, surface-atmosphere interaction, tropical ocean circulation, and ocean-atmosphere and biosphere-atmosphere interactions. The Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science advanced degree programs are designed to prepare students for participation in contemporary research in the atmospheric and oceanic sciences. The curriculum includes a set of Core courses to provide a fundamental background in Dynamical, Physical and Synoptic Meteorology and advanced specialized courses. Supervised research using state-of-the-art facilities then prepares the students for future contributions in their chosen field.

The Department's close association with federal agencies in the Washington area provides graduates with good training and opportunities in the atmospheric sciences. As a research assistant, the student has the opportunity to develop a close working relationship with one or more of the scientific agencies.

Admissions Information

In addition to the requirements of the Graduate School, the department requires a bachelor's or higher degree in meteorology, oceanography, physics, chemistry, mathematics, biology, engineering or other program with suitable emphasis in the sciences. We welcome applications from those with no background in atmospheric sciences. The Core courses offered in the first year of graduate study present students with the necessary meteorology background for the more advanced courses. The minimum undergraduate background includes 3 semesters of calculus, differential equations, linear algebra, 3 semesters of calculus-based physics, 2 semesters of chemistry, one semester of a scientific computer language (e.g., Fortran, C, Pascal or Basic 1 semester of static is recommended). Scores from the GRE General Examination are also required.

Application Deadlines

Fall

Spring

Domestic Applicants:
U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents

Domestic Applicant Deadlines

Applicants competing for a graduate research assistantship must submit their application materials no later than February 1, for the following fall semester. Applicants who are NOT competing for funding, must submit an application by May 15 .

Note: Aplicants will need special permission from the Department for Spring admission because of course sequence. October 15 (September 15 preferred) .

International Applicants:
Applicants from Outside the U.S. or U.S. Citizens / Permanent Residents with Non-U.S. Credentials

IMPORTANT: International Applicants and U.S. Applicants with Non-U.S. Credentials must follow the domestic deadlines above if they are earlier than the deadlines listed below.

Applicants seeking admission under F (Student) or J (Exchange Visitor) visas

February 1
If Domestic Deadline is after Feb. 1

June 1
If Domestic Deadline is after Jun. 1

Applicants seeking admission under A, E, G, H, I, and L visas and immigrants

May 1
If Domestic Deadline is after May 1

October 1
If Domestic Deadline is after Jun. 1

U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents with foreign credentials

May 15
If Domestic Deadline is after May 15

October 31
If Domestic Deadline is after Oct.31

Application Requirements

Application
Research Interests/Statement of Goals
GRE Scores
TOEFL Scores (International Only)
Official Transcripts
Three Letters of Recommendation
Resume/Publications (Optional)

	Fall	Spring
Domestic Applicants: U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents
Domestic Applicant Deadlines	Applicants competing for a graduate research assistantship must submit their application materials no later than February 1, for the following fall semester. Applicants who are NOT competing for funding, must submit an application by May 15 .	Note: Aplicants will need special permission from the Department for Spring admission because of course sequence. October 15 (September 15 preferred) .

International Applicants: Applicants from Outside the U.S. or U.S. Citizens / Permanent Residents with Non-U.S. Credentials IMPORTANT: International Applicants and U.S. Applicants with Non-U.S. Credentials must follow the domestic deadlines above if they are earlier than the deadlines listed below.
Applicants seeking admission under F (Student) or J (Exchange Visitor) visas	February 1 If Domestic Deadline is after Feb. 1	June 1 If Domestic Deadline is after Jun. 1
Applicants seeking admission under A, E, G, H, I, and L visas and immigrants	May 1 If Domestic Deadline is after May 1	October 1 If Domestic Deadline is after Jun. 1
U.S. Citizens and Permanent Residents with foreign credentials	May 15 If Domestic Deadline is after May 15	October 31 If Domestic Deadline is after Oct.31

Degree Requirements

Master of Science (M.S.)
The Atmospheric and Oceanic Science Department offers a non-thesis program leading to the Master of Science Degree. The requirements include course work, a scholarly paper and a comprehensive examination. This program provides training in the fundamentals of meteorology to prepare students for research and operational work in the atmospheric and oceanic sciences.

