Meteorology and Climate Science Department

MS - Meteorology

Requirements for Admission to Classified Standing

Students wishing to pursue an MS in Meteorology must satisfy each of the following requirements:

• The student should have the equivalent of an SJSU BS degree in Meteorology or, with the approval of the department graduate committee, a degree in a physical science or in mathematics. Students entering with degrees in other areas may be admitted to conditionally classified standing, and will be required to make up deficiencies (e.g., in meteorology and math) before enrolling in the core graduate classes.
• The student should have a minimum GPA in their BS degree of 2.75 (on a scale of 0-4).
• The student must submit their Graduate Record Examination (GRE) scores.
• Applicants from non-English speaking countries must meet the university minimum TOEFL requirement (i.e., 550 or better, as outlined in the Graduate Admissions section of the catalog).

Admission to Conditionally Classified Standing

Those students who meet minimum requirements for admission to the Graduate Division, but do not meet departmental requirements, may be admitted to conditionally classified standing, on the approval of the department graduate committee. Deficiencies usually involve undergraduate meteorology courses, as well as some math courses. Upon completion of the necessary courses, the student advances from conditional to classified standing via petition to Graduate Studies.

Requirements for Admission to Candidacy

In addition to the general requirements for admission, the student must possess an adequate background in meteorology. Competence in the general areas covered by METR 121A (Dynamic Meteorology I), METR 125 (Physical Meteorology), either METR 060 or METR 171A (Synoptic Meteorology, to be decided in consultation with the department graduate committee), and METR 100W (Technical Writing), must be demonstrated to the Department Graduate Committee prior to admission to candidacy. This can be done by: satisfactory completion of these courses (or their equivalent) with a minimum grade of "B" in each; or passage of a comprehensive written examination. Students should consult with the graduate advisor concerning these alternatives.

A student with classified standing may be admitted to candidacy after completion of at least nine units of graded work as a graduate student in 100- or 200-level courses which are acceptable to the department in which the degree is sought. Note that students initially admitted with conditionally classified standing may, for example, be required to take METR 121A (Dynamic Meteorology I) to make up a deficiency (credits do NOT count toward the MS degree), and may then choose to take METR 121B (Dynamic Meteorology II), where credits DO count toward the MS degree.

The University requires that all graduate students demonstrate competency in written English prior to advancement to candidacy. Please refer to the SJSU catalog section titled “Competency in Written English” for details. MS Meteorology students are currently required to take METR 100W to satisfy this University requirement. Note that a student must pass the Writing Skills Test (WST) in order to register into METR 100W. See https://testing.sjsu.edu/twst.html for details.

Completing Requirements for the MS - Meteorology

Courses taken to meet the requirements for admission to candidacy will not be counted as part of the MS program. All students must demonstrate competency in written English.

Plan A (with Thesis)

An acceptable written research thesis and a successful oral presentation of the thesis are required.

Plan B (without Thesis)

This plan is open to students who can demonstrate to the Departmental Graduate Committee that they possess adequate professional meteorological experience.

Requirements are identical to those for Plan A, except that a thesis and METR 299 are not required. Three additional units of 200-level meteorology courses (other than 285 or 298) must substituted. In addition, a suitable topic in meteorology will be selected by the student in consultation with his or her advisor on which to prepare a carefully documented written report (for two or more units of METR 298).