Doctor of Philosophy in Atmospheric Science

Atmospheric Science is the study of weather and climate.  The atmosphere is a key component of the environment and affects many human activities ranging from daily weather prediction to the understanding of climate and human health.  Our program provides graduate students with the advanced training to address a host of meteorological and climate related issues facing humans today.

By the end of the program, Ph.D. students will be able to perform independent, creative research within their chosen sub-discipline.  In addition to becoming an expert in their sub-discipline, students will obtain a solid background in the fundamentals of atmospheric physics and applied mathematics.  The student's research will often require knowledge of subject fields outside of atmospheric science that is related to their dissertation, which could include oceanography, physics, geophysics, mathematics, statistics, engineering, or similar fields.

Early in their program, students will take fundamental courses in atmospheric science including atmospheric dynamics, numerical modeling, and advanced statistics.  A majority of the student's time will be devoted to their research project.

KU offers a variety of specializations including:
​​Atmospheric dynamics
Cloud microphysics
​Mesoscale organization of cloud systems
Tropical meteorology
Synoptic meteorology
​Mesoscale meteorology
Coastal meteorology
Climate varability and change
​Regional climatology
Climate models
Aerosol and dust emission
​Biometeorology
​Microclimatology
​Land-atmosphere interactions
​Remote sensing of the surface and atmosphere
​Polar ice caps