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Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences

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Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences

Location

Location

  • Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
  • Burnside Hall
  • 805 Sherbrooke Street West, Room 945
  • Montreal, QC H3A 2K6
  • Canada
  • Telephone: 514-398-3764
  • Fax: 514-398-6115
  • Email: gradinfo [at] meteo.mcgill.ca
  • Website: www.mcgill.ca/meteo

About Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences

About Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences

The Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences offers courses and research opportunities in atmospheric sciences and physical oceanography leading to the M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees. Research programs borrow from fundamental fields such as mathematics, statistics, physics, chemistry, and computing to address a broad range of topics relating to weather and climate. Examples include atmospheric chemistry, climate dynamics, cloud and precipitation physics, dynamical oceanography and meteorology, geophysical turbulence, numerical modelling, numerical weather prediction, ocean carbon budgets, and sea ice dynamics, as well as synoptic, mesoscale, and radar and satellite meteorology.

Some faculty members have close ties with other departments, schools, and centres, including the Chemistry and Mathematics and Statistics departments, the McGill School of the Environment, the Global Environmental and Climate Change Centre (GEC3), ArcticNet, and Quebec Ocean. Facilities include the J. Stewart Marshall Radar Observatory, as well as state-of-the-art field and laboratory equipment for atmospheric chemistry. Graduate students have access to computers, ranging from desktop PCs to the massive parallel machines available to us through CLUMEQ and Compute Canada, and the IBM supercomputer at Environment Canada. In some cases, M.Sc. and Ph.D. research may include a field component. Most students also participate in national and international conferences.

Financial assistance in the form of research stipends and teaching assistantships is available for all qualified graduate students.

Master of Science (M.Sc.); Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (Thesis) (45 credits)
Our program applies mathematics, physics, computing, and sometimes chemistry to study the atmosphere and/or oceans. The ideal student would therefore have a strong quantitative background in one or more of these fields. Although some of our students have undergraduate knowledge of meteorology or physical oceanography, such background is not necessary to succeed in the program. McGill offers the only program in Canada which includes both atmospheric and oceanic sciences. Students benefit from a large professor to student ratio, access to state-of-the-art computing, remote sensing, and atmospheric chemistry laboratory equipment. The Department also has close ties with Environment Canada's numerical weather prediction centre in Dorval, Quebec. Most of our incoming M.Sc. student choose this (default) option. It allows considerable flexibility as to the choice of research topics, and gives students both a strong classroom knowledge of the subject as well as the opportunity to choose from a variety of thesis research projects. Students who do not choose to continue in academia find employment in a variety of areas and places, for example, working with Environment Canada as research associates or weather forecasters.
Master of Science (M.Sc.); Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (Thesis) — Environment (45 credits)
The graduate option in Environment provides students with an appreciation of the role of science in informing decision-making in the environment sector, and the influence that political, socio-economic and ethical judgments have. The option also provides a forum whereby graduate students bring their disciplinary perspectives together and enrich each other's learning through structured courses, formal seminars, and informal discussions and networking. Students following the Environment option must first be accepted by the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, and then by the McGill School of Environment (MSE) before an offer of admission will be made by the University. Environment option students require either a single supervisor with a joint appointment in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences and the MSE, or co-supervisors, one each in Atmospheric and Oceanic and the MSE.
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.); Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
Our program applies mathematics, physics, computing, and sometimes chemistry to study the atmosphere and or oceans. The ideal student would therefore have a strong quantitative background in one or more of these fields. Although some of our students have undergraduate knowledge of meteorology of physical oceanography, such background is not necessary to succeed in the program. McGill offers the only program in Canada which includes both atmospheric and oceanic sciences. Students benefit from a large professor to student ratio, access to state-of-the-art computing, remote sensing, and atmospheric chemistry laboratory equipment. The Department also has close ties with Environment Canada's numerical weather prediction centre in Dorval, Quebec. Students who do not choose to continue in academia find employment in a variety of areas and places, for example, working with Environment Canada as research associates or weather forecasters.
Programs, Courses and University Regulations—2011-2012 (last updated Aug. 11, 2011) (disclaimer)

Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Admission Requirements and Application Procedures

Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Admission Requirements and Application Procedures

Admission Requirements

Admission Requirements

Applicants for the M.Sc. program must meet the general requirements of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies and hold a bachelor's degree with high standing in atmospheric science, physics, mathematics, engineering, or equivalent.

