BSc Meteorology and Climate
Reading, United Kingdom
DURATION
3 Years
LANGUAGES
English
PACE
Full time
APPLICATION DEADLINE
Request application deadline
EARLIEST START DATE
Jan 2025
TUITION FEES
GBP 29,950 / per year *
STUDY FORMAT
On-Campus
* new international students: £29,950 | new UK/Republic of Ireland students: £9,535 per year for 2025/26
Introduction
On our BSc Meteorology and Climate course you will tackle the biggest issues facing the planet today, including ozone depletion and climate change, alongside world experts in the UK’s only dedicated meteorology department.
Global impact
- We are ranked 1st in the UK for environmental and ethical performance (People and Planet University League 2023/24).
- In 2023, the University of Reading was the first ever winner of the Times Higher Education (THE) award for Outstanding Contribution to Environmental Leadership.
- The University has been awarded a 2021 Queen's Anniversary Prize in recognition of our world-leading research, teaching, stewardship and outreach on climate change.
- We are ranked 3rd in the UK for research power in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences (Times Higher Education, Institutions Ranked by Subject, based on its analysis of the latest Research Excellence Framework 2021).
- We are ranked 5th in the world for Atmospheric Science (ShanghaiRanking 2023 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects).
- The University of Reading is the most represented organisation in the UK on the Reuters Hot List of the world’s top climate scientists 2021.
- Our climate scientists played a leading role in the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report, which warns that damaging effects of climate change are already being seen across the globe.
- We gave the world climate stripes. Designed by Professor Ed Hawkins, the climate stripes present a compelling visualisation of how global temperatures have risen since the mid-19th century due to human-caused climate change. The stripes have been shared by the likes of Greta Thunberg and the United Nations, as well as thousands of others around the world.
- 100% of our students said the course often challenges them to achieve their best work (National Student Survey 2024, responders from the Department of Meteorology).
- The University of Reading has been named Sustainable University of the Year in The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025.
Explore all aspects of meteorology and climate, including atmospheric science and oceanography, whilst learning from world-leading researchers. By taking BSc Meteorology and Climate at the University of Reading, you'll be joining a course of study approved by the Royal Meteorological Society. You'll also benefit from the Department's close links to industry and a range of opportunities to enhance your employability.
As part of our small, specialist department, you will benefit from an enviable staff to student ratio. Many of our excellent teaching staff are world leaders in their fields and a number are Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) authors and Fellows of the Royal Society. We also have a Regius Professor of Meteorology and Climate Science, and the University is one of only 19 institutes in the UK to have been awarded one of these prestigious positions by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth.
Teaching is divided between lectures and practical work, but the ratio depends on options selected. You will have the opportunity to carry out a range of experiments using our extensive fluid dynamics and instrument labs, and atmospheric observatory. During your final year you will have the option of attending a summer field study trip; in recent years students have gone to the Lake District, but the location of the field class is subject to change. You will also complete an independent research project on a topic of your choice, perhaps focusing on the currents of hurricanes and typhoons or the effect of climate change on crops.
This course is approved by the Royal Meteorological Society (RMetS) and is your first step towards becoming professionally accredited as either a Registered Meteorologist (RMet) or Chartered Meteorologist (CMet).
Admissions
Scholarships and Funding
You may be eligible for a scholarship or bursary to help pay for your study. Students from the UK may also be eligible for a student loan to help cover these costs.
We have several scholarships available to undergraduate students.
Curriculum
Compulsory modules
Year 1
- Introduction to Meteorology: Learn about key concepts in atmospheric science and gain an understanding of atmospheric structure and composition. You’ll study a wide range of topics including weather disturbances, climate phenomena, and how we forecast atmospheric phenomena.
- Physics of the Natural World: Gain a solid grounding in classical physics, crucial for developing further skills in quantitative natural science. You’ll apply mechanics, thermal physics and electromagnetism to a range of problems and systems.
