University of Helsinki Meteorology, Atmospheric and Climate-System Sciences Master’s Thesis Guide 2026-2027

The Master’s Programme in Meteorology, Atmospheric and Climate-System Sciences at the University of Helsinki is a 120 ECTS, two-year programme focused on the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and the wider Earth and climate system. Its Master’s thesis is a 30 ECTS independent culminating project and is commonly connected to the programme’s active research environment, especially research groups associated with the Institute for Atmospheric and Earth System Research (INAR).

This guide uses current University of Helsinki material verified on 25 August 2026. It is a thesis guide, not an admissions guide. Application eligibility, tuition, scholarships, language-test thresholds and admissions deadlines are outside this article.

The programme was renamed in 2026

A naming transition matters when reading University instructions. The current programme is Meteorology, Atmospheric and Climate-System Sciences, but it was previously called the Master’s Programme in Atmospheric Sciences, usually abbreviated ATM-MP.

The current University programme pages use the new name, while some current thesis-assessment and administrative instructions still use ATM-MP or Master's Programme in Atmospheric Sciences. Current University sources explicitly connect the old and new names, so those current ATM-MP thesis instructions remain relevant to students in the renamed programme.

This does not mean every old Atmospheric Sciences document should automatically control a 2026-2027 thesis. The safe rule is:

• use the 2026-2030 programme structure for the current degree and study tracks;
• use current University assessment/E-thesis pages even where they still show the ATM-MP label; and
• treat older pre-2026 track structures as transition history unless current instructions explicitly preserve them for existing students.

Degree structure and languages

The degree is 120 ECTS and designed for two years. The programme is offered jointly by the Faculty of Science and the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry.

Teaching is mainly in English. Current programme guidance also allows the MSc thesis to be written in English, Finnish or Swedish under the applicable degree-language and programme rules.

The multidisciplinary structure is important for thesis planning because students can approach atmospheric and Earth-system questions through chemistry, aerosol physics, meteorology, hydrology, oceanography, biosphere-atmosphere exchange, climate-system analysis, modelling, observation or combinations of these.

Five current study tracks from 1 August 2026

The current programme has five study tracks beginning from 1 August 2026:

1. Atmospheric Chemistry and Aerosol Physics
2. Biosphere-Atmosphere Cycles
3. Climate and Sustainability
4. Meteorology
5. Physics of the Hydrosphere

This is a real curriculum transition, not just a change in webpage wording. Students who were already enrolled in certain old tracks, including Aerosol Physics, Atmospheric Chemistry and Analysis, and Remote Sensing, can continue under the transition rules and graduate from those tracks until 31 July 2028, or move to the new track structure.

For a new 2026-2027 thesis guide, however, the five-track structure is the current baseline. Do not treat old six-track lists as the structure for newly starting students.

The Master’s thesis is 30 ECTS

The programme describes the thesis as the culminating project of the MSc degree. It is worth 30 ECTS and is planned and completed independently.

The thesis should demonstrate that you can:

• understand and apply scientific methodology;
• carry out a demanding research project;
• formulate a defensible research problem or hypothesis;
• work appropriately with scientific literature, data, models, observations or experiments; and
• present the research in accordance with scientific writing conventions.

A thesis connected to a research group is still your independently assessable academic work. The wider group may provide a research question, dataset, instrument, model, field setting or scientific context, but your own research contribution, analysis and reasoning must remain identifiable.

Choose the topic with a programme professor

Current programme guidance says the thesis topic is agreed in consultation with a professor of the programme. The topic is usually linked to a research problem in one of the programme’s research groups, commonly within INAR.

That makes supervisor and research-group matching an early project-design task. Before committing to a topic, clarify:

• the scientific question you are expected to answer;
• whether the project is experimental, observational, computational, statistical, modelling-based or mixed;
• what data, measurements, code, model outputs or field access are available;
• which parts of the wider research project are specifically yours;
• who will supervise the work and how often feedback will occur; and
• whether the project is feasible within a 30 ECTS thesis scope.

A strong topic is not simply interesting. It must also be answerable with the material, expertise and time available.

