Welcome to the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at Peking University.
The Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences at Peking University is known for its long history and prestigious academic traditions. Since its establishment in 1929, the Department has went through three important periods. (1) During 1929 to 1952, the Department was first established at Tsinghua University and then became part of National Southwestern Associated University during World War II. (2) In 1952, the Department became part of Peking University, initially as a Meteorology programme under the Department of Physics. In 1958, the Department of Geophysics was established, including an Atmospheric Physics programme and a Dynamical Meteorology programme. These two programmes later became the Atmospheric Sciences programme in 1998. (3) In 2001, the Department become part of the new School of Physics. Finally, in May 2010, we added a Physical Oceanography programme and became the Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences.
For almost 90 years, many prominent scholars have taught or studied here and have contributed to our fruitful history and academic tradition. We have educated a large number of outstanding graduates who are now leaders in atmospheric science education, research, administration, as well as in the defense forces. Among our graduates, 14 have been elected as Academicians, over 20 have served as faculty members in North American universities, and many have been elected as AGU or AMS Fellows.
The Department has an outstanding faculty. Our 34 current members include 14 full professors (including 1 Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, 2 Thousand-Talent Scholars, and 3 National Outstanding Young Scientists), 4 Young Thousand-Talent Scholars, 2 National Outstanding Junior Scientists, 2 Peking University Hundred-Talent Scholars, 6 Associate Professors, 2 Senior Engineers, and 2 Lecturers. In addition, 5 Academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences serve as Affiliated Faculty. Many outstanding young scientists have joined the Department in recent years, forming a dynamic and motivated faculty.
The Department is extremely active in fundamental, cutting-edge atmospheric science research. In recent years, the average annual funding received by each faculty member has exceeded 700,000 RMB. We have published more than 80 SCI papers per year in leading international journals, including high-impact journals, such as Nature, PNAS, and the Nature journals. The research directions engaged by our faculty currently include: atmospheric radiation and remote sensing, cloud physics, atmospheric chemistry, atmospheric boundary layer, numerical weather prediction and modeling, atmospheric dynamics and non-linear dynamics, climate dynamics and modeling, physical oceanography, air-sea interaction and climate change, paleoclimatology, and planetary atmospheres. We are also highly active in collaboration with the atmospheric and oceanic science community both in China and abroad. The Department signed mutual agreements with Harvard and UCLA to promote research collaboration and student exchange.
The Department offers a complete curriculum in atmospheric and oceanic sciences for undergraduate and graduate students. The Atmospheric Science discipline at Peking University is the only first-tier focal discipline in atmospheric sciences nationwide. In addition, we offer four second-tier disciplines, including atmospheric physics and atmospheric environment, meteorology, climatology, and physical oceanography. Our undergraduate student are enrolled in the School of Physics and receive solid training in mathematics and physics during their freshman and sophomore years. Starting from their junior year, they take specialized courses in atmospheric and oceanic sciences, as well as engage in scientific research, supervised by our faculty. Approximately 90% of our undergraduate students go on to pursue post-graduate studies at institutions either in China or abroad. Ten percent of our undergraduates enter the job market directly, pursuing careers in government agencies and private corporations.
Our graduate program mainly admits doctoral students. We currently admits 20 PhD students and 2-3 Master’s students each year. In addition to undergraduates from atmospheric and oceanic sciences departments across the nation, we welcome applicants with solid background in mathematics, physics, chemistry, and environmental sciences. Approximately 20% of our PhD graduates go aboard to conduct postdoctoral research, proving that they are internationally competitive. Other career paths of our PhD graduates include Chinese universities (10%), research institutes (20%), operational institutes (30%), and government or private cooperation.
Department of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences, School of Physics
Peking University
July 23, 2017