- Weather and Climate Fundamentals: Apply universal laws of physics to the Earth’s weather and climate, using idealised calculations to analyse real weather systems. You’ll develop skills in problem solving, data analysis and the application of key theories.
- Skills for Environmental Science: Learn about the instruments and techniques used in meteorology, and their limitations. You’ll develop fundamental skills in laboratory experimentation, as well as computer programming skills, which are useful for data processing and analysis.
- Calculus: Extend your existing knowledge of calculus into two or more dimensions, exploring techniques of ordinary differential equations of the first and second order and learning how programming has mathematical applications.
- Linear Algebra: Learn how to solve systems of linear equations, determine eigenvalues and eigenvectors, and develop the algebra of matrices which are used as a stepping-stone to the more general theory of liner and inner-product spaces.
Year 2
- Climate Change: Develop a conceptual understanding of climate change as you examine changes in atmospheric composition in the recent past and over thousands of years. You’ll also investigate climate change prediction and its limitations, the current and potential future impacts of climate change, and explore what can be done to adapt to these impacts.
- Numerical and Statistical Methods for Weather and Climate Science: Gain essential knowledge of how to derive and interpret scientific results. You’ll learn the theoretical principles behind numerical and statistical methods, and where they’re most appropriately used in weather and climate science.
- Atmosphere and Ocean Dynamics: Examine the fluid dynamics that drive the circulation of the ocean and the atmosphere. Through studying real-life phenomena and observing laboratory demonstrations, you’ll gain an understanding of the physical processes affecting fluid motions and the equations used to study them.
- Atmospheric Physics: Study the processes that cause the sun to heat the Earth and clouds to form. You’ll study radiative transfer, how radiation passes through the Earth’s atmosphere, the physical processes in clouds, and how water particles form and evolve.
- Mathematical Methods for Weather and Climate: Develop your mathematical skills by studying three essential tools for climate science: vector analysis and vector calculus, ordinary and partial differential equations, and mathematical methods for analysing observations.
Year 3
- Undergraduate Research Project: Embark on a major piece of independent study, where you’ll hone your research skills as you carry out a piece of work on a selected topic, with the support of a supervisor. You’ll also develop oral, report writing, and presentation skills.
These are the modules we currently offer for 2024/25 entry. They may be subject to change as we regularly review our module offerings to ensure they're informed by the latest teaching and research methods.
Please note that the University cannot guarantee that all optional modules will be available to all students who may wish to take them.
You can also register your details with us to receive information about your course of interest and study and life at the University of Reading.
Career Opportunities
A degree in Meteorology and Climate will provide you with a range of transferable skills, including teamwork, presenting, computing, data set analysis, numeracy, scientific writing and the ability to work to deadlines. Overall, 97% of graduates from Meteorology are in work or further study within 15 months of graduation; of those in full-time employment, 100% are in graduate-level roles (based on our analysis of HESA data © HESA 2024, Graduate Outcomes Surveys 2021/22; includes all Meteorology responders).
This degree will prepare you for work as a forecaster or research scientist at a national organisation, such as the UK Met Office, or a commercial company. Financial businesses are increasingly employing weather forecasters to advise traders of the possible outcomes of the weather on prices of commodities, and a number of our graduates now work in this area. Additionally you can choose to become a broadcast meteorologist, and appear regularly on TV or radio. You may decide to move into a career within environmental and physical sciences or mathematics, such as flood modelling or pollution prediction. You will also be well-placed to pursue further study and develop more specialist skills. In addition to careers related to the weather and climate, your transferable skills will allow you to move into other sectors such as teaching, banking and accountancy.
Recent graduates have progressed into a range of exciting careers with employers including:
- Met Office
- Fugro
- DTN
- British Antarctic Survey
- NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
- Aegis London
- Civil Service
- national meteorological services across the world.
Program Admission Requirements
Show your commitment and readiness for Grad school by taking the GRE - the most broadly accepted exam for graduate programs internationally.