Climate Science

Climate science is the study of Earth's climate system: how it has varied in the past, how it is changing now, and what those changes mean for natural systems and human societies. It draws on atmospheric science, oceanography, ecology, physics, chemistry, and mathematics to build quantitative understanding of a system of extraordinary complexity and consequence. As the physical impacts of anthropogenic climate change become more evident and the pressure to understand and respond to them intensifies, climate scientists are among the most urgently needed researchers and practitioners in the world.

At the University of Liverpool, this three-year, full-time programme develops rigorous scientific understanding of the climate system alongside the quantitative and computational skills needed to study it. You will examine the physical processes that drive climate variability and change, including atmospheric dynamics, ocean circulation, the carbon cycle, and feedback mechanisms such as ice-albedo and water vapour effects. You will learn to work with climate models, satellite data, and observational datasets, developing the analytical competence to interpret evidence about past and future climate states.

The discipline is genuinely interdisciplinary, and the programme reflects the connections between physical climate science and its ecological, social, and policy implications.

The programme includes a sandwich placement year, a year abroad, and work placement experience. The placement year and work placements might be in meteorological organisations, environmental agencies, research institutes, or policy bodies, all of which provide professional context for academic learning. The year abroad gives you the opportunity to engage with climate science in a different national and institutional setting.

Graduates work in meteorology, climate modelling, environmental consultancy, government environmental agencies, renewable energy, academic research, and climate policy. Many go on to postgraduate study in climate science, atmospheric science, oceanography, or environmental science. The quantitative and data science skills the degree develops are also valued in finance, risk analysis, and the insurance sector.