Each new student will be assigned to a faculty advisor whose interests parallel those of the student. The faculty advisor will assist in the development of the student's course program and will follow the student's progress thereafter. The student has the option to select an alternate advisor at any time, although financial support is dependent upon the availability of funds.

The student must submit an M.S. degree course plan, and a tentative schedule for completion, by the end of the first nine credit hours. A minimum of 30 semester hours of coursework is required for the degree program. This must include 24 hours of 600-level AOSC courses. AOSC 400-level courses are not acceptable for credit toward the degree. A maximum of 3 credits of AOSC 798 (Directed Graduate Research) is acceptable toward the degree. The purpose of the scholarly paper is to demonstrate the ability to conduct original or literature research. The paper will become part of the permanent archive of the Department. A Ph.D. dissertation prospectus will satisfy this requirement.

The Comprehensive Examination consists of written and oral portions. The written portion is composed of questions covering the subject areas of the Atmospheric and Oceanic Science core courses. The core courses are: AOSC 610, 611, 620, 621, 617 and 680. AOSC 611 can be replaced by AOSC 600 to those students from Chemistry who get approval from their advisor and the AOSC Graduate Director.

All requirements for the M.S. degree must be completed within a five-year period. This time limit applies to any transfer work from other institutions to be included in the student's program. A full-time student can easily complete the M.S. degree in two years.

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
The Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science offers a program leading to the Doctor of Philosophy Degree (Ph.D.) in Atmospheric and Oceanic Science. This program is designed to furnish the student with the education and research background necessary to carry out independent and original scientific research. In order to earn the Ph.D., the student must complete a course work requirement, pass the Candidacy Examinations including a research prospectus, and prepare and defend a dissertation.

A student seeking a Ph.D. degree will be assigned to a faculty advisor whose interests parallel those of the student. The academic advisor will establish and chair an advising committee which will oversee the student's degree program.

The course work requirement is thirty semester hours in 600-level or above AOSC Department courses. In addition, the student must take 12 credits of AOSC 899 (Doctoral Dissertation Research). It is anticipated that students may wish to take a number of the core courses in order to prepare for the Qualifying Examination.

In addition, there is a Minor course requirement of an additional nine semester hours of ancillary courses taken beyond the bachelor's degree from a different department in a related scientific discipline, at least 6 of which must be at the 600-level or above. These credits need not be from the same department but must have a unified or coherent theme.

Students may petition the department for a waiver of these requirements based on credits earned at another institution at the graduate level.

A student seeking the Ph.D. degree in atmospheric science must pass the Candidacy Examinations. These examinations are divided into two parts - The Qualifying Examination and the Specialty Examination. During the Qualifying examination, the student must present a dissertation prospectus to the faculty; following successful defense of the prospectus, the student advances to candidacy. Ability to perform independent research must be shown by a written dissertation based on the proposal presented at the Specialty Examination. The dissertation should be an original contribution to knowledge and demonstrate the ability to present the subject matter in a scholarly style. Upon completion of the dissertation the candidate is required to present the research results at an Atmospheric and Oceanic Department seminar and to defend the material to the satisfaction of a Final Examining Committee appointed by the dean for Graduate Studies.

Full-time students are expected to complete the Qualifying Examination by the end of the second year of graduate study and be admitted to candidacy by the end of the third year. Students must be admitted to candidacy within five years after admission to the doctoral program and at least one academic year before the date on which the degree will be conferred. The student must complete the entire program for the degree, including the dissertation and final examination, during a four-year period after admission to candidacy.

