Virginia Tech To Add A Meteorology Degree Program Next Year

[SacrydDreamz]

Many of you know that I transferred from Virginia Tech to NC State in pursuit of a meteorology degree, paying many more thousands of dollars in tuition and fees in the process... but now Virginia residents will finally be able to pursue their goal of becoming a meteorologist without having to go elsewhere to do so. This is bittersweet for me, but I've long thought that Blacksburg should have a meteorology program given its' strength in the sciences and proximity to the NWS office just off campus (literally walking distance).

Of course the only downside is that there not only is an oversaturation of those in the field, but now there is another school offering a degree program in the field. In the end, the field is evolving, and with Tech appearing set to focus more on the geospatial aspects of the field then perhaps this program can set itself apart a bit. Never mind that students who would have pursued the field anyhow can now do so more cheaply.

http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2011/06/060811-cnre-meteorologydegree.html

[WhiteoutWX]

Ugh if only they had started a few years sooner I would have saved tens of thousands of dollars in out of state tuition

Good to know VA will finally have a school with a program though.

[Windspeed]

I have heard great things about Virginia Tech's Department of Natural Resources and Environment. They are among the top schools for remote sensing and geospatial studies in geography, geology and environmental studies. They are well-funded for the technological needs of their programs and I am a little surprised it took them this long to approve the degree. Virginia Tech houses one of the largest data centers that also includes one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world. There is a lot of modeling and scaling potential there. Several professors have been researching and teaching in atmospheric science and climatology already. I imagine they could eventually approve a graduate degree as well.

[baroclinic_instability]

Many of you know that I transferred from Virginia Tech to NC State in pursuit of a meteorology degree, paying many more thousands of dollars in tuition and fees in the process... but now Virginia residents will finally be able to pursue their goal of becoming a meteorologist without having to go elsewhere to do so. This is bittersweet for me, but I've long thought that Blacksburg should have a meteorology program given its' strength in the sciences and proximity to the NWS office just off campus (literally walking distance).

Of course the only downside is that there not only is an oversaturation of those in the field, but now there is another school offering a degree program in the field. In the end, the field is evolving, and with Tech appearing set to focus more on the geospatial aspects of the field then perhaps this program can set itself apart a bit. Never mind that students who would have pursued the field anyhow can now do so more cheaply.

http://www.vtnews.vt...logydegree.html

I love their focus in both remote sensing and GIS. Both will give undergrads a big leg up over more traditional degrees, IMO.