Biology or Environmental Science?

<p>I'm currently a freshman EVS major, but I'm thinking about switching to BIO. I want to go to grad school for marine biology. I feel like a Biology major would be better in terms of getting accepted, and it also incorporates physics, calculus, etc. into the major, which are generally needed for graduate school. I've always been more interested in environmental science than general biology, which is why I'm majoring in it now, but can it get me into grad school for marine bio? Which would be the better option? Thanks!</p>

<p>Depends on what school you go to and where you plan to go for your graduate degree.</p>

<p>Does your school have a geology major? If so, go for geology instead. Geology can lead to a career as an oceanographer, which is a part of marine biology, and there are more opportunities for geologist than biologists.</p>

<p>If you want to focus more on organisms or molecular biology, then get the bio degree. However, I have to warn you that marine biology is a very selective field. There are not a lot of openings in it, and many people want to be marine biologists. Not saying that you can’t do it, but it will be hard to do. Geology would really be your best bet if you want to wind up working in your dream field of study.</p>

<p>

Not quite accurate. Oceanography is composed of several fields, among them geological oceanography and biological oceanography (similar to but not quite the same as marine biology). Although there is a fair bit of flexibility and intermixing between the natural sciences, it is more common to go from biology to geology than the other way around. With the exceptions of paleontology on land and micropaleontology in the ocean, few geologists deal with organisms more than tangentially. A student aiming for a marine science graduate program with a biology concentration would need at least the equivalent of a minor in biology. </p>

<p>I strongly agree that geology has considerably better job prospects than biology or environmental science, however. It arguably has the best prospects of any science major, especially for those with only a BS or MS.</p>

<p>Wait, does that mean you can go from a bio bs to a geo ms?</p>

<p>You can pretty much go from anything to anything as long as you have pre-requisites I believe.</p>

<p>Really? I did not know that!</p>