Is Meteorology part of Earth Sciences course?

Hi! I’m considering earth sci as a possible uni course. I really like tectonics as well as weather phenomena especially hurricanes.
I’ve seen modules on climate in the earthsci course in many unis, but I don’t see much stuff about weather.
Are there any unis that offer weather modules within their earth sci course?
Grateful for any help :smile:

Reply 1

Plagioclase

Original post by LYLN

You'll need to look at the modules offered on a course-by-course basis.

If you want to go into meteorology, the best degree to take is physics (you will be able to specialise properly whilst doing a masters and/or PhD in meteorology, but some physics departments that specialise in atmospheric physics do offer undergraduate meteorology modules, such as Oxford and Reading). When I was in Year 12, I asked this exact question to the head of the Grantham Institute at Imperial and she told me to study Physics. And she was basically right - if I had wanted to go into meteorology, physics would without a doubt have been the best degree to take.

But as you say though, you're interested in tectonics as well and you're not going to get that in a physics degree. There are Earth Sciences courses that do have some atmospheric physics (I discuss that in my reply to your other thread) but realistically, there's not going to be a huge amount of pure atmospheric stuff. Meteorology is quite a specialist field so I'm afraid you will have to make some compromises - if you're certain about meteorology, study physics.

If you're prepared to be at a slight disadvantage compared to physicists but are very keen on studying Earth Sciences, study a maths-heavy Earth Sciences degree (e.g. Oxford, Cambridge) or geophysics (e.g. I think you can do fluid mechanics in Imperial's geophysics course?). This will make your life more difficult, but from personal experience I can say that it's not insurmountable, and as I've said, I have no regrets.

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 2

LYLN

Spoiler

Thanks for your advice! Unfortunately I never looked at pure Physics in uni as I don't do Physics A-level (which I regret and would've done if I had known I wanted to do met earlier :frown:

)

Do you think it's a good idea to go study met after earth sci as I've heard from some people? Although I like both, my parents are more keen on me working in weather forecasting rather than geology-based stuff...
Thanks again!

Reply 3

Plagioclase

Original post by LYLN

Thanks for your advice! Unfortunately I never looked at pure Physics in uni as I don't do Physics A-level (which I regret and would've done if I had known I wanted to do met earlier :frown:

Could I ask what actually interests you about meteorology? Because meteorology is essentially an application of fluid dynamics, which is a branch of physics. As I've said, it is possible to go into meteorology from Earth Sciences, but it's definitely not the traditional path (almost everybody in meteorology will have an undergraduate degree in maths, physics, or meteorology).

Also, with respect, it's your life so please worry about what you want to do rather than what your parents want you to do!

Reply 4

LYLN

Original post by Plagioclase

Could I ask what actually interests you about meteorology?

I'm most interested in typhoons/hurricanes. Because I live in a seaside city, we are often affected by typhoons during the summer; that's why since a very young age I have been fascinated with typhoons and other weather phenomena. To be honest I might not like how much maths/phys there is in met but it's sort of like a childhood dream/fascination...? Maybe I'll just end up reading about it myself.

Original post by Plagioclase

Also, with respect, it's your life so please worry about what you want to do rather than what your parents want you to do!

I wish that's what my parents think... :frown:

I managed to persuade them I didn't want to do med though!

Reply 5

Plagioclase

Original post by LYLN

I managed to persuade them I didn't want to do med though!

Hmm, I think there's probably more overlap with natural disasters like typhoons and hurricanes because (1) we're obviously very interested in how extreme weather events will change due to climate change and (2) there are a lot of important physical and biological interactions between storm events and the oceans, so if you're interested in these events from a climate perspective rather than an operational perspective, there's definitely stuff you could do in Earth Sciences.

Anyway, as I say, this is not a decision you have to take now. You don't have physics at A Level so Earth Sciences is your best bet, and whilst it's going to be more difficult for you to get into meteorology, as long as you work hard in your maths modules at uni, it will still be possible to get into that field if you want to. So don't worry :smile:

(edited 5 years ago)

Reply 6

LYLN