It is NCAR's mission to plan, organize, and conduct atmospheric and related research programs in collaboration with the universities and other institutions, to provide state-of-the-art research tools and facilities to the atmospheric sciences community, to support and enhance university atmospheric science education, and to facilitate the transfer of technology to both the public and private sectors.

The University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) is a consortium of 63 North American universities with doctoral programs in the atmospheric and related sciences. The non profit corporation was created in 1959 and is headquartered in Boulder, Colorado. UCAR is governed by a Board of Trustees elected by the representatives of the Member Institutions. Principal activities of UCAR include the operation of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), under a Cooperative Agreement with the National Science Foundation (NSF). NCAR is a national research center located in Boulder, Colorado. Principal funding and oversight of the activities of the Center are provided by the NSF. Additional funding, complementary of the NSF program, is provided by other government agencies, and in recent years, by cooperative programs with private-sector firms.