2024 Best Colleges for Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology

SUMMARY

Studying Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology is a valuable choice and usually a critical first step for pupils seeking to begin a career as a meteorologist, an atmospheric researcher, or a climate scientist. Interestingly, nationally, atmospheric sciences and meteorology is a very rare major being the 251st most popular area of study. In the last year, there were 652 atmospheric sciences and meteorology degrees conferred. In-state tuition for atmospheric sciences and meteorology at private institutions is, on average, 4.2 times more costly than their public counterparts.

With only 79 universities offering this degree you might have a smaller selection of institutions that will have an option for you. If you're hoping to surround yourself with other atmospheric sciences and meteorology students, look at universities in New York which have the most students admitted to atmospheric sciences and meteorology annually. More generally, the best region to study atmospheric sciences and meteorology is in the Southeast region with University of South Alabama, Florida State University, and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University best representing the region. Interestingly, our selection for the top conference to major in atmospheric sciences and meteorology is the Big Ten Conference with University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Ohio State University-Main Campus, and Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus representing the conference. From our comprehensive list on the best colleges, our selection for the best university for atmospheric sciences and meteorology is Cornell University.

The objectively best school might not actually be the 'best' school for every student. There might be a bunch more perspectives to consider when choosing ​university. Features like campus amenities, transportation services, and food would definitely affect one's inclinations of which college to attend. Here at Authority, we weighed the pros and cons for you. If, for example, you want to know which atmospheric sciences and meteorology college boasts the best campus, the answer is University of California-Los Angeles. If, for example, you are mostly interested in which school is home to the finest campus, we have a whole list dedicated to that. We have carefully pored through government databases, professor reviews, student reviews, and more in order to compare each major in an unbiased and informative way. Here you can find our comprehensive list for the universities with the best student life&nbspand, from that list, our selection for the university with the best student life for atmospheric sciences and meteorology is Cornell University. Curious why? Keep scrolling to learn more about Authority's top recommendations. Some of our decisions will probably surprise you.

If expense is a primary factor in your decisions, you might consider avoiding Cornell University. Cornell University&nbspis the most expensive school for atmospheric sciences and meteorology, at least regarding out of state attendance. That being said, we have a list of the most expensive&nbspcolleges that might put the price tag of Cornell University&nbspinto perspective. You may also be interested to know that atmospheric sciences and meteorology is the 292nd most expensive major in the US, with an average bill of $24,700. On a broader scale, the most costly state for atmospheric sciences and meteorology in the country is Indiana with tuition and fees at the primary university, Valparaiso University, of $40,520. To zoom out even further, the most costly region for atmospheric sciences and meteorology is the Far West region which is best demonstrated with University of California-Los Angeles with a cost of $41,196, San Jose State University with a cost of $17,622, and University of Washington-Seattle Campus with a cost of $37,071.

Our cheapest region for atmospheric sciences and meteorology is the New England region which is represented by Western Connecticut State University with a cost of $17,726, Plymouth State University with a cost of $20,760, and Northern Vermont University with a cost of $24,960. On the bright side, the most affordable school for atmospheric sciences and meteorology is Northern Illinois University. Our entire list of the most affordable colleges can be explored here.

In-state students can expect to pay in the neighborhood of $10,800 for a degree in atmospheric sciences and meteorology. That price swells intensely to an average of $26,700 for an out-of-state public-school undergraduate. Our selection for the university with the best value for atmospheric sciences and meteorology: Cornell University. Here you can find our comprehensive list about the universities we see as being the best value&nbspoverall. With that said, this list is based on out-of-state tuition costs. The value proposition changes when in-state tuition costs are considered, but we do not know in which states any one student has residency.

Earnings for atmospheric sciences and meteorology majors can vary, but two years after leaving college students will regularly earn around $57,100. While there is much variation in earnings potential; highest paid earners can make up to $105,500. Even straight out of school, the minimum earning opportunities within the atmospheric sciences and meteorology space make $31,000, which is an alright wage. The highest earning grads for atmospheric sciences and meteorology graduated from SUNY Maritime College&nbspand if you want to find the schools with all of the highest earning graduates, Authority has that too.

The prevailing diversity of atmospheric sciences and meteorology sits subpar, ranking in only the 25th percentile of majors nationally. The university with the most composite diversity for atmospheric sciences and meteorology is Cornell University&nbspand here you can find our comprehensive list for the colleges which have the most diversity. The overall financial diversity of the Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology major only ranks within the 63rd percentile compared to all other majors. Racial diversity is even lower in the 22nd percentile. White undergraduates compose the largest proportion at 74% of students majoring in atmospheric sciences and meteorology. Additionally, 58% of students pursuing an atmospheric sciences and meteorology major are men.

The median score for atmospheric sciences and meteorology professors is 4 stars, a score which is exactly the median for all majors; this is a fine. If you are curious about the most popular atmospheric sciences and meteorology instructor in the nation, look no further than Keith Arnesen from Rutgers University-New Brunswick. It may come as a surprise, but the top ranked atmospheric sciences and meteorology professors according to students are found at San Jose State University. As we incorporate data beyond just rankings it becomes clear that the school possessing comprehensively the best instructors for atmospheric sciences and meteorology is Cornell University. One can find an explanation of our ever evolving ranking methodology for the best overall professors here, along with some of the top instructors in the U.S.

Finally, the most difficult college to get into for atmospheric sciences and meteorology is Cornell University. While we are unsure why you would be interested, we have a detailed list for the hardest colleges to get into. But, we hope you believe that approaching the higher education world with a perspective only informed by superlatives could cause problems. We hope you read our other pages on different schools and peruse some of Authority's background articles on important details to think about as your university search develops.