Graduate School of Climate Sciences

Courses MSc program

The coursework for the MSc Climate Sciences consists of 60 ECTS. They are divided in compulsory courses (8 ECTS, graded by the Master examination), elective courses (including specified courses at ETH Zurich), and elective courses upon approval (up to 10 ECTS, see FAQ for requests).

Description of course levels

Course levels are described and labeled according to the level of required knowledge.

  1. Introductory course: ‘no specialized knowledge required’
    The courses in this category are designed for both specialists and newcomers in the field, i.e. for students with diffferent backgrounds.
    An example for such a course is ‘Introduction to Historical Climatology’.
  2. Intermediate course: ‘Some specialized background required or helpful’
    The courses in this category are mostly designed for students with basic knowledge about the subject, i.e. for students that have already done 1-2 basic courses about the topic. Newcomers will need to study additional material and train some specific skills to reach the level of the course.
    An example for such a course is ‘Climatology III’.
  3. Advanced course: ‘specialized knowledge required’
    The courses in this category are mostly designed for students with a specific background, i.e. for students who already have considerable knowledge in the field. Newcomers will need to become acquainted with many specific methods and skills to reach level of the course.
    An example for such a course is ‘Introduction to climate modelling incl. computer lab’.