Methods can vary substantially across the programme

The programme trains students to form scientific hypotheses and test them using appropriate experimental or modelling approaches. It also explicitly emphasizes experimental, computational and statistical methods for atmospheric and environmental data.

Consequently, two theses from the same programme may look very different. One student may analyse aerosol measurements; another may work with atmospheric chemistry; another may develop or evaluate a numerical model; another may use weather observations, hydrological data, oceanographic data or climate datasets; and another may examine biosphere-atmosphere interactions or climate-and-sustainability questions.

The correct method therefore follows the research question and track context. Do not select a method simply because another thesis in the programme used it.

The current Meteorology-track common block

The current 2026-2030 Meteorology study-track course page gives a useful example of how thesis work sits inside the degree. Its common compulsory studies total 40 ECTS:

• Atmospheric and Earth Sciences Today: 5 ECTS
• Atmospheric science seminar for Master’s students: 5 ECTS
• Master’s thesis: 30 ECTS
• Maturity test: 0 ECTS

This is evidence from the current Meteorology track page. It should not be mechanically used to reconstruct every other track without checking that track’s current course page. What is programme-wide and firmly established is the 30 ECTS thesis and 0 ECTS maturity test.

Make a thesis plan and confirm supervision

Current University-wide Master’s thesis rules require thesis planning and at least one supervisor, while the programme controls the more specific topic and supervision arrangements.

A useful thesis plan should normally make clear:

• the main research question or hypothesis;
• scientific background and why the problem matters;
• data, observations, experimental material or model inputs;
• analytical, statistical, computational or experimental methods;
• expected outputs;
• the student’s independent contribution;
• supervision arrangements; and
• a timetable for research, analysis, writing and submission.

Where the thesis is embedded in an INAR or another collaborative project, define ownership of code, data, figures and analyses before the final writing stage.

There is no verified universal page-count rule

The current programme-wide sources verified for this guide do not establish one universal thesis page range for Meteorology, Atmospheric and Climate-System Sciences.

Do not copy Computer Science’s typical length, Chemistry’s page guidance, Humanities page ranges or another programme’s rules. Atmospheric-science projects can differ greatly in datasets, figures, equations, model descriptions, methodological detail and appendices. The appropriate length should follow the current programme, track and supervisor instructions for your actual project.

There is no verified universal citation style either

The current programme-wide evidence used for this guide also does not establish one universal citation system for all five tracks. Do not assume that APA, Harvard, numerical/RSC or another convention applies programme-wide unless your current track, course, template or supervisor specifies it.

What must remain consistent is the scholarly principle: every claim, dataset, model, method and external idea requiring attribution must be traceable to an appropriate source, and the final reference list must follow the convention actually required for your thesis.

Current assessment pages still say ATM-MP

This is one of the most important documentation details in the programme. The current University teaching guidance contains a dedicated section titled Assessment and approval of the thesis in ATM-MP and labels the degree as the Master’s Programme in Atmospheric Sciences.

Because current programme pages explicitly state that Meteorology, Atmospheric and Climate-System Sciences was previously Atmospheric Sciences, this current ATM-MP assessment section is the relevant administrative continuation. The rename bridge is therefore evidence-based, not assumed.

Students should expect University webpages to complete this naming transition gradually. When a current administrative page says ATM-MP, confirm that it is current and then read it together with the current renamed programme pages.

Final submission goes through E-thesis

When both you and your supervisor consider the thesis ready, the final assessed version is submitted to E-thesis by the applicable deadline.

The current ATM-MP assessment instructions emphasize an important rule: no changes can be made to the thesis after it has been submitted for assessment. Therefore, before pressing the final submission button, confirm:

• the correct PDF has been uploaded;
• title, language and abstract details are correct;
• supervisor information is correct;
• required publication information has been completed;
• figures, tables, equations and references are final; and
• there is no confidential material that should not appear in the public thesis.

The supervisor informs Kumpula Student Services of the proposed examiners, and the examiner information is transferred into the E-thesis assessment process.

Two examiners and the 0-5 matrix

Under the current ATM-MP / Faculty framework, the thesis is examined by:

• a qualifying professor, assistant or associate professor, research director, senior university lecturer or university lecturer of the Faculty; and
• another examiner who holds at least a doctoral degree.

