Academic FAQ
For Undergraduate Students
Meteorology focuses primarily on weather forecasting while atmospheric science includes the study of all atmospheric processes.
You can find the ATOC Undergraduate Minor requirements at
You can find the ATOC Undergraduate Major requirements at
Admissions to CU Boulder and the ATOCundergradaute program are handled by the Office of Admissions. You can find information regarding the application process at
For Graduate Students
Meteorology focuses primarily on weather forecasting while atmospheric science includes the study of all atmospheric processes.
For admission in the fall semester with full consideration internationalapplications and domestic applications must be received by December 1. While late application materials (letters of recommendation, transcripts, etc.) will be accepted after the December 1 deadline, it is in the applicant’s best interest to submit all application materials as soon as possible. If ALL application materials, including Letters of Recommendation, have not been provided within 10 days after the application deadline, the application will be automatically withdrawn by the office of admissions.
Your application must be submitted by the deadline,December 1,for admission in the fall semester.
Letters of recommendation, transcripts, and English Proficiency Exam scores can be submitted after the December 1 deadline up 10 days after the application deadline. Please note, while the department does accept late application materials it is in the applicant’s best interests to submit all application materials as soon as possible. If ALL application materials, including Letters of Recommendation, have not been provided within 10 days after the application deadline, the application will be automatically withdrawn by the office of admissions,
Yes, as a non-degree seeking student through the Continuing Education Access Program (https://ce.colorado.edu/programs/access). Should you eventually become an official degree-seeking student in the ATOC Graduate Program, some of this coursework may apply towards the MS or PhD degree. If you live in the Boulder area and are thinking of applying to the ATOC Graduate Program, this is an excellent way to meet current students and faculty and determine if ATOC is the right program for you.
Yes! New this year, graduate students have created an application mentorship program. More information can be found here:.
Please call 303-492-4357 or emailgradadm@colorado.eduor with any software/technical support questions.
Examples: Did my payment go through? I have not yet received my log in information? My letter writers have not received an email yet? My letter writer can not access the link to submit a letter of recommendation for me?
For more information, please see the Office of Admissions’website; or the website for.
You should apply online. You can find information and a link to the application athttps://grad.apply.colorado.edu/apply/.
An applicant for admission must present complete application materials that include the graduate application (online); one unofficial copy of transcripts of ALL academic work completed to date (see information below); three letters of recommendation (submitted online or mailed to the department); a personal statement of academic interests; answers to ATOC additional application questions; and a $60 non-refundable application fee for domestic applicants or $80 for international applicants.
For review and decision purposes you are required to upload an unofficial copy of your transcript(s) in the online application. We require one copy of the scanned transcript from each undergraduate and graduate institution that you attended. This includes community colleges, summer sessions, and extension programs. While credits from one institution may appear on the transcript of a second institution, unofficial transcripts must be submitted from each institution, regardless of the length of attendance, and whether or not courses were completed. Failure to list and submit transcripts from all institutions previously attended is considered to be a violation of academic ethics and may result in the cancellation of your admission or dismissal from the university.
ONLY after you are recommended for admission will you need to provide official transcripts. .
ATOC offers both a MS and a PhD degree. All applicants are held to the same academic standards in terms of admissions. An applicant not admitted to the PhD program would also not be admitted to the MS program. While in some academic areas, such as Engineering, the MS is the dominant terminal degree, in Atmospheric and Oceanic Science the PhD is the usual terminal degree. As such, almost all ATOC graduate students are pursuing a PhD. ATOC prioritizes financial support through Teaching Assistant and Research Assistant positions for students who are seeking a PhD.
ATOC does admit students seeking a terminal MS degree. In particular, we have admitted many students who are already employed at NCAR or NOAA. Unfortunately, ATOC typically does not provide financial support through either a Teaching Assistant or a Research Assistant position for those who seek a terminal Masters. We prioritize financial support for students who seek a PhD.
Many students who apply to ATOC state on their application that they are seeking a MS degree. We contact such students to determine if they really seek the MS as a terminal degree, or if they in fact they plan to go on to a PhD and believe that a MS is required to proceed to a PhD. A MS degree is not required to receive a PhD degree.
ATOC applicants should have at least a 3.00 (on a 4.0 scale, 3.00=B) undergraduate grade point average. In some instances, students with a GPA below 3.00 may be considered on an individual basis. The graduate school requires that students have at least a 2.75 (on 4.0 scale, 2.00=C) undergraduate grade point average. Note, however, that applicants who cannot meet this undergraduate standard may still secure regular admission if they have completed 9 semester hours of relevant graduate course work with at least a 3.25 average. The typical GPA for acceptance to ATOC is 3.50 or higher.
