MSc Atmosphere, Ocean and Climate
Reading, United Kingdom
DURATION
1 up to 2 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time, Part time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
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EARLIEST START DATE
Jan 2025
TUITION FEES
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STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* new international students: £30,950 | new UK/Republic of Ireland students: £12,800
Introduction
Gain a deep quantitative understanding of the climate system with our MSc Atmosphere, Ocean and Climate.
Choose MSc Atmosphere, Ocean and Climate at the University of Reading
- The University of Reading is ranked 5th in the world for Atmospheric Science (ShanghaiRanking 2023 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects).
- The University was named Sustainable University of the Year in The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025.
This course, offered by our world-class Department of Meteorology, will prepare you for a career in meteorology-related science and research, with a focus on:
- a quantitative description of the physical processes that produce weather
- the physical and dynamical building blocks of our climate
- the numerical and computational methods used to construct state-of-the-art models of the climate system.
Whether you want to mitigate the impact of hazardous weather events, understand how our changing climate may affect the jet stream, or focus your efforts elsewhere within meteorology and climate science, we will help you develop the scientific and analytical skills you need.
This course is approved by the Royal Meteorological Society (RMetS) and is your first step towards becoming professionally accredited as either a Registered Meteorologist (RMet) or Chartered Meteorologist (CMet).
As you develop your skills in computing, analytics and numerical models, your learning will be supported by:
- our on-campus instrumentation lab and atmospheric observatory. In addition to field trip opportunities, access to these facilities allows you to improve your practical skills.
- weather and climate discussions. These weekly sessions give you an insight into current UK and global weather and climate events and incorporate our real-time meteorological data.
- small class sizes. Our enviable staff-to-student ratio means you will receive individual support from academics. You will also be fully supported as you work on your final master’s project – our academics typically oversee no more than one student dissertation each year.
You will be taught by academics who are leaders in their fields. They will draw on their research experience to give you unique scientific perspectives into environmental issues that affect our world. Our Department is home to five Fellows of the Royal Society, as well as climate experts who contribute to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Admissions
Scholarships and Funding
You may be eligible for a scholarship or bursary to help pay for your study. Students from the UK may also be eligible for a student loan to help cover these costs.
We have a number of scholarships available for our master's students.
Curriculum
Compulsory modules
- Fundamentals of Weather and Climate: Discover the fundamental principles underlying physical principles and how they can help us understand weather and climate. You'll examine the thermodynamical principles that govern the nature of weather and weather systems alongside the physical principles of climate and climate change.
- Fundamentals of Modelling and Data Analysis: Study the theory and practice of creating numerical and statistical models of the atmosphere and ocean. You’ll write Python code to analyse climate data, verify weather and forecasts, and solve simplified versions of the differential equations that govern the ocean and atmosphere.
- Fluid Dynamics of the Atmosphere and Oceans: Learn how the atmosphere and ocean support motions on a vast range of scales - from planetary to molecular - as you study the laws of physics applied to fluid. You'll discover the impact of the Earth's rotation, apply techniques of scale analysis, and study the concept of vorticity and how it explains the properties of Rossby waves.
- Dissertation: Research Project: Undertake an original research investigation and acquire the skills needed to carry out your own research and/or data analysis. You'll be provided the opportunity to develop your own special interest in the field of study as you work on your research project.
- Weather and Climate Discussion: Study weather and climate issues of both local and global importance. You'll gain knowledge of current weather, recent worldwide climate evens and short-term weather forecasrs.
These are the modules that we currently offer for 2024/2025 entry. They may be subject to change as we regularly review our module offerings to ensure they’re informed by the latest research and teaching methods.
Please note that the University cannot guarantee that all optional modules will be available to all students who may wish to take them.
You can also register your details with us to receive information about your course of interest and study and life at the University of Reading.
Career Opportunities
Many of our graduates go on to study a PhD with us. Others pursue research and development careers in industry.
A master’s in atmosphere, oceans and climate provides you with the knowledge, as well as the technical and computing skills, to carry out quantitative scientific research and projects in meteorology and related areas of environmental science.
In fact, some of our students have published their master’s research projects in mainstream scientific journals even before they graduate.
Recent graduates have progressed into a range of exciting careers with employers including:
- Met Office
- Fugro
- DTN
- British Antarctic Survey
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Aegis London
- Civil Service
- national meteorological services across the world
- and a wide range of scientific research institutes such as the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, the UK National Centre for Atmospheric Science, and the Oslo Centre for International Climate Research.
This list is derived from Graduate Outcomes Surveys 2017/18-2021/22, and includes all Meteorology responders, © HESA 2020-2024.
Others pursue a diverse range of careers within:
- environmental measurement
- risk management
- policy development
- water resource management
- environmental consultancy
- energy supply
- flood modelling
- pollution prediction
- weather forecasting
- space weather forecasting
- insurance
- finance
- broadcast media.
94% of graduates from Meteorology are in work or further study within 15 months of graduation; of those in full-time employment, 93% are in graduate-level roles (three-year average, based on our analysis of HESA data © HESA 2022-2024, Graduate Outcomes Surveys 2019/20-2021/22; includes postgraduate (taught) Meteorology responders).
Program Admission Requirements
Show your commitment and readiness for Grad school by taking the GRE - the most broadly accepted exam for graduate programs internationally.