Atmospheric Science
The interdisciplinary minor in Atmospheric Science consists of 18-19 semester hours and prepares students for graduate study and professional careers in meteorology, climate science, atmospheric chemistry and air quality.
Job opportunities and career options in the atmospheric sciences are very diverse, including:
broadcast meteorology
renewable energy siting and forecasting
seasonal climate forecasting
climate modeling
air quality forecasting and monitoring
instrumentation specialist
While pursuing a minor in atmospheric science, several research opportunities exist, including:
Regional weather modeling
Air pollution effects on plants
Aerosol monitoring and chemical analysis
Synoptic climatology, orographic precipitation, snow and ice, and tropical climate-glacier interactions
Ecosystems and hydrologic cycles
Image processing, wavelets, parallel and distributed computing and stochastic simulations
Examples of Student Research
AppalAir students assist faculty working to better understand air pollution formation and transport, the relationship of pollution and natural aerosol sources to a changing climate, and their impacts on regional ecosystems, weather and climate in the Southern Appalachian Mountains - appalair.appstate.edu.
During physics research, students worked with computer models to better understand the complex atmospheric dynamics in the Southern Appalachians - physics.appstate.edu/research/applied-fluids-laboratory.
Course Information
For course information, see the 2026-27 Undergraduate Bulletin.
Faculty Contact
Dr. Chris Thaxton
Department of Physics & Astronomy
Office: Garwood 223
Email: thaxtoncs@appstate.edu
Phone: (828) 262-6836