<p>My d, a hs jr., has been interested in Marine Bio, with a focus on Marine Mammals, since she was 7 years old.</p>
<p>Any suggestions of schools that are great for this would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>She has visited, and loves, UNE and College of the Atlantic. She has heard Eckerd in FL is good. We visited UCSC, but the buildings were closed when we were there.</p>
<p>Thanks!</p>
<p>My friend is attending Stony Brook SUNY in the South Hamptons and it has a very well known marine biology program (That's what my friend is going for as well). They are a very eco-friendly school as well.</p>
<p>A relative of mine is majoring in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology (she was looking at Marine biology but went in this direction). She looked at U Miami, U Rochester, Vassar and a few other schools. She is at Rice, loving it.</p>
<p>URI</p>
<p>10char</p>
<p>This has been much discussed before. The general consensus is that it is inadvisable to study marine biology at the undergraduate level.</p>
<p>
<p>It's often possible to study marine biology for a semester or a year through programs like the Duke marine lab, SEA Semester, or Williams-Mystic. Alternately, you could expand your horizons by studying abroad and studying marine biology at the same time. James Cook in Australia or Bangor in Wales, for example.</p>
<p>For research opportunities, there are a number of awesome REU</a> programs in oceanography, which pay for virtually all of your summer costs.</p>
<p>That said, here</a> is a list of decent marine science programs.
</p>
<p>University of Miami is an excellent school. When I was there, you took a Marine Science double major with Biology or Geology or others. Many switched to Marine Science/Geology, from MS/Biology, after freshman year, when they realized it was a more marketable field. I dropped the Marine Science and graduated with just Biology in three years. I had taken many CLEP and summer sessions and overloaded semesters. I was paying for college myself. </p>
<p>But I do have friends that did finish in Marine Science/Biology, went on to grad school, got jobs in the field, after achieving a PhD. One in particular worked for the US Fisheries department and retired with a nice pension. No connections. Just a hard worker and brilliant to boot.</p>
<p>One of our swim friends is interested in Marine Biology, and is looking toward the College of Charleston. Nephew's friend studying marine bio at Coastal Carolina. Texas A&M Galveston also has a good program, though, since Ike, may not be in existence.</p>
<p>I will say this. It is a rigorous program. You don't scuba dive all day. You take the same courses as the premeds and the engineers. For instance, Marine Science majors took University Physics, which was calculus based, the same course engineering majors took. Whereas, regular biology majors took College Physics, not calculus based. You take a full year of calculus. Two years of chemistry. Yes, you do take organic chemistry. Good news is, if you want to go to medical school, you'll have the course work. </p>
<p>You definitely will need to go to grad school, but you may still just wind up teaching high school science.</p>
<p>University of Washington</p>
<p>Thank you very much for all your responses. Thanks in particular to Montegut, it is helpful to read about personal experiences.</p>
<p>I am a bit puzzled by your response, IBClass06, although I did appreciate the quoted post with the embedded links. Your comment "The general consensus is that it is inadvisable to study marine biology at the undergraduate level" does not seem to bear out; a cursory look at the information on one of the links shows that a BS/BA degree is offered in marine bio/marine science in virtually all of the institutions listed.</p>
<p>Also, I am not sure where you saw where "this has been much discussed before." I did a search for this topic and found no threads that were dedicated entirely to the subject, which is why I started one. Also I would be curious to know where the "general consensus" on the "inadvisability" of pursuing an undergraduate major in marine bio would be. Please, while making such statements, it would be helpful to provide a link to the material you are referencing. Thanks.</p>
<p>And thanks again, everyone. Any more info would be greatly appreciated by families with students wanting marine bio programs, I'm sure.</p>
<p>AM</p>
<p>
<p>...etc.</p>
<p>
Here's one example, a quote from a marine biologist at SUNY Stony Brook -- the university daniellamarie29 suggested.</p>
<p> [quote=Jeffrey Levinton] Please keep in mind that there are VERY FEW people in the world who study whales or other marine mammals! Same thing for dolphin trainers. Yes there are many public aquaria in the United States, but the number of people that work with dolphins as trainers are also very few. Most emails I get start with "I have always wanted to be a dolphin trainer." Fine, but you better keep your options open, just the way aspiring rock stars usually have a "day job." If every person who wanted to study dolphins went on to do so, then just about every dolphin would have its own personal observer! You are in a vast company because everyone loves dolphins. The important point is: MARINE BIOLOGY IS A LOT MORE THAN DOLPHINS. There are many important areas that you can study. Dolphins are an important part, but only a part, of the universe of marine biology. (Same goes for you shark fans.)</p>
<p>If you truly wanted to do research on marine mammals you could enter this field through one of two routes. First, you could become a biology major in college, taking courses in vertebrate biology, physiology and evolution. Most marine mammalogists were biology majors in college. As an alternative, you could become a veterinarian, with the ultimate hope of understanding mammalian anatomy, physiology, and biochemistry, and understanding the biology of mammals and their ailments. This would be a very rare route, although an interesting one.</p>
<p>Folks with either sort of training might find their way into aquaria and become dolphin trainers. I have to admit: I do not see dolphin trainers as marine biologists, really, even though some of them may educate the public.</p>
<p>Most marine mammalogists work hard at studying the behavior and physiology (functioning in the physical and chemical environment) of marine mammals, do observations on population sizes and migration routes, devise elaborate population models so that we can conserve marine mammal species, and many other things that involve tedious and hard work. They are trained biologists that might have a degree ranging from a bachelors of science to a doctors degree. If you want to learn a bit more about this, see the Society for Marine Mammalogy career website.</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>Believe me, college is too early a time to become too specialized in marine biology. DON'T necessarily major in marine biology if you really want to become a marine biologist. I know this sounds illogical but it is sound advice. Basic science is still how you should fill up your course work. Yes, take a course or two in marine science or even a minor, but fill up your time with the basics: biology, physics, chemistry, and math and even engineering. It is easier to learn basic science, math, and computer programming now than to pick it up later in graduate or professional school. This is not to say that marine science and environmental science programs should be completely avoided. Some are extremely good at giving a student critical thinking skills across a number of disciplines, while also making students learn the basics of science. Many marine biology problems today require thinking "outside the box," and therefore linkages between different disciplines can be very rewarding. My favorite configuration would be multiple majors that lead a student into creative areas. For example: what about a double major in science and social science, or a triple major between biology, chemistry and engineering? These combinations will lead you toward a basic science education that still lets you apply your knowledge to real-life problems. As many students know, engineering is a major area of academic growth in colleges today. If you want to be a marine biologist, the training you might get in mechanical engineering, engineering skills involved in hydrodynamics and climate studies, or computer skills can be applied directly to ocean science problems.
<p>Thank you very much IBClass06 -- that was fast -- what search terms did you use?</p>
<p>It's interesting, warblersrule posted the exact same message on almost all those threads. I sometimes wonder how people have this kind of time, but I'm glad they do!</p>
<p>It seems warblersrule is a big fan of College of the Atlantic. d loves it too, truly COA is a unique place, but it helps to know where all the 'water mammal' fans are going to school.</p>
<p>Look here: A</a> Day At Sea - Humboldt State Now</p>
<p>Don't know where you're from, but I'd certainly encourage you to check us out here at Stony Brook. If you're interested in the marine/environmental sciences, and you're looking for a top-notch science background, you'll certainly get that here, either at our main campus our at our Southampton campus, which caters exclusively to the environment and sustainability.</p>
<p>Chris</p>