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ucsd's bio program is ranked higher than ucla, and far far higher than ucsb. and ucsd's grad program in oceanography is tops in the country. where would you get that ucla and ucsb would have a better marine biology study than ucsd for undergrad?
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Marine biology, as you may or may not know, is an extremely competitive field. There are about as many job openings for marine mammalogists every year as there are openings for governors. You need every boost you can get, which often means going to the best undergrad school you can. UCLA is an excellent school that can provide a strong foundation in the sciences. Their marine science program is only undergrad, I believe, which is why it doesn't show up in the rankings you're so obsessed about. For that matter, I should have included UCB in my first post. Unlike UCSD, UCSB has a strong undergrad marine science program with top-notch professors who teach undergrads. UCSD has very little in the way of an undergrad program; the courses it does offer in undergrad MB are through ecology & evolution. That said, UCSD is a good science school and should definitely be considered. In California, I would suggest Stanford, UCB, UCLA, Pomona, UCSD, UCSB, and Occidental, in roughly that order. </p>
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i dont know much about jhu's marine bio, but if bio rankings are any hint, they would be very good.
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Definitely not. JHU is strong in molecular biology, but its organismal biology offerings are pathetic. For a school that graduated Rachel Carson, they should be ashamed to have let a good program die. Physical oceanography is relatively strong, but the rest is weak.</p>
<p>That's telling 'em Warbler. The Scripps Institution is the whole marine program at UCSD and Scripps offers ONLY graduate education. I don't believe Scripps even awards a master's degree. Ph.D all the way, baby!!!</p>
<p>Again, if you insist on an undergraduate MB degree also think about Texas A&M at Galveston. Several months back a poster said his freshman daughter was having a wonderful time there.</p>
<p>warblers, you are only focusing your decision on marine bio. the poster stated poli sci (ir) and marine bio, not just marine bio. hense why i put UCSD and UCLA much mugh higher than UCSB. UCSB is not highly regarded in poli, but UCSD and UCLA are (both top 10). majoring in poli at UCSD or UCLA and taking an ample load of marine bio classes would likely be a better decision for the poster, instead of attending UCSB. but the final decision on what is correct for himself is for the poster to decide.</p>
<p>thanks to warblers, ucchris & LW....your debate has helped me understand some possibilities for this seemingly odd combination of interests. looks like a college tour thru California is definitely in order.....PC</p>
<p>Actually Papa, in my opinion a combination of International Relations and Marine biology makes sense and is great career preparation because Marine Biology's international focus is growing. Global trade and marine conservation are intertwined. For example, see the friction between British Columbia authorities and officials in Washington State about conservation of Pacific salmon. Better yet, Americans, Norwegians and the Japanese continue to bicker about limits on whale hunting. And with regard to academic research, a lot of original material is published in other languages, including Japanese and Spanish. In fact, some graduate programs in Marine Biology have a foreign language proficiency requirement.</p>
<p>LW...makes sense....so my D's proficiency in French will help her with future job opportunties with the Cousteau Society! I love it when a strategy comes together! In all seriousness, being in the environmental business myself, I can really see what you are saying about the nexus between MB & IR. Its only going to become more important in the future.</p>