Marine Biology

The MS and PhD in Marine Biology are designed to provide students with a broad knowledge base in marine biology in areas including, but not restricted to, taxonomy/systematics, comparative morphology, evolution, genetics, physiology, cellular and molecular biology, and ecology. Marine Biology is a dynamic field, and our programs are flexibly designed to accommodate new discoveries and technologies.

Course requirements for all students are SMS 500 (Marine Biology), one semester of statistics at the graduate level, one semester of seminar (SMS 691) and a basic knowledge of descriptive oceanography.  Students interact closely with their committees to select additional coursework that provides both a broad knowledge base in marine biology and specific emphases appropriate for their research (e.g., aquaculture, biological oceanography, biology of fishes, ecology, invertebrate biology, marine algae, molecular biology).

The School of Marine Sciences also offers a unique, strongly interdisciplinary dual degree program in marine policy and science. The course of study is normally three years. It leads to two master’s degrees: one in Marine Policy and one Marine Biology or Oceanography.

Students are required to complete the requirements for a master’s degree in marine biology or oceanography and the requirements for a marine policy master’s degree.  Six hours of each degree can be counted as electives for the other; as a result a total of only 48 hours is required to complete both degrees (rather than the 60 usually required for two completely independent masters degrees).  The course requirements for the science degrees are described separately. For the policy degree, students complete 18 hours of social science courses, including 6 hours of required courses, with 6 additional course credits counted from the science degree.