As a minimum, applicants must meet one of the below requirements and have a minimum of five years of work at the professional level in meteorology or a related field. Substitution of a postgraduate degree below the doctorate is permitted for one year of experience, and substitution of the doctorate degree in meteorology for up to two years is allowable.

(A) Hold a Bachelor's (or higher) degree in meteorology or atmospheric science.

(B) Hold a Bachelor's degree (or higher) in "other sciences and engineering" and be engaged in an activity in which the applicant's knowledge is being applied to the advancement or application of the atmospheric or related sciences. Acceptable degrees will be determined after a review of the applicant’s college/university transcripts. Arts and humanities are not included; therefore, degrees in English, literature, philosophy, languages, journalism, communications and business administration would not lead to eligibility for CCM application. Applicants applying under this category should be aware that the written and oral exams are heavily focused on meteorology. Candidates should possess a strong understanding of dynamic and thermodynamic meteorology, synoptic meteorology, physical meteorology, as well as the fundamentals of calculus and physics.

(C) Have at least 20 semester credit hours in meteorology with 12 of the 20 credits in core classes (a minimum of 2 credits in each of 4 of the 5 core areas is required).

At least 12 of the 20 credits must be in areas of:

1. Atmospheric or Oceanographic Dynamics

2. Atmospheric or Oceanographic Thermodynamics

3. Physical Meteorology or Physical Oceanography

4. Synoptic Meteorology (or Weather Systems) or Synoptic Oceanography

5. Hydrology

Missing a few courses? Browse our Schools and Distance Learning page to find a college/university with a meteorology program near you and a list of distance learning courses.