master in Environmental Meteorology

Overview

This programme at the interface between meteorology and the environment is jointly offered by the University of Trento and the University of Innsbruck in a diverse international cohort and taught in English. The University of Trento administers the programme and its website  has information about application, deadlines, dates and so on.

The programme is geared towards students with a bachelor in natural sciences and engineering with a minimum of 24 ECTS credits in mathematics, 24 in physics and 6 in chemistry. Admission procedure is a two-step process: Application during two periods in spring and summer, respectively. Dates are published at the University of Trento  with subsequent check of meeting formal requirements. Eligible candidates will then be interviewed by a selection committee. No more than 30 students will be admitted per academic year. The first year of the program takes place in Trento, the third semester in Innsbruck and the writing of the final thesis during the last semester either in Trento or Innsbruck depending on the chosen topic. You will get to live in two different cities and countries and be exposed to three different languages!

Links

Course Catalogue

Curriculum - University of Innsbruck

Courses, thesis and final exam

Course work

During your semester in Innsbruck you have to take the mandatory courses Atmospheric Radiation and Remote Sensing; Atmospheric Chemistry and Biochemistry (VU and PS); Dynamical and Synoptic Meteorology; Reading, Writing and Presenting Scientific Contents. You can choose electives from the courses offered in the master's Atmospheric Science in that semester. The course numbers all start with 7077. Some of these courses are offered only every other year (e.g. avalanches; aviation meteorology). You can only take the courses Advanced Weather Forecasting and Weather Briefing in Cold Season if you have already substantial prior experience in weather forecasting.

 Once you have completed all your courses at Innsbruck, go to the  "Forms" section of the university's study homepage and fill out theexamination records form containing all your courses and take it to the Prüfungsreferat located at Innrain 52d or send it via  email to pruefungsreferat@uibk.ac.at, specifying your study program and "Prüfungsprotokoll" in the subject field.

Doing the master's thesis at Innsbruck

If you want to do your thesis in Innsbruck already talk to professors in the fields of your interest during the winter term to select a topic, which they pose or you may suggest. Once you have selected the topic, fill out the registration form, have your advisor sign it and take it to the examination office ("Prüfungsreferat") or send it  via  email to pruefungsreferat@uibk.ac.at, specifying your study program and "Anmeldung masterarbeit" in the subject field.

While the layout of the thesis is not prescribed we provide a LaTeX template, which you can see here rendered as html.

When your advisor has approved the thesis, you need to electronically submit your thesis following the university procedures

Final exam

Please consult this legal document for all details  . The following is a practical summary:

Arrange the date for the final exam to defend your thesis with three professors: one acting as chair of the examination committee, your advisor and a third professor. One of them should be from the University of Trento. The only constraint for the selection of the date is that it has to be at least 3 weeks after your thesis has been graded. This time cannot be shortened.

Sign up for the next final exam session at Trento after your defense date in Innsbruck. This is a formal requirement. You do not have to redo your defense in Trento.

The final exam consists of a 30 minute presentation of your thesis geared towards an audience at the level of second-year master's students, which you have to prepare on your own without assistance from your advisor. It is followed by questions from the audience and finally an exam from your examination committee about your thesis and its wider thematic context. The examination committee will give a grade for the defense (worth 2.5 ECTS points) in the Austrian grading system and convert it to the grading system at Trento. The grade will depend on the quality of the presentation (layout, speech, content), answers to questions from the audience and answers to the questions from the examination committee. The chair of the committee will fill out the grade conversion table and send it to mastermeteo@unitn.it

Contact

Study advisor (Prof. Dr. Georg MAYR)

Housing