The normal requirement for admission to the Ph.D. program is an M.Sc. degree in atmospheric science, physical oceanography, or related discipline with acceptably high standing. Students without a master's degree in Atmospheric Science (Meteorology) or Physical Oceanography but with a strong background in related disciplines (physics, mathematics, engineering) may be admitted to the Ph.D. program. They enter at the Ph.D. 1 rather than the Ph.D. 2 level, and devote the first year of the program mainly to coursework.

Inquiries should be addressed directly to the Chair of Ï㽶ÊÓƵ, Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences.

Application Procedures

Application Procedures

McGill’s online application form for graduate program candidates is available at www.mcgill.ca/gradapplicants/apply.

Dates for Guaranteed Consideration

For dates for guaranteed consideration, please consult the following website: www.mcgill.ca/gradapplicants/programs. Then select the appropriate program.

Note: We are not willing to consider any applications to be admitted for the Summer term.
Programs, Courses and University Regulations—2011-2012 (last updated Aug. 11, 2011) (disclaimer)

Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Faculty

Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences Faculty

Chair
J.R. Gyakum
Emeritus Professors
J.F. Derome, B.Sc., M.Sc.(McG.), Ph.D.(Mich.), F.R.S.C.
H.G. Leighton; B.Sc., M.Sc.(McG.), Ph.D.(Alta.)
L.A. Mysak; C.M., B.Sc.(Alta.), M.Sc.(Adel.), A.M., Ph.D.(Harv.), F.R.S.C. (Canada Steamship Lines Professor of Meteorology)
R.R. Rogers; B.S.(Texas), S.M.(MIT), Ph.D.(NYU)
I. Zawadzki; B.Sc.(Buenos Aires), M.Sc., Ph.D.(McG.), F.R.S.C.
Professors
J.R. Gyakum; B.Sc.(Penn. St.), M.Sc., Ph.D.(MIT)
M.K. Yau; S.B., S.M., Sc.D.(MIT) (NSERC/Hydro-Québec Industrial Research Chair in Short-term Forecasting of Precipitation)
I. Zawadzki; B.Sc.(Buenos Aires), M.Sc., Ph.D.(McG.), F.R.S.C.
Associate Professors
P. Ariya; B.Sc., Ph.D.(York) (William Dawson Scholar) (joint appt. with Chemistry)
P. Bartello; B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D.(McG.) (joint appt. with Mathematics)
F. Fabry; B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D.(McG.) (joint appt. with McGill School of Environment)
D. Straub; B.S., M.S.(SW Louisiana), Ph.D.(Wash.)
B. Tremblay; B.Sc., M.Sc.(Car.), Ph.D.(McG.)
Assistant Professors
M. Bourqui; B.Sc., M.Sc.(EPFL, Switzerland), Ph.D.(ETHZ, Switzerland) (joint appt. with Chemistry)
P. Kollias; B.Sc., M.S.(Athens), Ph.D.(Miami) (Canada Research Chair)
J. Palter; B.Sc., Ph.D.(Duke)
S.-W. Son; B.Sc., M.Sc.(Seoul National, Korea), Ph.D.(Penn. St.) (Canada Research Chair)
Adjunct Professors
P. Gauthier, C.A. Lin, H. Lin, D. Matthews, S. Melo, R.E. Stewart
Programs, Courses and University Regulations—2011-2012 (last updated Aug. 11, 2011) (disclaimer)

Master of Science (M.Sc.); Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (Thesis) (45 credits)

The M.Sc. degree requires a minimum of 45 credits, up to a maximum of 51 credits. The program includes from 9 to 27 credits of coursework (depending on the student's background).

For more information, see Master of Science (M.Sc.); Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (Thesis) (45 credits).

Master of Science (M.Sc.); Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (Thesis) — Environment (45 credits)

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.); Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences

Faculty of Science—2011-2012 (last updated Aug. 11, 2011) (disclaimer)
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