Incoming and Current Students

Introduction

This section is designed for prospective high school students, incoming freshmen at CofC, or incoming transfer students who would like more information regarding our program. Whether one chooses to pursue a traditional meteorology career (such as broadcast meteorology, operational meteorology, or weather consulting) or an interdisciplinary meteorology career (such as weather derivative trading, science journalism, or environmental law), there are four essential pieces of advice that all incoming students should consider.

The Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics program is designed to be a rigorous program that requires mathematical proficiency (up to Calculus II for the Meteorology BA and up to Differential Equations for the Operational Meteorology concentration) and a solid foundation in physics. For this reason, all students who desire to succeed in this program need to have strong background in science, mathematics, and computer skills. Because of the mathematical rigor of this program, it is vitally important for students to begin taking their mathematics and physics course as soon as possible. For more information, our faculty STRONGLY encourages all incoming students to read the document Are You Prepared for Meteorology.

Because many of the core meteorology and physics courses are sequenced, it is important to know when each physics and meteorology course is offered so that you can plan your schedule accordingly. For this reason, all students (especially incoming transfer students) should use the curriculum roadmaps given below to help plan your schedule accordingly.

Because of the competitiveness within the meteorology and atmospheric physics industry, it is very important for students to consider how to best arrange their course schedule in order to maximize their marketability. For this reason, the Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics program has created a career preparation guide for students. For specific advice on various careers within meteorology and atmospheric science, all students are STRONGLY encouraged to read the document Career Options within Meteorology and Atmospheric Physics.

The American Meteorological Society (AMS) CofC chapter exists to connect together those interested in weather and climate sciences and/or majoring in the department. We do this through a variety of events throughout the academic school year, not limited to chapter meetings, field trips, and networking opportunities with local meteorologists. Anyone is welcome to join and for more information, feel free to email the CofC AMS Advisor at williamsgj@cofc.edu.

Curriculum Roadmap

The following roadmaps provide a way for students to navigate our programs in meteorology and atmospheric physics.

Currently, our meteorology courses are offered over a two-year rotation. The table below lists the courses that are explicitly listed as a required course, an elective, or key prerequisite route with the PHYS prefix (apart from the introductory physics sequence).

Fall of Even Years	Fall of Odd Years	Spring of Even Years	Spring of Odd Years
PHYS 225: Climate	PHYS 105: Introduction to Meteorology	PHYS 215: Synoptic Meteorology	PHYS 210: Air Pollution
PHYS 230: Modern Physics	PHYS 230: Modern Physics	PHYS 230: Modern Physics	PHYS 230: Modern Physics
PHYS 340: Photonics	PHYS 370: Experimental Physics	PHYS 272: Methods of Applied Physics	PHYS 272: Methods of Applied Physics
PHYS 370: Experimental Physics	PHYS 409: Electromagnetism I	PHYS 301: Classical Mechanics	PHYS 301: Classical Mechanics
PHYS 409: Electromagnetism I	PHYS 419: Research Seminar	PHYS 370: Experimental Physics	PHYS 370: Experimental Physics
PHYS 419: Research Seminar	PHYS 459: Cloud and Precipitation Physics	PHYS 405: Thermal Physics	PHYS 405: Thermal Physics
PHYS 457: Satellite Meteorology		PHYS 419: Research Seminar	PHYS 415: Fluid Mechanics
			PHYS 419: Research Seminar
			PHYS 425: Mesoscale Meteorology