Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity. From changing weather patterns to violent storms and rising seas, it is impacting every facet of our planet and society. A new generation of climate scientists is needed to help understand these impacts and their fundamental drivers, and to guide actions and decisions at every level of society and the economy.

The Jackson School of Geosciences offers one of the few undergraduate degree programs in the country where you will gain the technical knowledge needed to tackle climate problems at an advanced scientific level and learn skills that can help lead to climate solutions.

Why climate system science?

As society adapts to living under climate change and pursues solutions, we need climate scientists to guide us. This program gives students a quantitative foundation of climate science that they can take into careers across a wide range of industries, interests, and advanced studies.

What do climate scientists do?

We all live in the climate system, but few of us know how it actually functions. Climate scientists help us understand how that system works so we can live in it more effectively and sustainably.

Climate scientists apply an understanding of physics, chemistry, and mathematics to map the behavior of our climate system using sophisticated computer models, detailed geologic records, and satellite and ground-based observations. With this knowledge, they work to predict change in the system, understand observed change such as rising sea levels, warmer temperatures, and changing weather patterns, and evaluate impacts such as those on human health, agriculture, and natural ecosystems. Climate scientists understand how the climate system works so we can better plan for the future.

A diverse range of employment and graduate school opportunities

The climate system science major provides an excellent foundation for students seeking employment after graduation as well as for those interested in continuing their studies in graduate school.

Organizations across the private, public, and nonprofit sectors cannot adequately plan for the future without climate science expertise. We are desperately in need of professionals who understand the science of our changing climate in order to assess risk and recommend solutions. This demand will only continue to grow as the effects of climate change intensify.

Wage data for related jobs

Median annual wage data courtesy of the Bureau of Labor Statistics

Research opportunities

Climate system science students will have the opportunity to work with big climate data sets and build climate system simulations on the supercomputers at the Texas Advanced Computing Center. They will analyze geophysical and geological records from across the world to understand the climate of the past and the present, and engage directly with communities to apply climate science knowledge to real-world problems. This is cutting-edge research, and the kind of experience valued by employers and needed for advanced studies.

All Jackson School undergraduates have an abundance of research opportunities at their fingertips. Explore some of those options on our Undergraduate Research page.

Degree requirements

Every Jackson School undergraduate is required to take foundational courses that cover the breadth of the geosciences, along with advanced courses specific to their major. Students will explore these fields, advancing their quantitative reasoning skills, developing computational literacy, applying geospatial tools, and learning how to manage, evaluate, and visualize data.

Climate foundation courses

These are the courses every climate system science major is required to take. These upper-division courses prepare students to analyze and solve real-world climate problems.

Geoscience courses

These are the courses required of all Jackson School undergraduates. They will typically be completed within the first two years of study.

Building block courses

These courses take place outside of the Jackson School and are required of all climate system science majors. The climate system science major requires a robust understanding of mathematics, physics, chemistry, and data analytics to prepare students for advanced climate classes specific to the degree.

Read more about these courses in the University of Texas course catalog. The 2024-2025 catalog will be available soon.

The 2024-2026 climate system science degree plan is coming soon.

Complementary minors

Climate majors can select any minor available to University of Texas undergraduate students. Here are a few that we recommend pairing with a climate degree in order to further your expertise in policy, health care, sustainability, renewable energy, or risk management.

• Leadership in Global Sustainability
• Business and Public Policy
• Energy Management
• Health Care Reform and Innovation
• Risk Management
• Communicating Social Issues
• Sustainable Energy
• Law, Justice, and Society
• Public Policy
• Environment and Sustainability
• Social Inequality, Health, and Policy

Next steps: Applying and transferring

Ready to start changing the world? If you’re a high school student interested in applying to the Jackson School to be a climate system science major, please select Geological Sciences during the process of your undergraduate application to The University of Texas at Austin. Additional application information can be found on the UT Office of Admissions website and the Jackson School’s Admissions page.

Thinking of transferring to the Jackson School to be a climate system science major? If you’re an undergraduate student already enrolled at The University of Texas at Austin, you may enter the Jackson School through an internal transfer process which occurs twice a year. Please visit the Jackson School’s Internal Transfers webpage for details about the internal transfer process, deadlines, and upcoming information session dates to learn more about our school and programs. We also encourage you to contact academic advising before you start this process.