Major: Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences B.S.
The AOS major is exciting, timely, and relevant. Contact an advisor for more information!
Preparation for the Major
- 1 of two Chemistry Sequences:
- Chemistry and Biochemistry sequence for physical scientists: 20A and 20B*
- Chemistry and Biochemistry sequence for life scientists: 14A and 14B
- 1 of two Calculus Sequences:
- Calculus sequence for physical scientists and engineers: Math 31A, 31B, 32A, 32B, 33A, and 33B*
- Calculus sequence for life scientists: Math 3A, 3B, 3C
- 1 of four Physics Sequences:
- Engineering Physics sequence lectures: 1A, 1B, 1C
- Honors Physics sequence lectures: 1AH, 1BH, 1CH
- Life Science Physics sequence lectures: 5A, 5B, 5C
- AOS M71(strongly preferred) or Program in Computing 10A
- AOS 51
- AOS 90
* Students interested in pursuing graduate studies in atmospheric and oceanic sciences or obtaining employment with the National Weather Service or other governmental agencies are strongly urged to select the Mathematics 31A through 33B sequence and the Physics 1 sequence.
For petition requests relating to prerequisite and/or major requirements, such as substituting AOS 51 and 90 for similar upper division classes, please consult your departmental advisor
Tracks within the major These are unofficial recommendations for which courses to select based on your interests. AOS majors are not required to choose or follow a track – these documents are purely designed to provide guidance on selection of (mostly UD) courses.
We recommend that students that are primarily interested in climate and climate change pursue the climate change major.
Transfer Students
Transfer applicants to the Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Environmental Sciences major with 90 or more units must complete as many of the following introductory courses as possible prior to admission to UCLA: one year of calculus, one year of calculus-based physics with laboratory, one general chemistry course with laboratory for majors, and one Matlab, Python, or C++ programming course.
Refer to the UCLA Transfer Admission Guide for up-to-date information regarding transfer selection for admission.
The Major
- Four courses from Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences (AOS) 101, 112, 103, 104, M105, 107 and 112
- Three additional upper division AOS courses selected in consultation with the undergraduate advisor.
- Two upper division courses from a list of Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics and Statistics courses selected in consultation with the undergraduate advisor.
Chemistry and Biochemistry
Examples of upper division Chemistry courses that may be particularly useful are listed below; other upper division Chemistry courses are eligible by petition.
Chem 103. Environmental Chemistry
Chem 110A. Physical Chemistry: Chemical Thermodynamics
Chem 110B. Physical Chemistry: Introduction to Statistical Mechanics and Kinetics
Chem 113A. Physical Chemistry: Introduction to Quantum Mechanics
Chem C113B. Physical Chemistry: Introduction to Molecular Spectroscopy
Chem 114: Physical Chemistry Lab
Chem 114/114H Physical Chemistry Laboratory (Honors)
Chem 125. Computers in Chemistry
Chem 113A: Intro Quantum Mechanics
Chem 184. Chemical Instrumentation
Physics
Examples of upper division Physics courses that may be particularly useful are listed below; other upper division Chemistry courses are eligible by petition.
PHYSICS 110A. Electricity and Magnetism
PHYSICS 110B. Electricity and Magnetism
PHYSICS 112. Thermodynamics.
PHYSICS 114. Mechanics of Wave Motion and Sound
PHYSICS 117. Electronics for Physics Measurement
PHYSICS 118. Electronics for Physical Measurements
PHYSICS 131. Mathematical Methods of Physics
PHYSICS 132. Mathematical Methods of Physics
PHYSICS 180N. Computational Physics and Astronomy Laboratory
Mathematics
Examples of upper division Mathematics courses that may be particularly useful are listed below; other upper division Chemistry courses are eligible by petition except Math 105A- 105C.
MATH 115A/AH-115B. Linear Algebra
MATH 115B. Linear Algebra
MATH 133. Introduction to Fourier Analysis
MATH 134. Linear and Nonlinear Systems of Differential Equations
MATH 135. Ordinary Differential Equations.
MATH 136. Partial Differential Equations
MATH 142. Mathematical Modeling
MATH 146. Methods of Applied Mathematics
MATH 151A. Applied Numerical Methods
MATH 151B. Applied Numerical Methods
MATH 156. Machine Learning
MATH 170A. Probability Theory I
MATH 170B. Probability Theory II
MATH 171. Stochastic Processes
Statistics
Examples of upper division Statistics courses that may be particularly useful are listed below; other upper division Chemistry courses are eligible by petition.
STATS 100A. Introduction to Probability
STATS 100B. Introduction to Mathematical Statistics
STATS 100C. Linear Models
STATS 101A. Introduction to Data Analysis and Regression
STATS 101B. Introduction to Design and Analysis of Experiment
STATS 101C. Introduction to Statistical Models and Data Mining
STATS 102A. Introduction to Computational Statistics with R
STATS 102C. Introduction to Monte Carlo Methods
STATS 170. Introduction to Time-Series Analysis
STATS M171. Introduction to Spatial Statistics
STATS C173. Applied Geostatistics
STATS C180. Introduction to Bayesian Statistics
Other science departments
The courses listed below by department have been approved by the undergraduate advisors for use by petition. This list may be revised.
Computer Science
COM SCI 111. Operating Systems Principles
COM SCI 112. Modeling Uncertainty in Information Systems
COM SCI 118. Computer Network Fundamentals
COM SCI 130. Software Engineering
COM SCI C137A. Prototyping Programming Languages
COM SCI 143. Database Systems
COM SCI 170A. Mathematical Modeling and Methods for Computer Science
COM SCI 180. Introduction to Algorithms and Complexity
Civil and Environmental Engineering
C&EE 103 Applied Numerical Computing and Modeling in Civil and Envirnmental Engineering
C&EE 110 Introduction to Probability and Statistics for Engineers
Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
E&EB 109 Introduction to Marine Sciences
E&EB 152 World Vegetation Ecology and Ecophysiology
E&EB C173 Earth Process and Evolutionary History
Environmental Health Sciences
ENV HLT C125. Atmospheric Transport and Transformations of Airborne Chemicals
ENV HLT C152D. Properties and Measurement of Airborne Particles
Environment
ENVIRON M131. Human Impact on Biophysical Environment (formerly ENVIRON M109)
ENVIRON M103. Soil and Water Conservation (formerly ENVIRON M114)
ENVIRON 157 Energy, Environment, and Development
Earth & Planetary Space Sciences
ESS/EPSS 150 Remote Sensing for Earth Sciences
ESS/EPSS 152 Physics of Earth
ESS/EPSS 153 Oceans and Atmospheres
Geography
GEOG 116. Climatology (formerly GEOG 104)
GEOG 117. Tropical Climatology (formerly GEOG 102)
GEOG M126. Environmental Change (formerly GEOG M131)
GEOG 181A. Intermediate Geographic Information Systems (formerly GEOG 168)
GEOG 182A. Introduction to Remote Sensing (formerly GEOG 169)
Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering
MECH & AE 103. Elementary Fluid Mechanics
*** Courses taken to fulfill requirements must be taken for letter grades.***
*Any course taken to fulfill major requirements for the AOS major during Spring 2020, Summer 2020, and Fall 2020 can be taken for a letter grade or as Passed/Not Passed. Due to current circumstances related to COVID-19, we hope this temporary change in policy will allow each of our students to choose a grade basis that is most suitable to them.
This temporary change of policy will only apply to Spring 2020, Summer 2020, and Fall 2020. It will not apply to any previous or future terms.
For the official requirements, please visit the UCLA Registrar website.
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