The College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences comprises the Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability, the School of Aviation, and the School of Meteorology. We are training and educating engaged individuals for successful careers in diverse sectors such as geographic information science, climatology, water conservation, land-management, professional pilot, air-traffic control, aviation management, meteorology, climate science, and observation technology. In short, we craft the future of the land and skies.
The Department of Geography and Environmental Sustainability (DGES) has three majors: Geography, Environmental Sustainability, and Geographic Information Science (GIS) which all offer a Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science. Geography, Environmental Sustainability, and Geographic Information Science are all strongly interlinked. Together, they provide new ways of thinking and tools for understanding and managing the planet. Yet each is sufficiently distinct and provides different career paths and opportunities for students and practitioners.
The department’s educational mission and scholarship covers the entire spectrum of geography, environmental sustainability, and geographic information science. Faculty research interests in conservation biology, hydrology, global and tropical climatology, land-use land cover, and biogeography. In human geography, faculty research interests include urban and environmental politics, humanities and visual arts, economic and natural resource development, indigenous cultures, specific regions, such as Latin America, Africa, Russia and East Asia, and indigenous use of media. Research in environmental sustainability focuses on renewable energy resources principally, energy and wind power development, ecosystem valuation, and sustainability perception. Many faculty members make extensive use of geographical information systems (GIS) in both geography and environmental sustainability research, in addition to investigating cutting edge methodological issues in geographic information sciences.
Faculty members also use a wide range of quantitative and analytic methods, including statistics remote sensing, archival methods and qualitative methodologies. The faculty is involved in wide ranging research associated with areas including natural hazards, land-use and land cover change, water resources, applied climatology and sustainability. The faculty is currently working in many geographical areas, including the United States, Canada, Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and South and East Asia.
Thus, unique among all disciplines, geographic inquiry sits at the intersection of the social sciences, the humanities, and the natural sciences. Within the department, the research interests and expertise of faculty members cover the entire spectrum of geography including biogeography and human impacts on species distribution, applied climatology, renewable energy resources, hydrology and water resources, land cover and land use change, cultures, indigenous identities, environmental justice, political ecology, geohumanities, regional specialties, environmental policy, and natural hazards.
Learn about the degrees and programs offered by DGES
- Undergraduate Degrees
- Graduate Programs
- Online Graduate Programs
The University of Oklahoma School of Aviation was established in 1947, after purchasing the airport land in 1940, as an independent, Provost-directed department chaired by the airport manager J.E. Coulter. The school’s initial charge was to provide flight instruction for OU students seeking flight certification. The Bachelor of Science in Aviation was developed in the mid-1970s and was first offered as a degree in 1978.
In 1994, the Department of Aviation joined the OU College of Continuing Education and in 2017 moved to the newly formulated College of Professional and Continuing Studies. As part of this transition, the Department of Aviation changed its name to the School of Aviation Studies. In 2022, the school moved to the College of Atmospheric and Geographic Sciences and became the School of Aviation.
The mission of the School is to provide each student with the knowledge and the skills of a competent pilot and/or industry professional, combined with a liberal education and business concentration that will provide them an initial and long-term competitive advantage as professionals in global organizations and in society. The School of Aviation is responsible for credit and noncredit aviation education, FAA Part 141 and 61 pilot training, and FAA Enhanced AT-CTI curriculum and simulation courses. A Bachelor of Science Degree with five aviation concentrations and four aviation minors are offered.
The School of Aviation's modern training assets include: 23 Piper 100i aircraft, 11 Piper Warrior III aircraft, one Cessna 152, Three Twin Engine Piper Seminoles, one King Air C-90 B Turbo Prop, three advanced FAA Aircrew Training Devices (Red Bird Simulator and two Frasca Simulators). This modern aircraft fleet offers students advanced technology and also provides air transportation through the Faculty and Staff Transport (FAST) Program. Additionally, the Enhanced AT-CTI program boasts a complete array of all available air traffic control simulations to include a Tower Simulation Cab for tower and ground operations, and an ATC Enroute Radar Simulation Facility Lab.
The School of Meteorology at the University of Oklahoma is the largest such program in the nation, with approximately 400 undergraduate and nearly 120 graduate students. The School is routinely ranked near the top of the nation in terms of undergraduate awards, such as the annual number of undergraduate scholarships awarded from the NOAA Hollings and American Meteorological Society (AMS) programs. Our graduate students are also quite successful in competing for awards with a Blue Water and Marshall Sherfield Fellowship among the top honors. Our students have received numerous best poster and best oral presentation awards at recent conferences and symposia.
The long-standing research expertise in the School of Meteorology is the study of convective storms and mesoscale circulations utilizing high-resolution modeling and observational analysis including advanced radar systems and other ground-based remote sensing. This excellence is based on the close proximity and collaboration with key University, federal, and industry research partners in the National Weather Center complex. However, the research portfolio of the School is far broader today, including topics ranging from polar meteorology to climate extremes, subseasonal-to-seasonal prediction, and atmospheric composition.
The School of Meteorology is located on the 5th floor of the National Weather Center building on the campus of the University of Oklahoma. The 244,000-square-foot building opened its doors in September 2006. One of the largest facilities of its kind in the world, it houses 12 University, state, and federal organizations with more than 650 employees, faculty, researchers, and students. The center accommodates OU’s academic and research programs in meteorology and the Norman-based weather research and operations programs of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The undergraduate and graduate programs are unique due to our co-location with NOAA, Department of Interior, and Department of Energy programs as well as several university strategic organizations, which broaden the education, training and research portfolio of the School. The graduate program is selective with an admission process based on a holistic look at the applicant’s academic abilities and accomplishments, references, awards, research experience and fit to our research funding. We typically offer between 15-24 Teaching and Research Assistantships in the program each year. The School of Meteorology is generally considered at or near the top spot for graduate research in atmoshperic science.