The supervisor often acts as one of the examiners and identifies the second examiner.

The thesis is graded in E-thesis on the 0-5 scale using the programme’s evaluation matrix. Current instructions specifically say that extreme grades 0, 1 and 5 must be clearly justified.

After examiner assessment is complete, Student Services transfers the case to await the Dean’s decision. The submission date is therefore not the same as the final approval date.

The abstract is the maturity test

For the current ATM-MP process, one examiner accepts the thesis abstract as the maturity test.

The maturity test carries 0 ECTS and is assessed pass/fail. Its language depends on the student’s prior education, the language of secondary education and whether the relevant language competence has already been demonstrated in an earlier degree.

If your educational history creates a Finnish or Swedish language requirement, check the current University maturity-test instructions before finalising the abstract.

AI is never allowed in the maturity test. This remains true even though the University’s broader AI policy can allow AI tools to support other learning and writing tasks under teacher, programme and Faculty restrictions and reporting requirements.

AI use in the thesis must remain controlled and disclosed

For thesis work outside the maturity test, University policy generally permits AI-based tools as support when the applicable teacher, programme and Faculty rules allow them. But permitted use does not transfer responsibility to the tool.

You remain responsible for:

• factual accuracy;
• source verification;
• correct interpretation of data and model output;
• research ethics;
• avoiding fabricated references or results; and
• reporting AI use as required.

If a supervisor, course or project has stricter rules, those more specific instructions control.

Submission rounds for 2026-2027

The current University timetable groups the Faculty of Science and Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry in the same 2026-2027 thesis schedule, which is particularly useful for this jointly offered programme.

The submission deadline is 23:59 Finnish time on the stated date.

Theses are not assessed in July. Current University guidance also says normal supervision and feedback are not provided in July unless required by the Faculty or programme. Plan the submission round around the actual assessment and Dean-decision dates, not simply around the day you expect to finish writing.

Thesis publication and Helda

E-thesis is also part of the University’s publication and archiving workflow. Approved theses are transferred to Helda, and thesis abstracts are always public.

The University provides choices and procedures concerning open publication, limited publication and embargoes. If your thesis uses company information, unpublished project material, sensitive datasets or potentially patentable work, resolve the publicity boundary early. Do not assume confidential material can simply be hidden inside an appendix of the assessed thesis.

A practical thesis workflow

A defensible route through the current programme is:

1. Choose the current study-track context. Use the five-track structure effective from 1 August 2026 unless you are legitimately completing an old track under the transition rule.
2. Identify a research problem. Look for a question that fits programme expertise, available data and your methodological preparation.
3. Discuss the topic with a programme professor. Confirm the scientific scope and likely supervisor/research group.
4. Define the thesis plan. State the hypothesis or questions, data/material, methods, independent contribution and timeline.
5. Confirm data and technical access. Make sure observations, code, instruments, model runs or external datasets are actually available.
6. Conduct the research and write progressively. Keep methods, decisions and analysis documented while the work is happening.
7. Check the current track’s formatting/reference expectations. Do not import another programme’s page-count or citation convention.
8. Prepare the abstract carefully. It functions as the maturity test in the current ATM-MP assessment process.
9. Complete final E-thesis checks. The submitted assessed version cannot simply be edited afterward.
10. Submit by 23:59 Finnish time in the chosen 2026-2027 round and allow time for examiner assessment and the Dean’s final decision.

Final checklist

Before submission, confirm that:

• you are using the correct current programme/track structure;
• your thesis topic has been agreed with the appropriate programme professor and supervisor;
• your independent contribution is clear if the work belongs to a larger INAR or collaborative project;
• the research question, data and method are aligned;
• you have not imported another programme’s page-count rule;
• you have checked the citation/format convention actually required for your track or project;
• all AI use in the thesis complies with current rules and is reported where required;
• no AI has been used in the maturity test;
• your abstract satisfies the maturity-test requirement and any language requirement arising from your educational background;
• examiner arrangements can be completed through the current University process;
• the E-thesis PDF is the exact final version intended for assessment; and
• your chosen submission date leaves enough time for examiner assessment and the Dean’s decision.

Current University, programme, track and supervisor instructions always take priority if a more specific or newer requirement applies to your project.