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2024/25
2025/26

MSc Climate Change and Artificial Intelligence (AI)

  • Year of entry
    2025/26
  • Course duration
    Full Time:  12 months Part Time: 24 months
  • Year of entry
    2025/26
  • Course duration
    Full Time:  12 months Part Time: 24 months

Help tackle the climate crisis, and gain expertise in a rapidly growing field of computer science, with our MSc Climate Change and Artificial Intelligence (AI) degree.

This course is suited to graduates from a wide range of disciplines – including science, technology, engineering and mathematical (STEM) subjects – who are looking for a postgraduate qualification that will help them stand out in the job market.

Choose the University of Reading

Reading is a leading university for climate science and environmental sustainability:

  • ranked 1st in the UK for environmental and ethical performance (People and Planet University League, 2023/24)
  • winner of the inaugural Times Higher Education (THE) award for Outstanding Contribution to Environmental Leadership, 2023
  • recipient of a prestigious Queen’s Anniversary Prize for our world-leading research, teaching, stewardship and outreach on climate change
  • ranked 5th in the world for Atmospheric Science (ShanghaiRanking 2023 Global Ranking of Academic Subjects)
  • named Sustainable University of the Year in The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide 2025.

What you’ll learn

Artificial intelligence is growing rapidly, transforming how we collect and use data. It has the potential to help solve and understand complex global challenges, including the climate crisis.

Our Master’s in Climate Change and Artificial Intelligence (AI) addresses the growing demand for graduates with an understanding of both climate science and AI, together with the business acumen to deploy that understanding effectively.

You’ll gain a thorough understanding of:

  • climate data science and climate modelling
  • causality and decision-making in climate change
  • good data management practices
  • machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI)
  • computing using the Python programming language.

Your studies will provide the knowledge and skills required for leadership roles in the IT industry and beyond. You’ll develop the ability to:

  • describe the key concepts involved in climate change, including mitigation and impacts
  • identify and explain sources of uncertainty in climate model simulations and empirical data, and apply these concepts to decision-making
  • demonstrate when and how AI and machine learning can be used in climate change applications and services
  • apply scientific methods to real-world problems and challenges
  • conduct in-depth research in atmosphere, ocean and climate science.

The course will improve your understanding of climate data science and AI techniques, and prepare you for current – or future – managerial responsibilities.

Study options

This programme can be studied full-time for 12 months, or part-time over 24 months. If you wish to study part-time, please contact our Programme Director, Dr Chris Holloway, to discuss this.

Our MSc in Climate Change and Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the first, and currently only, postgraduate course of its kind in the UK.

Your studies will draw on expertise from the Department of Meteorology, Department of Computer Science, the Walker Institute, and the triple-accredited Henley Business School.

Join a university at the forefront of climate research

The University of Reading is an award-winning leader in climate science and environmental sustainability. We are actively engaged in tackling the challenges of climate change and making a global impact.

In the UK, we are ranked 3rd for research power in Earth Systems and Environmental Sciences (Times Higher Education, Institutions Ranked by Subject, based on its analysis of the latest Research Excellence Framework, 2021).

Our Whiteknights campus is set to house the largest cluster of weather and climate scientists in the world, following an agreement to build a new state-of-the-art international headquarters for the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF).

Experts from ECMWF will be located alongside the University's Department of Meteorology, as well as staff from the UK Met Office, National Centre for Atmospheric Sciences, and National Centre for Earth Observation.

Expertise in data science and artificial intelligence

Our Department of Computer Science offers expertise in data science and AI, as well as advanced computing for environmental science. 100% of the University’s research impact in Computer Science and Informatics has been classed ‘outstanding’ or ‘very considerable’ (Research Excellence Framework 2021, combining 4* and 3* submissions).

Artificial intelligence is increasingly being used by academics at the University to tackle challenges in climate and environmental sustainability, much of which is in collaboration with the Met Office and the ECMWF.

Facilities

Students at the University of Reading have access to real-time meteorological and climate data, including World Meteorological Organization standard measurements. You’ll be able to incorporate this data into your projects.

You will also have access to datasets from the latest climate model simulations, including those used in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Assessment Reports.

