Prospective MSc Students

On this site you find general information about the admission and your studies at IAC. For information about the curricula of the two offered master programs, please visit this page.

Have you ever been staring at the clouds, wondering where all that water comes from? Have you ever been involved in a discussion on climate change, wishing you had a solid scientific understanding of the physical background? Would you like to know how a computer model can predict tomorrow’s weather?

We look for you, fascinated by weather phenomena and aiming to understand the atmosphere and climate system. You want to move from reading newspaper articles on climate change and looking at fascinating pictures of tornadoes and hurricanes to investigating and understanding them to become an expert. You would like to gain a quantitative understanding of climate processes and their interactions – ranging from the molecular to the global scale and from short-lived phenomena to changes over millions of years, and you are interested in the broader view of how climate change links to society and policy. You have a Bachelor’s degree in science and a solid scientific background in mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology.

Interested? Consider applying for the MSc in Atmospheric and Climate Science or the MSc in Environmental Science with Major in Atmosphere and Climate.

We offer a 3-semester (MSc in Atmospheric and Climate Science) and a 4-semester (MSc in Environmental Science, Major Atmosphere and Climate) MSc program bringing together a group of outstanding students with world leading scientists in the field of atmospheric and climate science. You will be part of an international group of students with diverse backgrounds but sharing a common passion for atmospheric and climate science.

You will gain a quantitative understanding of atmospheric dynamics, climate processes and feedbacks, biogeochemical cycles and paleoclimatology. You will receive in-depth training in numerical modelling of weather and climate, have the opportunity to work on in the atmospheric chemistry and physics lab, participate in field courses and discuss the current weather in a weekly weather discussion.

We educate outstanding young scientists for careers in academia, public administration and the private sector. The range of positions of our graduates is very diverse, and ranges from experts in the emerging field of renewable energy, to risk modeling in the insurance business, to scientists. Graduates of our MSc program hold leading positions in companies such as energy providers, climate and weather services, in the reinsurance and financial sector, or in media, business and policy consulting. Others work as statisticians, programmers, consultants, project managers or teachers in a wide variety of positions in the private sector, public administration and academia. Finally, many of our graduates successfully pursue an academic career and rank among the world-leading scientists in atmospheric and climate science.

Your lecturers, teachers and supervisors rank among the world-leading scientists in atmospheric and climate research, lead international research programs and author assessment reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Four professors teaching in the program are portrayed below. Find a list of all members of the Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science here and more information on our research groups here.

Heini Wernli

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Professor for Atmospheric Dynamics
“In our lecture courses students learn about the variability of weather systems, their prediction with numerical models and the physical fundamentals that govern their dynamics.”

Sonia Seneviratne

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Professor for Land-Climate Dynamics
“Our students learn about the latest advancements in climate research, are able to critically assess climate and weather science, becoming experts in a quickly developing field.”

Reto Knutti

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Professor for Climate Physics

“Climate change is not solved by just predicting how much rain will fall in the future. In our programme you also get exposed to quantification of climate risks, how science feeds into UN IPCC reports, and into decisions on mitigation and adaptation.”

Niki Gruber

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Professor for Environmental Physics

“The global carbon cycle and climate are closely linked to each other. In this program, you will learn about how processes in the ocean and land control the atmospheric CO2 and thus climate, and in turn, how climate affects these two reservoirs.”

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Workshop discussion: Between sky and computing centre; Guest: Reto Knutti, Professor of Climate Physics ETH Zurich Institute for Atmospheric and Climate Science ETH Zurich

Contact

Dr. Hanna Joos
  • CHN M 18
  • +41 44 632 93 65

Institut für Atmosphäre und Klima
Universitätstrasse 16
8092 Zürich
Switzerland

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