UAH's Atmospheric and Earth Science Department is devoted to providing high-quality education to and to contributing international-caliber research in the areas of geographic information systems (GIS), remote sensing, human-ecosystem dynamics, earth system science (ESS), atmospheric chemistry and air pollution, radiative transfer, severe storms, convection, lightning, hurricanes, tropical weather, numerical modeling, and climate-change modeling and measurements.
Research opportunities abound at UAH due largely to the nation鈥檚 concern about the environment. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Department of Energy (DOE), and the Department of Defense (DOD) all fund atmospheric and earth science research at UAH.
Graduate students in the atmospheric and earth sciences come from a variety of disciplines: physics, chemistry, engineering, atmospheric, geographical sciences, and applied mathematics. Opportunities are broad enough that each of these backgrounds is valuable for specific subfields within the atmospheric and earth sciences. However, students of atmospheric and earth sciences should have in common a sound background in the fundamentals of physics and applied mathematics and an interest in complex natural phenomena.
AES offers a Masters in Atmospheric and Earth Science (AES) with concentrations in Atmospheric Science (ATS) and Earth System Science (ESS). AES also offers a Doctorate in Atmospheric Science and a Graduate Certificate in GIS and Remote Sensing. More information on each graduate program can be found below.
Students gain advanced knowledge of meteorology, severe storms, satellite and ground based remote sensing, mesoscale meteorology, hurricanes, atomspheric convection, numerical weather prediction, atmospheric chemistry and air quality. Students graduate with the quantitative and qualitative skills and knowledge necessary for employment in weather forecasting, private weather enterprise, atmospheric data science and research or the pursuit of a Doctorate in atmospheric science.
Students gain advanced knowledge of Earth system science by treating the Earth as an integrated system and by applying advanced principles from the natural and social sciences, including chemistry, physics, mathematics, hydrology, meteorology, ecology, economics, sociology, and geographic information systems (GIS). Earth system science seeks a deeper understanding of human interactions with the environment that determine the past, present and future states of the Earth and provides a holistic view for understanding the world and a pathway toward sustainability. Students graduate with the qualitative and quantitative skills necessary for employment in environmental risk assessment, public policy, decision-making and sustainability, and geospatial analysis and geo-intelligence.
Develop expertise in understanding and predicting weather and climate systems through research opportunities in the doctoral program in atmospheric science. Your faculty mentors will push you to think about atmospheric theories, concepts and processes in new ways. You will learn to use research to answer questions that atmospheric scientists face today.
Atmospheric and Earth Science offers a Graduate GIS & Remote Sensing Certificate. A set of four graduate courses (12 credits) will provide an advanced background in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and prepare students for careers directly in the GIS field, geospatial intelligence with remote sensing, or give them GIS experience as a supplemental technical skill that can be applied across many disciplines and career fields. Given the popularity of GIS-based remote sensing and geospatial analysis in the Huntsville Area and across the U.S., the graduate certificate will also prepare students to recognize patterns and apply that information to larger processes.
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Applicants are strongly advised to explore our areas of research prior to applying. If you have an idea of the area you want to study but cannot find a match with our academics please contact the Department Chair.