Education

Millersville University: Bachelor's of Science in Meteorology

Meteorology (major)

• Introduction in Meteorology (4 cr. hrs. + 2 lab hrs.)

  • Atmospheric structure and motions; physics of weather processes; weather and motion systems. 

• Atmospheric Dynamics (6 cr. hrs.)

  • Meteorological coordinate systems; equations of motion; geostrophic, gradient and thermal winds; kinematics; circulation, vorticity and divergence theorems, diagnostics equations, viscosity and turbulence; energy equations and transformations; numerical weather prediction; general circulation.

• Atmospheric Thermodynamics (3 cr. hrs.)

  • First and second principles of thermodynamics, water-air systems, equilibrium of small droplets and crystals, thermodynamic processes in the atmosphere, atmospheric statics, vertical stability and aerological diagrams.

• Physical Meteorology (3 cr. hrs.)

  • Distribution of meteorological variables in the atmosphere; governing principles in atmospheric science (gas laws, hydrostatic equilibrium, diffusion, conservation of energy, mass and momentum); radiative transfer, cloud processes and atmospheric electrification

• Synoptic Meteorology (3 cr. hrs. + 3 lab hrs.)

  • Dynamics and physics of the atmosphere as revealed by observational data and numerical output, subjective and objective analysis of meteorological data. 

• Mesoscale Meteorology (4 cr. hrs. + 2 lab hrs.)

  • Study of high-impact events that threaten life and property. Microphysical and dynamic aspects of severe convective systems, mesoscale convective complexes, squall lines, jet streaks, gravity waves, strong turbulence, damaging winds, hailstorms, tornadoes and flash flooding. 

• Tropical Meteorology (3 cr. hrs.)

  • General circulation of the tropics; energy balance; boundary layer; cumulus convection; survey of tropical disturbances including tropical cyclones. 

• Climate Dynamics (3 cr. hrs.)

  • A comprehensive treatment of the components of the climate system, feedback mechanisms and interactions; mean state of the climate system; a detailed and in-depth treatment of the earth-atmosphere radiation balance and general circulation; natural and anthropogenic forcings and their effect on the climate system; climate models; and the current state of climate observing networks and model validation. 

• Remote Sensing (3 cr. hrs.)

  • Principles of remote sensing; fundamentals of image enhancement; radiative transfer equation; use of Landsat and NOAA environmental satellite data in earth sciences; use of Environment for Visualizing Images (ENVI) software for image analysis and interpretation. 

• Radar Meteorology (3 cr. hrs.)

  • Algorithms used in the display and interpretation of weather radar data; theory of electromagnetic radiation, principles of radar operation, Doppler radar and interpretation techniques; wind velocity, rainfall rates and detection of individual cells, multiple cells and turbulence. 

• Satellite Meteorology (3 cr. hrs.)

  • Theory of weather satellites including orbital characteristics and signal receipt, synoptic weather interpretation, mesoscale features, precipitation signatures, fog, wind shear, tropical weather systems. 

• Statistical Meteorology (3 cr. hrs.)

  • Frequency distributions, sampling theory, linear and multiple regression analysis, time series, space variations of meteorological variables, statistical weather forecasting, forecast verification. 

• Numerical Modeling of the Atmosphere and Oceans (3 cr. hrs.)

  • Methods and mathematical concepts of numerical weather and ocean prediction models. 

• Advanced Weather Analysis and Forecasting (3 cr. hrs.)

  • Weekly weather analysis and forecasting discussions, followed by a post-mortem.

Mathematics (minor)

• Pre-Calculus (3 cr. hrs.)

• Calculus (9 cr. hrs.)

• Ordinary Differential Equations (3 cr. hrs)

• Linear Algebra (4 cr. hrs.)

• Introduction to Probability and Statistics (4 cr. hrs.)

Related Courses

• Introduction to Chemistry (4 cr. hrs. + 2 lab hrs.)

  • Introduction to precipitation formation processes, the surface and atmospheric branch of the hydrologic cycle, land surface-atmosphere interaction, surface energy balance, evapotranspiration, heat and moisture fluxes into the soil and atmospheric boundary layer.

• Physics with Calculus (10 cr. hrs. + 6 lab hrs)

• FORTRAN Programming for Earth Sciences Applications (3 cr. hrs.)

• Python Programming (3 cr. hrs.)

• GIS Applications for the Earth Sciences (3 cr. hrs.)

• History of Meteorology (3 cr. hrs.)