logo
Skip to content

Our Activities

breadcrumb border breadcrumb border
Bookmark and Share

Meteorological Courses

Download PDF version

cv imageThis webpage contains information about meteorology courses in British universities. It does not explicitly contain information about research opportunities. Details of research opportunities can be found here.

Information about research opportunities can also be found on the webpages of the schools and departments which are listed below.

Accredited Courses

Not all of the courses shown below have been accepted as fulfilling the requirements for core content under the Society's Chartered Meteorologist Accreditation Scheme. List of accredited courses.

Links to each University are given and where the address or telephone numbers ares not clear from the University website, these are given too.

Contact: Department of Meteorology, The University of Reading, PO Box 243, Reading, RG6 6BB. Address correspondence to either the Undergraduate Admissions Tutor or the MSc Admissions Tutor, as appropriate.

COMET

A wide range of free courses in meteorology is available online as part of the COMET programme

Case Studiescase studies

Edinburgh - Laura Paterson

What degree(s) have you taken?

I have the BSc Physics with Meteorology from Edinburgh University. 

What A/AS levels did you take?

In Scotland we sit Highers and Advanced Highers rather than A/AS levels. I sat 5 Highers (which are more equivalent to AS levels I think, however Advanced Highers are not essential to getting accepted into Scottish Universities) in Maths, English, Physics, German and Modern Studies. 

How did your degree help develop your interest in Meteorology? Did you take relevant units or modules and did they involve any trips orwork experience?

In 2003, I began studying Astrophysics with the option of taking an extra outside course after my first year. My Director of Studies suggested I tried Meteorology, and after a couple of lectures I was hooked. I found it far more interesting than the Astronomy I had been studying and promptly swapped to the Met related degree. That year I took two Meteorology courses, which included drawing up surface pressure charts, interpreting satellite imagery and doing observations from the roof of our building. All proved to be very helpful in passing the interview process at the Met Office three years on. In our 4th year I also studied courses in Atmospheric Dynamics, Atmospheric Physics and the Physics of Climate which gave me a good grounding when it came to our Forecaster training. The other two thirds of the degree was Maths and Physics which gave me the ability to understand the principals rather than simply memorising equations.

(We didn't go on any trips or work experience which is a shame! I heard one of the courses in the School got to go to Jamaica!) 

What work are you doing now? Can you (briefly) describe a typical day or week? How does your job use knowledge from your degree?

I am currently working for the Met Office as a forecaster, primarily on the aviation benches, however I have spent time time over the winter forecasting for OpenRoad, the Met Office's winter road forecasting service. I am usually based in their HQ at Exeter, but for this summer I am working on detached duty on Ascension Island in the South Atlantic. On a typical day, we provide forecasts and observations for the island itself along with briefings to aircrew flying out of the Island. Working as a forecaster means working shifts, which are usually 12 hours long, in a mixture of days and nights. My degree taught me the basics of Meteorology, both the theory and practical aspects. It also gave me the mathematical skills to be able to understand the physical principals I have to work with every day to come up with forecasts.

Oxford - Rosalind West

Case study: Rosalind West

What degree have you taken?

I did a 4 year MPhys degree in Physics at Mansfield College, Oxford.

What A/ AS levels did you take?

I took A levels in Maths, Further Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Music and Design & Technology

What units or modules did you take as part of your course, and did it involve any trips or work experience?

In my third year I did a course on Climate Physics and one on Fluid Dynamics. As one of my fourth year major options I chose the Physics of Atmospheres and Oceans course. Over the summer in between my third and fourth years I did a vacation project with Nick Faull and Myles Allen using data from climateprediction.net. I then extended this for my MPhys research project.

What work are you doing now, and is it directly related to the subjects you studied in your degree?

I'm currently working on a DPhil in the Atmospheric, Oceanic and Planetary Physics department at Oxford, in conjunction with the Hadley Centre at the Met Office. I work in the Climate Processes group and use both computerised climate models and earth observation satellite data to investigate the interactions between aerosols (airborne particles), clouds and climate.

Oxford Jonathan Flowerdew

What degree(s) have you taken?

I did a four year undergraduate physics degree at Oxford University, during which I chose Atmospheric Physics as one of my two major options for the final year.After working in the software industry for two years, I returned to do a PhD in atmospheric physics.

What A/AS levels did you take? Were you interested in meteorology or similar subjects at school?

I did pure maths, mechanics, physics, chemistry and A/S philosophy. If anything, I expected to go on to a more 'traditional' physics subject such as particle or solid state physics, perhaps working in a university environment.

How did you degree help develop your interest in Meteorology? Did you take relevant units or modules and did they involve any trips or work experience?

The Atmospheric Physics option during my undergraduate degree provided a nice rounded course that I did well in. Together with the superior funding available compared to other branches of physics, this encouraged me to choose atmospheric physics for my PhD.

What work are you doing now? How does your job use knowledge from your degree?

I work on ensemble weather forecasting, both the mathematics of constructing the atmospheric ensemble forecast and some post-processing and derived customer applications. This is not directly related to anything I studied in my degree, but was supported by the general background in atmospheric science which it gave me.

What do you most enjoy about your work?

I like the mix of an understandable theoretical basis, practical computer work, and genuine application to solve real problems.