Should I study climate science?

Climate change and natural climate variations are two of the most important issues facing Australia and the world in the 21st century. The need for students who understand environmentally relevant physical sciences has never been greater. Demand is currently high for graduates of programs in this area worldwide. Most of us here at the CCRC study quantitatively the atmosphere, ocean and land surface or how they work together. This can have applications not only to climate but to fisheries, weather forecasting, water resource management and many others.

Recent PhD graduates from the CCRC have gone on to research positions at CSIRO and in several overseas research institutions. A Masters’ or Honours degree can be a stepping-stone to the PhD, or a great asset to anyone seeking non-research employment in areas that will be affected by environmental issues and changes, where good scientific training and rigorous decision-making are highly regarded.

Can I do it?

Many different scientific disciplines study aspects of climate using many methods. Some projects are more hard-core (say, applying fluid dynamical theory to the calculation of oceanic and atmospheric flows) while others are centered on analysis of field measurements with a relatively simple theory component. All projects benefit from skills in lateral and critical thinking, synthesis, and communication. Students are expected to master the fundamentals behind their project, so as to ensure their research is solid and to provide a foundation for their career to flourish over time.

While the background needed varies substantially depending on the specific area, certain areas of undergraduate training are particularly useful:

Physics (mechanics, waves, basic thermodynamics)
Maths (multivariate calculus, linear algebra, basic statistics, differential equations)
Chemistry, biology (basic or with environmental applications)
Environmental Sciences (meteorology, oceanography, or hydrology courses)

Normally a student would be in good shape if they had covered about half of this; projects are also available that bridge more into social sciences and climate impacts. Stronger background in a particular area (e.g., quantum or statistical mechanics, advanced data analysis, organic chemistry, quantitative ecology, geophysical fluid dynamics, etc.) can set a student apart and increase their chance of a research breakthrough.

Applicants who do a PhD normally should show previous research experience and/or hold an honours or Masters’ level degree, though these are not absolute requirements. PhD students in Australia are expected to finish in under four years and normally do little if any coursework.

I’m interested. What do I do next?

First, you should have a look through our staff and research pages to get a better idea of which experts here you might want to work with, and contact them for project ideas. For details about different courses please go to the CCRC postgraduate and undergraduate study pages.

Latest news

Chinese Academy of Sciences visits CCRC
07 May 2012
A delegation from the Key Laboratory of Regional Climate-Environment Research For Temperate East Asia (RCE-TEA), Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Science recently visited the CCRC/CoECSS.

Willem's mystery interval study awarded CCRC prize
27 April 2012
Willem Huiskamp’s Honours research project on the “Mystery Interval” during the last deglaciation has won the 2011 Silicon Graphics Prize for Climate Research Using High Performance Computing.

Detailed study reveals workings of major oceanic pathway
16 April 2012
Researchers from the UNSW Climate Change Research Centre (CCRC) and CSIRO have used a state-of-the-art ocean model to conduct the first detailed investigation of oceanic water flow between the Pacific and Indian Oceans via the south of Australia.

More news...

The Copenhagen Diagnosis

On 25th November 2009 members of The Climate Change Research Centre, as part of a group of 26 international climate scientists, were part of a major international release of a new report synthesizing the latest climate research to emerge since the last IPCC Assessment Report of 2007.

The Big Engine 2: oceans and weather

Federation Fellow and 2008 Eureka Prize winner, Professor Matthew England of CCRC, on the latest research into the role oceans play on weather.

The Science of Climate Change: Questions and Answers

Co-authored by Professor Steven Sherwood and Professor Matt England of CCRC, this new Academy of Science report aims to summarise and clarify the current understanding of the science of climate change for non-specialist readers.

The Big Engine 1: oceans and weather

Federation Fellow and 2008 Eureka Prize winner, Professor Matthew England of CCRC, on the latest research into the role oceans play on weather.

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