Connections and collaborations with industry

The University of Reading is located in the Thames Valley, a major UK tech hub. The region currently boasts more than 150 companies and start-ups working in the AI sector. In 2023, Reading was ranked second in Data City’s list of “AI hotspots” in the UK.

Our MSc Climate Change and AI course features bespoke research projects, many conducted in conjunction with industry. These projects provide insight into how AI and machine learning can be used to develop real-world solutions to the challenges arising from climate change. Recent projects undertaken by Reading students include:

  • Climate futures, food security and sustainable livelihoods in Somaliland (with Microsoft)
  • European cold spells and sudden stratospheric warmings (with Freepoint)
  • The use of machine learning in predicting precipitation from extreme storms in New Zealand (with the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), New Zealand)
  • Modelling the impact of extreme weather events in Americas on banana yield and prices
  • Flood forecasting and AI.

The University is also home to the Thames Valley AI Hub (TVAI Hub), a community of academics, researchers, technicians, clinicians, and business strategists. The hub enables its members to learn, collaborate, and develop business opportunities in the artificial intelligence sector.

Networking opportunities

The Department of Meteorology’s networking day enables you to establish contacts in your chosen field, and learn more about what it's like to work in different sectors of meteorology and climate risk. Organisations that attend the event include instrumentation companies, private and government forecasters, catastrophe and insurance companies, and research organisations.

We regularly invite guest speakers to deliver lectures to our students. Previous speakers and topics have included:

  • Mantle Labs – using machine learning in forestry and agriculture projects that support climate change mitigation and adaptation
  • Lake Street Consulting – using weather data analytics to support the energy sector
  • Climate X – climate risk data analytics.

Our interdisciplinary Walker Institute also runs a Welcome Session for MSc Climate Change and AI students, providing opportunities to connect with a network of collaborators working on food security and other climate risk indicators.


New UK/Republic of Ireland students: £12,800

New international students: £30,950

Tuition fee information

The fees listed are for full-time study, unless otherwise stated. Fee information will be confirmed in offer letters sent out to successful applicants. You can find further information, including information for part-time study, through our dedicated fees and funding page.

EU student fees

With effect from 1 August 2021, new EU students will pay international tuition fees. For exceptions, please read the UK government's guidance for EU students.

Additional costs

You will need to budget for your accommodation and living costs. See our information on living costs for more details.

Financial support for your studies

You may be eligible for a scholarship or bursary to help pay for your study. Students from the UK may also be eligible for a student loan to help cover these costs. See our fees and funding information for more information on what's available.

Our MSc Climate Change and Artificial Intelligence (AI) degree will equip you with specialist skills and knowledge that are highly sought by employers. The UK government’s National AI Strategy notes that:

  • There were over 110,000 UK job vacancies in 2020 for AI and data science roles.
  • In 2020, there was a 16% increase in online AI and data science job vacancies, and research found that 69% of vacancies were hard to fill. (Ipsos MORI, Understanding the UK AI labour market: 2020 (2021)).
  • “The gap between demand and supply of AI skills remains significant and growing”. (Microsoft, AI Skills in The UK (2020) and Ipsos MORI, Understanding the UK AI labour market: 2020 (2021)).

The government’s UK Digital Strategy (October 2022) also notes that the UK is a world leader in artificial intelligence and that jobs are growing in the AI sector.

Transferable skills

Knowledge and understanding of climate science – and how artificial intelligence can be used to tackle the climate crisis – are increasingly important in the global economy. The skills provided by our MSc in Climate Change and Artificial Intelligence are highly transferable, and are valued by employers in many sectors.

Your degree could also lead to PhD study or further research in a variety of academic disciplines.

Success for University of Reading graduates

Master’s graduates from the Department of Meteorology have an excellent track record of progressing into employment. 94% of graduates from Meteorology are in work or further study within 15 months of graduation; of those in full-time employment, 93% are in graduate-level roles (three-year average, based on our analysis of HESA data © HESA 2022-2024, Graduate Outcomes Surveys 2019/20-2021/22; includes postgraduate (taught) Meteorology responders).