Ocean, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences Graduate Program

The Ocean, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences graduate program at Oregon State University offers Master's and Ph.D. degrees with concentrations in Atmospheric Sciences. The program is currently seeking students with an undergraduate degree in physics, mathematics, engineering, chemistry, atmospheric science, or related fields with strength in mathematics. Applicants should have completed one year of physics with calculus, one year of chemistry, and courses in vector calculus and differential equations. Experience with programming and probability/statistics are also desirable.  Most students accepted for study receive either Graduate Research Assistantships (GRA) or Graduate Teaching Assistantships (GTA) covering tuition and living expenses.

The graduate Atmospheric Sciences course curriculum includes the Ocean, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences core courses, which provide a broad overview of the Earth system.  All Atmospheric Sciences students take courses on atmospheric thermodynamics, radiation, and dynamics.  Electives include courses on weather, climate, modeling, and air-sea interaction.  Many students also take courses in physical oceanography, paleoclimate, remote sensing, or geophysical data analysis.

In geological oceanography (marine geology), a broad range of geological processes that influence the ocean is studied. Fields of interest include plate tectonics and the structure of the ocean basins, igneous petrology and geochemistry, paleoceanography and paleoclimatology, and coastal sedimentary processes.

Whether you want to do research in marine or continental regimes, whether you want to conduct experimental, applied, or theoretical geophysics, you’ll find opportunities for (literally!) ground-breaking graduate research here. CEOAS also offers a geology degree program; see this course plan sheet for differences between the OEAS Geophysics concentration and Geology degree.

The College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences offers both Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in Ocean, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences with a concentration on Ocean Ecology and Biogeochemistry. The course curriculum is closely integrated with the wide range of Earth science research conducted by OSU faculty. During the first year, students complete breadth courses in solid Earth, fluid Earth, and biogeochemical Earth, followed by two complementary upper-level courses: ocean ecological dynamics and ocean biogeochemical dynamics. During subsequent years, students can choose from courses on a wide range of topics including, benthic biogeochemistry, the marine carbon cycle, physical/biological interactions and coastal and estuarine oceanography. Technique-oriented courses are also offered on topics including experimental methods in physical oceanography, satellite remote sensing, data analysis, numerical modeling, and data assimilation.

The College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences offers both Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in Ocean, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences with a concentration on Physical Oceanography. During the first year, students take a course on descriptive physical oceanography and a comprehensive 3-quarter course sequence on geophysical fluid dynamics. First-year students may also take interdisciplinary courses in other oceanographic disciplines, as well as courses offered in the Mathematics Department at OSU. During subsequent years, students can choose from courses on a wide range of physical oceanography topics, including turbulence, geophysical waves, stability of geophysical fluid flows, and coastal and estuarine oceanography. Technique-oriented courses are also offered on topics including experimental methods in physical oceanography, satellite remote sensing, data analysis, numerical modeling, and data assimilation.