All international applicants are required to meet a minimum standard of English proficiency. The TOEFL, IELTS, and Duolingo English Test are three different English language proficiency tests accepted by CU Boulder as proof of English proficiency. If you have completed at least one year full-time academic study at a US institution (or at an institution in a country where English is the native language) at the time you apply, you have fulfilled the English proficiency requirement for the Office of Admissions. The University requires a minimum TOEFL score of 75, a minimum IELTS score of 6.5, or a minumum Duolingo score of 120.
The ATOC Faculty voted in January 2020 to remove the GRE requirement for graduate admissions. We do not require and will not consider General Record Examination (GRE) scores
Yes, please click here for more information.
Students with undergraduate degrees in the physical sciences (e.g., physics, chemistry, mathematics) and engineering are encouraged to apply. The general background expected of incoming graduate students includes:
- Three semesters ofcalculus,one semester ofdifferential equations, andone semester ofcomputer programming (ideally in python)
- Courses inphysics (calculus based) and chemistry
- Research experience including data analysis/additional computer programming experience (ideally in python)
Students with undergraduate degrees in other fields such as biology, environmental science, geography, earth science, geology, meteorology, or oceanography are also encouraged to apply provided they meet the standards given here. Courses in atmospheric science or oceanography are useful but are not required.
ATOC graduate students come from a wide variety of backgrounds. While some students have an undergraduate background in atmospheric or oceanic science, many have an undergraduate degree in physics, math, chemistry, environmental science, engineering, or another science area. Our graduate core curriculum is designed to introduce students to the forefront issues across the broad range of atmospheric and oceanic sciences. The most important background requirement for an entering student is a good grounding in math, up through differential equations. Physics and chemistry are also highly desired. A student without an adequate undergraduate background in math would likely not be admitted, unless they hadprofessional experience that indicated they could succeed at the graduate level in atmospheric science, or a plan to take the math classes before enrolling at CU. Some disciplines such as engineering may include math, chemistry and physics within course work that is related to their undergraduate major.
Domestic: US citizens, permanent residents (green card holders), or persons who have refugee or asylum status.
International: Non-US citizens who have or will need to apply for an F-1 or J-1 visa.
The Financial Statement for International applicants is NOT required as part of the initial application. And this document is NOT a condition of admission. This form is required only for those international students who enroll and are not financially supported by the university. If an international student has been offered a teaching assistant or research assistant position, this form is NOT required.
Your application must be submitted by the deadline,December 1,for admission in the fall semester.
Letters of recommendation, transcripts, and English Proficiency Exam scores can be submitted after the December 1 deadline up until December 10. Please note, while the department does accept late application materials it is in the applicant’s best interests to submit all application materials as soon as possible. Letters of recommendation must be submitted within 10 days of the application deadline. If ALL Letters of Recommendation have not been provided within 10 days after the application deadline, the application will be automatically withdrawn by the office of admission.
If your supporting materials (transcripts, TOEFL/IELTS scores, and recommendation letters) arrive before the deadline, they will be filed and matched with your online application using your name. Your supporting materials may arrive after the deadline. However, your application may not be considered until all materials have been received. Therefore it is to your advantage to send in all your materials as soon as possible.
How to Submit Transcripts
For review and decision purposes you are required to upload an unofficial copy of your transcript(s) in the online application. We require one copy of the scanned transcript from each undergraduate and graduate institution that you attended. This includes community colleges, summer sessions, and extension programs. While credits from one institution may appear on the transcript of a second institution, unofficial transcripts must be submitted from each institution, regardless of the length of attendance, and whether or not courses were completed. Failure to list and submit transcripts from all institutions previously attended is considered to be a violation of academic ethics and may result in the cancellation of your admission or dismissal from the university.
ONLY after you are recommended for admission will you need to provide official transcripts. Click here for Instructions for Uploading Unofficial Transcripts to Your Application.
Applicants should request that ETS send TOEFL scores directly to the university. The institution code for CU-Boulder is 4841, and the department code for ATOC is 0501.
Since there is no institution code for IELTS, test results must be sent directly to the university from an IELTS Testing Center. Please use the following address:
Office of Admissions University of Colorado Boulder Regent Administrative Center 125 65 UCB Boulder, CO 80309-0065 USA
A minimum of three letters of recommendation should be submitted. If you would like to submit additional letters, please contact atocrad@colorado.edu. For current students and recent graduates, recommendations from faculty members are particularly important.
