Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering Minor

Climate & Space is offering a new minor for undergraduate students in the College of Engineering and undergraduates in other UM Schools and Colleges that have students pursuing degrees in the broader Earth and Space Sciences (LS&A, SNRE, Public Policy, Public Health, Ross).

The primary goal of the Climate & Space Minor is to provide exposure to research opportunities in atmospheric, climate and space science and engineering for students who wish to work in the geoscience or space industry but are not majoring in Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering. The secondary goal is to increase awareness of the Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering and the educational and research opportunities within Climate & Space within the College of Engineering as a whole.

The fields of climate, space sciences and engineering require scientists and engineers from a wide range of disciplines, including physics, geosciences, aerospace, mechanical, electrical, computer, civil and environmental engineering etc., in addition to meteorologists, climate scientists, space scientists and space engineers. The breadth required of understanding the coupled Earth and Space system and the tools (computer simulations, instruments and spacecraft) used requires graduates with knowledge of the Earth and Space system in order to be better prepared to succeed.

Contact our Student Services Office for more information about the program: clasp–um@umich.edu

Eligibility

To be eligible to declare the minor, students must have:

• Registered no later than the last day to add courses for the semester in which they complete the last courses for the minor
• Submitted his or her program of study for the minor to the Climate & Space undergraduate advisor
• Attained a minimum GPA of 2.0 in the designated courses
• Complete the Climate & Space Minor as part of a degree program

Requirements

Prerequisite coursework (18 credits):

• MATH 115 (4)
• MATH 116 (4)
• PHYSICS 140/141 (5)
• PHYSICS 240/241 (5)

Required Coursework (6 credits)

• One of the following four courses:
  SPACE 101 (Introduction to Rocket Science – 3 credits)
  CLIMATE 102 (Extreme Weather – 3 credits)
  SPACE 103 (Introduction to Space Weather – 3 credits)
  CLIMATE 105 (Our Changing Climate – 3 credits)
• CLIMATE 320/SPACE 320 (Earth and Space System Evolution, 3 credits)

Core Focus Courses (minimum 9 credits)

At least three courses from one of the following tracks:

• Meteorology
• Climate Science and Impacts Engineering
• Space Science
• Space Engineering

Meteorology Core

CLIMATE 321 Earth and Space System Dynamics 3
CLIMATE 350 Atmospheric Thermodynamics 3
CLIMATE 380 Introduction to Radiative Transfer 3
CLIMATE 414 Weather Systems* 3
CLIMATE 422 Boundary Layer Meteorology* 4
CLIMATE 440 Meteorology Analysis Lab* 4
CLIMATE 462 Instrumentation 4
CLIMATE 411 Cloud and Precipitation 3
CLIMATE 463 Air Pollution Meteorology 3

Climate Science and Impacts Engineering Core

CLIMATE 321 Earth and Space System Dynamics 3
CLIMATE 350 Atmospheric Thermodynamics 3
CLIMATE 380 Introduction to Radiative Transfer 3
CLIMATE 401 Geophysical Fluid Dynamics 3
CLIMATE 451 Atmospheric Dynamics* 4
CLIMATE 467 Biogeochemical Cycles 3
CLIMATE 466 Carbon Climate Interactions 3
CLIMATE 473 Climate Physics 3
CLIMATE 474 Ice Sheets, Glaciers and Climate Change 3
CLIMATE 480 Climate Change: The Move to Action 3

Space Science Core

SPACE 370 Solar-Terrestrial Relations 4
SPACE 478 Space Environment 4
SPACE 477 Space Weather Modeling 4
SPACE 495 Upper Atmosphere and Ionosphere 4
SPACE 462 Instrumentation 4

Space Engineering Core

SPACE 478 Space Environment 4
SPACE 405 Engineering Astrophysics 4
SPACE 462 Instrumentation 4
SPACE 581 Space Policy 3

* These courses require a prerequisite within Climate & Space.