Atmospheric Sciences M.S. Program
Contact Information
Dr. Mark Hjelmfelt
Mineral Industries Building, Room 201
(605) 394-2291
Mark.Hjelmfelt@sdsmt.edu
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.
Program Requirements
- Fifteen (15) credit hours of course work in atmospheric sciences at the 500 level or above.
- Nine (9) additional credit hours of non-atmospheric sciences electives at the 400 level or above (300 level non-atmospheric sciences courses can be accepted if approved by the Graduate Education and Research Council), or atmospheric sciences electives at the 500 level.
- Thesis research - six (6) credit hours.
(Please note undergraduate credit limitations given in the current catalog under “M.S. Degree Requirements” for Master of Science degrees.)
Other program requirements
The following program requirements apply to all students in Atmospheric Sciences:
- At least one course at the 500/600 levels must be taken in each of the following core areas: Meteorology, Earth System Science, and Techniques. Course descriptions in the catalog describe the area to which each ATM course belongs.
- Satisfactory performance on a general coursework exam covering each of the core courses as well as selected elective course work.
- Registration in ATM 700 Graduate Research (thesis) each semester the student is receiving an assistantship, and in ATM 690 Graduate Seminar each spring semester.
- Completion of a master's thesis. The thesis must adhere to the format and content guidelines as set forth by the Graduate School, and be approved by the student's graduate committee and the Dean of Graduate Education.
In addition, there are requirements specific to the two (2) ATM MS specializations. Each student will choose one of these specializations. The requirements are:
Meteorology Specialization
Students entering the program with a Bachelor's degree in physics, mathematics, computer science, chemistry, or engineering must take the following courses: ATM 450 - Synoptic Meteorology I (not for graduate credit), ATM 550 - Synoptic Meteorology II, ATM 501 - Atmospheric Physics, and ATM 560 - Atmospheric Dynamics I.
Students entering the program with a Bachelor's degree in Atmospheric Sciences or Meteorology from another institution are required only to take ATM 501 (Atmospheric Physics), presuming that they have completed undergraduate work in the other areas listed in the preceding paragraph.
Earth System Science Specialization
All students will be required to take the following courses: ATM 502 - The Global Carbon Cycle, ATM 503 - Biogeochemistry, ATM 515 - Earth Systems Modeling. They also must complete at least one remote sensing course.
A specific plan of study will be determined on an individual basis with concurrence from the student's advisor and graduate committee members.
In either specialization, exceptions to these departmental requirements may be granted by the student's committee for good cause.
Elective courses offered by other departments are encouraged as long as the fifteen (15) hours of course work in Atmospheric Sciences at the 500-level or above are completed as outlined in “Course requirements for M.S. degree.” Graduate students may take electives in the fields of physics, mathematics, computer science, chemistry, engineering, technology management, social sciences, or the humanities to further integrate their coursework in the atmospheric sciences with knowledge in other technical fields and with the general concerns of society.
A student may choose the meteorology specialization with the intent to qualify for employment in the federal civil service as a meteorologist. Specific course distribution requirements to do so are listed in the current catalog within the general description of the Department of Atmospheric Sciences. Students in either specialization may pursue an M.S. degree in Atmospheric Sciences without satisfying these requirements and be qualified for careers in many non-federal and/or non-meteorological careers. Examples of such career options include research in and applications of remote sensing techniques; work in air quality either for non-federal government agencies, or for industry or the consulting firms industries often employ; research and applications in the environmental sciences with an emphasis on atmospheric issues, and further graduate work in atmospheric or environmental sciences.
Undergraduate students at the School of Mines may decrease the time required to obtain a Master of Science degree in Atmospheric Sciences by taking as electives the preparatory undergraduate and entry-level graduate courses available to them or by completing the Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Sciences program with an emphasis on atmospheric sciences. They may then enter the graduate program with the necessary background for graduate study in atmospheric sciences as above.
Additional information
Discovering the Atmospheric Sciences: A Guide for Prospective Students
