Atmospheric Sciences, MS [effective Spring 2026]

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Plan A: Thesis Option Requirements

Graduation with a master’s degree requires completion of an acceptable thesis and a successful defense of the thesis in an oral examination.

A total of 30 official course credit hours must also be earned consisting of:

At least 18 credits of regular course work (including the required courses ATMO 600 , ATMO 610 , ATMO 620 , but excluding non-regular course work such as ATMO 699 , ATMO 700 , and ATMO 765 ), with a minimum of 12 credits in courses numbered 600 and above.
1 credit of ATMO 765
6 credits of ATMO 700 - Thesis Research and
5 more credits either from regular courses or ATMO 699

Our requirements include ATMO 600 , ATMO 610 , ATMO 620 . Students must obtain a grade of B- or higher for each of the core courses. Incoming students who have taken a synoptic meteorology course elsewhere with a grade of B- or higher will be exempt from taking ATMO 412 or ATMO 416 in the ATMO department as determined by the ATMO department graduate chair.

Incoming students without synoptic meteorology course work will need to take a synoptic meteorology class and lab equivalent, either ATMO 412 or ATMO 416 , and obtain a grade B- or higher. In these cases, the synoptic meteorology credits will be counted towards the students’ MS degree and can be taken at any point during the MS studies.

Students must obtain a minimum of a combined GPA of 3.0 or higher for the courses ATMO 600 , ATMO 610 , ATMO 620 , and ATMO 412 or ATMO 416 if taken at UH Mānoa. Students must also maintain a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0 for all courses in the MS program.

Plan B: Non-Thesis Option Requirements

Graduation requirements for a master’s degree Plan B emphasize a greater number of graduate level courses, but no thesis.

A total of 30 official ATMO course credit hours must be earned, including the following:

At least 18 credits of regular course work (including the required courses ATMO 600 , ATMO 610 , ATMO 620 , but excluding non-regular course work such as ATMO 699 , ATMO 700 , and ATMO 765 ), in courses numbered 600 and above.
1 credit of ATMO 765
9 additional credits of regular ATMO course work in 400-level undergraduate courses and graduate courses (600- and 700-level). Regarding undergraduate courses, we expect that students without a U.S. major in atmospheric sciences may want to take the advanced dynamics course (ATMO 402 ) and one or both of the forecasting courses (ATMO 412 , ATMO 416 ).
2 credits of ATMO 699 - Directed Research . These 2 credits with a written term paper, along with ATMO 765 - Seminar in Meteorology with an oral presentation, are the capstone project for the Plan B program.
Our requirements include ATMO 600 , ATMO 610 , ATMO 620 . Students must obtain a grade of B- or higher for each of these core courses. Incoming students who have taken a synoptic meteorology course elsewhere with a grade of B- or higher will be exempt from taking ATMO 412 or ATMO 416 in the ATMO department as determined by the ATMO department graduate chair. Incoming students without synoptic meteorology course work will need to take a synoptic meteorology class and lab equivalent, either ATMO 412 or ATMO 416 , and obtain a grade B- or higher. In these cases, the synoptic meteorology credits will be counted towards the students’ MS degree. Students must obtain a minimum of a combined GPA of 3.0 or higher for the courses ATMO 600 , ATMO 610 , ATMO 620 , and ATMO 412 or ATMO 416 if taken at UH Mānoa.

Notes:

MS Plan B candidates must be enrolled during the term in which they complete the requirements for the degree; regular course work or ATMO 699 may be used to meet this requirement. A student can take up to 9 credits of ATMO 699 , including the two required ATMO 699 credits that are part of the MS Plan B capstone project.