Brad_Burton's Blog

As I mentioned in my last blog, I have known for a long time that I want a professional career in meteorology. Growing up through my childhood and teenage years, while most kids my age were not even thinking about colleges and careers, I was searching and narrowing down possible college choices. However, it wasn’t until my senior year in high school, while visiting another college (NC State) to find out about their program, that I discovered that Mississippi State offers an excellent major in Broadcast Meteorology. I did some research, went for a visit, and instantly fell in love with it… even more so than NC State. (Sorry Van & Emily).

As I started my first year there, taking most of my general college courses, I still did not know that much about the concentration courses of the program that I would get into during my junior/senior years. Now, though, I’m to that point and have a better understanding of the structure of the classes and programs. I’ve always found it interesting to know the background and education behind many professions, and because of that I’ve decided to share with you the course load and class descriptions of what it takes to get a degree in Broadcast Meteorology from Mississippi State Univ. Who knows, maybe this will interest and/or inspire some of you. For others, I hope this will finally prove to you that we’ve moved past the era of licking our index fingers and sticking them in the air (although we still count the stripes on our wooly-worms, haha).

A total of 122 hours are required for the degree, which are broken up into University Core Courses and Concentration Courses.


University Core Requirements:

- Math (6 hours)
- Calculus I (3) and Calculus II (3).
- English (6 hours)
- English Composition I (3) and English Composition II (3).
- Foreign Language (6 hours)
- Levels I (3) and II (3) of any foreign language.
- Natural Science (9 hours)
- General Chemistry I (3), General Physics I (w/ lab) (3), and General Physics II (w/ lab) (3).
- Humanities (6 hours)
- A literature (3) and a history (3) elective.
- Fine Arts (3 hours)
- Intro to Theater (3).
- Social Sciences (6 hours)
- World Geography (3) and Mass Media (3).
- Geosciences Core Classes
- Public Speaking (3) and Physical Geography (w/ lab) (4).


Concentration Requirements:

- Intro to Meteorology (3) - The basic concepts of Earth’s atmosphere, geography, and the interaction of weather with each.
- Weather Analysis I (2 each) -Analyzing meteorological data; as well as locating and interpreting sources of data and beginner forecasting.
- Weather Forecasting I, II (2 each) - Methods of forecasting, forecasting for specific meteorological events.
- Applied Climatology (3) - Study of the interaction of climate and human life.
- Physical Meteorology (3) - The physics of Earth’s atmosphere and the affects of physics on meteorological processes.
- Statistical Climatology (3) - Study of the statistical interpretation of meteorological data/events.
- Synoptic Meteorology (3) - Study of meteorological events/processes on the synoptic scale.
- Satellite & Radar Meteorology (3) - Interpreting data from satellites and radar; as well as study of the processes by which they function.
- Natural Hazards (3) - Study of direct threats from Earth’s climate and atmosphere to plants, animals, and humans.
- Dynamic Meteorology I (3) - Study of dynamic atmospheric motion, especially dealing with thermodynamics.
- Mesoscale Meteorology (3) - Study of meteorological events/processes on the meso scale.
- Water Resources (3) - Exploration of Earth’s sources and usage of water.
- Practicum in Broadcast Meteorology I, II, III, IV (each w/
lab) (2 each) - Lecture on the business of broadcast meteorology, and introduction to weather graphics systems. Labs are recorded, on-screen performance practice of weather shows.
- Voice and Articulation (3)
- Television Production (3)
- Advanced Television Production (3)
- News Writing for Electronic Media (3)
- Broadcast Performance (3)

And any TWO of the following:

- Conservation of Natural Resources (3)
- Geography of North America (3)
- Planetary Geology (3)
- Environmental Geology (3)
- Intro to Oceanography (3)
- Coastal Environments (3)


All this information, as well as a semester-by-semester course layout, can be found on Mississippi State Univ.’s Geosciences Dept. website.

And if you have any questions, leave comments!