Facilities and Special Resources

The Department operates the Cooperative Institute for Climate Studies (CICS) with NOAA, and the Earth System Science Interdisciplinary Center (ESSIC) with NASA. These institutions conduct research, and offer opportunities for graduate research beyond those offered by the department faculty. The Department is a member of the Center for Clouds, Chemistry and Climate (C4) an NSF Center for Science and Technology. In addition, the Department maintains close research and teaching associations with the Department of Chemistry and nearby government agencies including NOAA, NASA, USDA, NIST, the Maryland Department of the Environment, and the Department of Natural Resource.

Special facilities that support the department's teaching and research activities include sophisticated computer facilities allowing access to a variety of atmospheric and oceanographic data sets, an instrumented weather station (a NOAA cooperative observing station), a laboratory for atmospheric chemistry, a mobile air pollution laboratory, access to research aircraft, historical data, and files of the State Climatologist for Maryland.

The Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science has a modern teaching laboratory with an extensive network of high-speed work stations; there are facilities for producing and replaying color video tapes. Equipment is installed to allow students and faculty to produce their own educational materials for classroom and seminar use and record special experiments, field trials or lecture events for permanent use.

The Department maintains a specialized library with several hundred text and reference books in meteorology and allied sciences, specialized series of research reports, and many journals. The campus provides a main library as well as specialized libraries in chemistry, astronomy, and engineering. Several excellent government libraries in the area, including the Library of Congress, the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, the National Archives, and the NOAA libraries also provide unsurpassed resources. The Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science has access to a wide variety of computer resources, including its own DEC and SGI and scientific workstation network with more than 60 nodes. These systems provide communications, color graphics visualization, and local computing. Department personnel can communicate with various remote supercomputers at high speed through excellent Internet connectivity, including the Crays at the San Diego Supercomputers Center, NCAR, the Goddard Space Flight Center and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory.

The University of Maryland is located in an area that is rich in a variety of beneficial professional resources. Because of its proximity to the nation's capital, The University of Maryland is able to interact closely with the many governmental groups interested in various aspects of the atmospheric sciences. Scientists from government laboratories participate in many aspects of graduate education, such as giving lectures in classes, presenting research results in seminars, and serving on dissertation committees. Likewise, the Department faculty often attend and participate in the seminars, colloquia and scientific workshops being held at these neighboring institutions.

The Washington, D.C. chapter of the American Meteorological Society consists of about 400 members who hold professional meetings each month. The Washington, D.C. area is frequently the site of national and international conferences, most notably of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American geophysical Union. In addition to the various government and academic institutions, the Washington metropolitan area contains numerous well-known private contractors and consulting companies involved in meteorology, which provide employment opportunities for students both before and after graduation.

The Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Science maintains professional interactions with scientists of major federal agencies in the atmospheric, oceanographic, and hydrologic sciences. For example, a formal Memorandum of Understanding with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration provides for the development of special courses by visiting faculty from NOAA as well as opportunities for faculty and students to work on-site at NOAA facilities, including the National Weather Service, the National Environmental Satellite and Data Information Service, the Naval Research Laboratory, the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, the Distant Learning, and the Institute of Global Environment and Society.

As a member of the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, the department enjoys the common facilities offered by the National Center for Atmospheric Research such as research aircraft and supercomputers.

Financial Assistance

Graduate assistantships are available to qualified graduate students. Research assistants carry out research in the areas of global change, synoptic and dynamic meteorology, atmospheric chemistry, air pollution, satellite meteorology, climate dynamics, atmospheric radiation, general circulation, physical oceanography, and ocean-atmosphere and biosphere-atmosphere interactions, mesoscale meteorology. Fellowships are also awarded by the Graduate School to the most qualified applicants. In addition, hourly employment is available in the Department and off campus. Stipends are maintained at a competitive level.

Contact Information

Tammy Hendershot
3409 Computer and Space Science Building
College Park
MD 20742
Telephone: (301) 405-5389
Fax: 301-314-9482
tammy@atmos.umd.edu

http://www.meto.umd.edu/