climate
Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
Location
- Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
- Burnside Hall
- 805 Sherbrooke Street West, Room 945
- Montreal, QC H3A 0B9
- Canada
- Telephone: 514-398-3764
- Fax: 514-398-6115
- Email: gradinfo [at] meteo [dot] mcgill [dot] ca
- Website: www.mcgill.ca/meteo
About Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
The Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences offers courses and research opportunities in atmospheric sciences and physical oceanography leading to the M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees. Research programs borrow from fundamental fields such as mathematics, statistics, physics, chemistry, and computing to address a broad range of topics relating to weather and climate. Examples include atmospheric chemistry, climate dynamics, cloud and precipitation physics, dynamical oceanography and meteorology, geophysical turbulence, numerical modelling, numerical weather prediction, ocean carbon budgets, and sea ice dynamics, as well as synoptic, mesoscale, and radar and satellite meteorology.
Some faculty members have close ties with other departments, schools, and centres, including the Chemistry, and Mathematics and Statistics Departments; the McGill School of Environment; the Global Environmental and Climate Change Centre (GEC3); ArcticNet; and Quebec Ocean. Facilities include the J. Stewart Marshall Radar Observatory, as well as state-of-the-art field and laboratory equipment for atmospheric chemistry. Graduate students have access to computers, ranging from desktop PCs to the massive parallel machines available to us through CLUMEQ and Compute Canada, and the IBM supercomputer at Environment Canada. In some cases, M.Sc. and Ph.D. research may include a field component. Most students also participate in national and international conferences.
Financial assistance in the form of research stipends and teaching assistantships is available for all qualified graduate students.
| Master of Science (M.Sc.); Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (Thesis) (45 credits) |
|---|
| Our program applies mathematics, physics, computing, and sometimes chemistry to study the atmosphere and/or oceans. The ideal student would therefore have a strong quantitative background in one or more of these fields. Although some of our students have undergraduate knowledge of meteorology or physical oceanography, such background is not necessary to succeed in the program. McGill offers the only program in Canada that includes both atmospheric and oceanic sciences. Students benefit from a large professor-to-student ratio, access to state-of-the-art computing, remote sensing, and atmospheric chemistry laboratory equipment. The Department also has close ties with Environment Canada's numerical weather prediction centre in Dorval, Quebec. Most of our incoming M.Sc. students choose this (default) option. It allows considerable flexibility as to the choice of research topics, and gives students both a strong classroom knowledge of the subject as well as the opportunity to choose from a variety of thesis research projects. Students who do not choose to continue in academia find employment in a variety of areas and places; for example, working with Environment Canada as research associates or weather forecasters. |
| Master of Science (M.Sc.); Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (Thesis) — Environment (45 credits) |
| The graduate option in Environment provides students with an appreciation for the role of science in informed decision-making in the environmental sector, and its influence on political, socio-economic, and ethical judgments.The option also provides a forum whereby graduate students bring their disciplinary perspectives together and enrich each other's learning through structured courses, formal seminars, and informal discussions and networking. Students following the Environment option must first be accepted by the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, and then by the McGill School of Environment (MSE) before an offer of admission will be made by the University. Environment option students require either a single supervisor with a joint appointment in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences and the MSE, or co-supervisors, one each in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences and the MSE. |
| Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.); Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences |
| Our program applies mathematics, physics, computing, and sometimes chemistry to study the atmosphere and/or oceans. The ideal student would therefore have a strong quantitative background in one or more of these fields. Although some of our students have undergraduate knowledge of meteorology or physical oceanography, such background is not necessary to succeed in the program. McGill offers the only program in Canada that includes both atmospheric and oceanic sciences. Students benefit from a large professor-to-student ratio, access to state-of-the-art computing, remote sensing, and atmospheric chemistry laboratory equipment. The Department also has close ties with Environment Canada's numerical weather prediction centre in Dorval, Quebec. Students who do not choose to continue in academia find employment in a variety of areas including research careers at government labs such as Environment Canada. |
Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Admission Requirements and Application Procedures
Admission Requirements
Applicants for the M.Sc. program must meet the general requirements of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies and hold a bachelor's degree with high standing in atmospheric science, physics, mathematics, engineering, or equivalent.
The normal requirement for admission to the Ph.D. program is a strong background in meteorology, physical oceanography, or related disciplines such as mathematics, physics, and engineering. Many students will have an M.Sc. degree in one of these fields, although this is not a formal requirement. Students without a master's degree in atmospheric science (meteorology) or physical oceanography will enter at the Ph.D. 1 rather than the Ph.D. 2 level, and devote the first year of the program mainly to coursework.
Inquiries should be addressed directly to the Chair of Admissions, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences.
Application Procedures
McGill’s online application form for graduate program candidates is available at www.mcgill.ca/gradapplicants/apply.
See Application Procedures for detailed application procedures.