Applicants can request letters of recommendation well before they submit their full application. If ALL Letters of Recommendation have not been provided within 10 days after the application deadline, the application will be automatically withdrawn by the office of admission.
You will submitthe name and email of your recommender(s) on the online application, and hit the 'send to recommender' button. The email will be immediately sent, and links them directly to the online recommendation form. They simply fill it out and submit the form online, along with their letter. We will receive it automatically, and you will be notified by email that we have received the recommendation. Your recommender will receive an email confirmation as well after they submit.
If a recommender would like to submit a letter directly to ATOC via regular mail or email, please contact the graduate program assistant (atocasst@colorado.edu) for further instructions.
If a recommender informs you that they did not receive a link to the recommendation form, log into your application status page. From there you can update your recommender's email address and resend the notification.
For more information regarding the online admissions application please see the Graduate Admissions website at.
Personal statementsshould be one to two pages in lengthand describe the following:
- Motivation for applying to graduate school;
- Researchexperience or important class projects (which do not need to be in atmospheric or oceanic sciences), if available;
- Otherjob experience or experience that helps us understand your leadership skills orqualifications relevant for graduate school;
- Long-termresearchgoals
- If known, please also describe your ATOC-specificresearchinterests, including faculty members or scientists with whom you would like to work.We recognize that not everyone knows at this point what specific field of interest they will join, but we do want to understand your motivation for studying atmospheric and oceanic sciences.
The personal statement will be evaluated not only for content, but also to gauge writing ability.
The ATOC Admissions Committee reviews application files starting in December as an application file is completed and all application materials have been received. Admission decisions will be communicated as soon as they have been made. Traditionally, the earliest you can expect to hear is the end of February. This is due to the volume of applications. The Admissions Committee wants to look at everyone before choosing the most qualified applicants. The Graduate Program Assistant will NOT relay acceptance or rejection information over the telephone. You will be formally notified by email after decisions have been made.
Typically, the incoming fall class consists of 10-12 students. Therefore, twice that number is admitted. ATOC does not set a limit on the number of domestic vs. international students.
ATOC has TA positions that include working with one of our undergraduate lecture courses (ATOC 1050 and/or ATOC 1060), or our undergraduate weather laboratory (ATOC 1070).
Teaching assistants assigned to a lecture class are required to grade homework assignments, to provide written solutions to assignments, to be familiar with lecture material, to attend (or have attended in previous semesters) lectures, to proctor exams, and to grade all hourly examinations and the final examination. In addition, the lecture T.A. may be required to conduct occasional evening or daytime reviews for examinations.
Teaching assistants assigned to the weather laboratory are required to conduct two (2) two-hour laboratory sections each week, to prepare and deliver brief introductory material relating to each exercise, to see that the equipment is properly set up and cared for, and to grade students’ laboratory notebooks and laboratory-related homework. All TAs using laboratory equipment are expected to attend training sessions in the careful use of the equipment, to follow established procedures, and to report breakage and malfunctions in a timely manner.
All Teaching Assistants are expected to hold office hours each week. All efforts are to be coordinated with the faculty member responsible for the course.
Research Assistants are supported by individual faculty, whose funds generally come from proposals the faculty write to the Federal Governments to support their research. A significant number of Research Assistants write their own proposals to Federal Agencies that sponsor many student fellowships.
Research Assistant normally work on projects that are related to their faculty advisor’s funded research, but which also from the core of the student’s PhD or MS thesis work. It is possible to be partly a TA and partly an RA. Summer support for graduate students is almost entirely as a Research Assistant, sot it is expected that first year students will transition from being a TA to an RA before the first summer of graduate school.
Currently, the academic year 2024-2025 annual salary for ATOC students appointed as teaching assistants or research assistants is no less than $45,614 (pre-comps) to $48,030 (post-comps). This information was last updated on September 1, 2024.
You can find more information regarding the main ATOC research areas on the ATOC web site.
Yes, in fact many of the current ATOC students take courses in other academic departments and work with faculty and researchers in other academic departments (ie PHYS, CHEM, ASEN, etc), in the various research institutes associated with CU (ie LASP, CIRES, INSTAAR, etc), or the research labs located in the Boulder area (NCAR, NOAA, etc).
ATOC is located in a region having the greatest concentration of geophysical researchers in the nation and perhaps the world. The proximity of ATOC to this atmospheric and oceanic science “ground zero” is the foundation of our unique philosophy and vision, which elevates our department to one of worldwide prominence. The guiding principle of ATOC is to be the focal point for atmospheric and oceanic science education and research training in this geographic region of world-renown excellence.
