BSc Meteorology and Climate with International Foundation Year

Compulsory modules

International Foundation Year

• Academic Skills: Enhance your academic study and communication skills while gradually building confidence and mastering transferable abilities. Engage in various in-class group activities and individual study tasks to develop these skills effectively.
• Core Mathematics: Learn the techniques required to analyse and solve a variety of mathematical problems. You'll gain general mathematical skills as well as skills that are more related to your degree programme.
• Quantitative Methods: Discover the techniques required to analyse and solve a variety of statistical problems. You'll gain general theoretical skills as well as numerical skills that are more related to your degree programme.
• Physics: Gain deeper, transferable knowledge and understanding of the major concepts of physics such as: the atomic structure and phases of matter, thermodynamics, electric fields and potentials, mechanical forces, work and energy, and the principles of simple periodic motion. You'll also learn to apply both mathematical and physical concepts to solve advanced problems.
• Further Mathematics: Gain a solid grounding in the aspects of vectors and matrices, kinematics of motion, advanced integration techniques and differential equations at A-level standard. You'll develop a foundational understand of the key mathematic concepts required for future study throughout your degree.

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.

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.