When a student has a research advisor outside of ATOC (e.g., an advisor who is from another department, or a full time employee at NCAR, NOAA, etc.), the student should have a co-advisor who is an ATOC core or research faculty member. It is not required for this co-advisor to be in the same area of research, but it is helpful if this is the case. The ATOC co-advisor will ensure that the student is meeting all ATOC requirements and making good academic progress towards the degree. As one of the first steps towards forming the student’s dissertation committee, before Comps 2, this ATOC co-advisor should be identified. The student should discuss candidates for this role with their outside research advisor. Once a choice is agreed upon by the student and outside research advisor, the student should ask the faculty member if they are willing to serve as co-advisor. As at least two of the five members who serve on a student’s committee must be ATOC core or research faculty, it is logical to assume that the ATOC co-advisor will be one of these two individuals.
Graduate School Rules: Transfer Credits
Transfer credits from accredited institutions are accepted by CU-Boulder only after approval by the department chair/program director and under the special conditions outlined below. Transfer credit is defined as any credit earned at another accredited institution, credits earned on another campus of the CU system, or credits earned as a non-degree student within the CU system. Students seeking a degree from the University of Colorado at Boulder, must complete the majority of their course work while enrolled in a graduate program as a degree seeking student.
The following rules apply to transferring credit to CU-Boulder graduate programs:
1. The maximum amount of work that may be transferred to CU-Boulder depends upon the graduate degree sought (individual departments may have more restrictive limits):
M.A., M.E., M.S., M.Mus., or M.Mus.Ed. = 9 semester hours, M.F.A. = 18 semester hours, Ph.D. = 21 semester hours
2. Work already applied toward a graduate degree received from CU-Boulder or another institution cannot be accepted for transfer toward another graduate degree of the same level at CU-Boulder. In addition, work completed for a doctoral degree may not be applied toward a subsequent master’s degree. Extension work completed at another institution cannot be transferred; and correspondence work, except to make up deficiencies, is not recognized.
3. All courses accepted for transfer must be graduate level courses. A course in which a grade of B- or lower was received will not be accepted for transfer. Transfer course work which is to be applied to a graduate degree at CU-Boulder and was completed more than 5 years prior to being accepted to the program shall be evaluated by the major department as to current relevance and applicability to the degree requirements. At the discretion of the department a student may be asked to validate transfer credits prior to approval.
4. Credit may not be transferred until the student has completed 6 credits of graduate level course work as a degree-seeking student on the CU-Boulder campus with a 3.0 GPA. Transferred credits do not reduce the minimum registration requirement but may reduce the amount of work to be done in formal courses.
5. Excess undergraduate credits from another institution may not be transferred to the CU-Boulder Graduate School.
6. With the exception of students enrolled in the Concurrent Bachelor’s/Master’s degree, seniors at CU-Boulder may transfer a limited amount of graduate level work (up to 9 semester hours) provided such workis completed with a grade of B or above at CUBoulder,comes within the five year course time limit ,has not been applied toward another degree , andis recommended for transfer by the department concerned, and such transfer is approved by the Dean of the Graduate School.
For Current Graduate Students
All ATOC doctoral students must complete one graduate-level mathematics course as part of the academic requirements.Below is the current list of courses that have been approved for this requirement:
ATOC 5860: Objective Data Analysis (strongly encouraged)
ASTR 5540: Mathematical Methods
APPM xxxx: Any course with number at the 4000 level or above
ASEN 5227: Mathematics for Aerospace Engineering Sciences 1
ASEN 5417: Numerical Computations
ASEN 5327: Computational Fluid Dynamics
CVEN 5833: Advanced Data Analysis Techniques
CVEN 6833: Advanced Data Analysis
PHYS 5030: Intermediate Mathematical Physics 1
PHYS 5040: Intermediate Mathematical Physics 2
If students would like to substitute another course (whether at CU Boulder or another academic institution) they must receive approval from the current Graduate Advisor.
Graduate School is an individual experience, and people progress at very different rates. ATOC tries to treat each individual according to their needs. For instance, people enter with different skills. Events occur in people’s lives that can delay their progress. Research projects can be disrupted unexpectedly, such as when a satellite dies, or a project is cancelled. There is little room for variation in the written exam COMPS I, because it is course based. However, even COMPS I has some variation. For instance, we have had people with previous atmospheric or oceanic science experience take COMPS I (and pass) in January of their first year. We have even had students with a Master’s degree be excused from COMPS I, but that is rare. Someone who is working full time and taking classes at a slow rate might take COMPS I on a delayed schedule, with permission from the department chair. The oral exam COMPS II is not based on classes, but rather on research. Research is unpredictable. For example, students in a given entering class might graduate from 3 to 8 years after entry. While some of this variation is due to previous preparation allowing some courses to be transferred in, a lot of it has to do with the thesis research project. COMPS II is also subject to unexpected delays. The majority of students manage to take the exam on schedule. It is to the student’s advantage to complete the exam on time, since it may otherwise delay graduation by diverting the student’s attention from their thesis. Students also cannot proceed to candicacy without passing COMPS II so they are paid less for their RA. However, every year a significant number of students end up delaying the exam, usually by less than 6 months. Such delays can be approved by the Department Chair. Occasionally some unusual set of circumstances results in an even longer delay. Such circumstances need to be considered by several faculty to determine if the delay is related to an inability to perform research or to external events beyond the student’s control. The faculty may conclude that forcing a certain date to be met is not a good use of the student’s time, and the COMPS II should be scheduled at a point that is in the student’s best interest.
The point of COMPS I is to determine if students have mastered the fundamentals. Each year a small number of students will not pass COMPS I. If they are truly unable to master the fundamentals after the second attempt at COMPS I (and an assessment by the faculty that the student’s skills are poor, rather than the student having some difficulty taking exams) they will be asked to leave. COMPS II is designed to start students on a research career, and to check that they have mastered the skills needed in the area of their research (as opposed to the fundamentals, which are covered in COMPS II). It is rare to fail COMPS II. An unsatisfactory exam would usually result in the student being asked to take another class, perform a literature survey, or do additional work. The goal of COMPSII is not to eliminate poor students, but to teach students how to do research, and confirm they are learning the process. COMPS II consists of orally presenting the results of a research project, which is described in greater detail in a written report. The oral presentation is followed by questions from the exam committee (members selected by the student). The questions are meant to probe whether the student is familiar with the literature in the area, and whether they understand the basic techniques and science related to the problem. Generally it is desirable that the research be of a quality that could be published, or lead to something later that could be published. Indeed at this point some students are able to submit their first paper to a journal. Occasionally some students have trouble with COMPS II. A common problem for students working with faculty advisors who are not part of ATOC is that they are not given a well defined problem by their advisor that is uniquely their own, as opposed to a group effort. Students have to demand a problem from their advisors that is well defined, and depends mainly on their own work. If a student is uncertain about the problem, they should form their exam committee early and have the committee assess the problem. Another common issue is that some projects take longer than expected, resulting in a delay in taking the exam. Rarely a student’s project is destroyed by events such as a satellite malfunction. This can result in a very substantial delay. It is clearly not in the student’s interest to spend time working on a dead end project just to take the COMPS II exam. In this case a new question related to the thesis (so that the thesis is not delayed) may be posed, and the COMPS II delayed until that project is developed. Such a decision would need to be approved by the ATOC Chair, in consultation with other faculty.
The five members of the doctoral dissertation committee should adhere to the graduate school rules and ATOC departmental rules. When establishing your committee please keep in mind you will need a minimum of five members. Three of the committee members must be regular CU faculty members, comprised of two ATOC core or research faculty and one faculty member outside the ATOC core faculty. The remaining committee members may be regular faculty members or others (including scientists from other institutions) that have been approved as members of the CU Graduate Faculty (“graduate faculty appointed”). Another way to look at it is…. Member #1 = ATOC core faculty member Member #2 = ATOC core faculty member Member #3 = CU faculty member who is NOT ATOC core faculty Member #4 = ATOC core faculty member, CU faculty member who is NOT ATOC, OR a research colleague who holds a graduate faculty appointment Member #5 = ATOC core faculty member, CU faculty member who is NOT ATOC, OR a research colleague who holds a graduate faculty appointment
Of course, the student’s research advisor will serve on the committee. During the oral comprehensive exam (COMPS II) the student’s research advisor can NOT serve as the chair of the committee. However, the advisor is normally the chair of the committee at the time of dissertation defense.
Students should work in concert with their research advisor to properly select the other four individual members. You will want to select committee members with expertise in related and/or complimentary research areas. This can be an opportunity to make connections to scientists outside your immediate research group which will increase your presence in the field of atmospheric and oceanic sciences and could prove beneficial when seeking employment after graduation.