Double major in International Relations & Marine Bio...?

<p>Ok so I'm planning on double majoring in IR and Marine Bio....right now im considering:</p>

<p>Coastal Carolina U
UNC Wilmington
U Miami
American</p>

<p>i know the first two are focused more on marine bio...u miami im not really sure what its more for...and american way more in IR....BUT the thing is im looking for an equally good school for both...no idea if that even exists though. Im leaning towards American right now because of its location for IR and the extent of internships and such...but im really just torn in general. Any suggestions?</p>

<p>Marine biology is a very specialized degree- one that's best studied at the graduate level. I would suggest majoring in biology and then spending a semester or summer at a marine lab. </p>

<p>Check out Boston U and SUNY Stony Brook as well.</p>

<p>It is a very specialized degree...you're definitly right in saying that. but i know that.
....im currently a junior in HS and ive spent the past 5 summers at a college marine lab taking college courses so i do feel that majoring in marine bio right away as undergrad. and then focusing on a specific aspect of it later on would be a better way for me to go. thanks for the suggestion though</p>

<p>What do you want to do? What you want to do determines where I'd recommend you go, even if you stick with the double major. UNC if you want to pursue biology. American if you want to pursue IR-type careers.</p>

<p>in general----eventually international marine affairs....so im thinking American is probably the best choice</p>

<p>Talk to people in the field and find out what actual jobs there are in international marine affairs. I would imagine: there is international maritime law, there is international marine conservation, etc. Each one of these has its roots in a specialization: biology, law, etc. or a combination of them. What you want to do is study for the specialization, getting perhaps an advanced degree in it (JD or PhD, to use my example), and then add on international after this. I say this is as someone who went to a very well thought of school of international affairs. You can always get a degree in international this or that. But without the underlying specialization, it's not going to be as useful. If American has a good enough department where you can get marine biology classes at a good level, that's probably enough. Don't lighten up too much on the biology.</p>

<p>That would be extremely difficult to do I'd imagine, both are pretty specialized. You say: International marine affairs
American fits the first and third words in that, so I'd say American :)
Seriously, if you are more interested in biology go to UNC-Wilmington (I love UNCW plus they have a great marine-bio program) and if you are more interested in politics go to American.</p>

<p>see thats just the problem....i visited UNCW and absolutly loved it...im really torn between the two its such a hard decision...</p>

<p>Rather than a double major, have you considered a major in Environmental Studies? It covers both fields, and having the single major would give you more flexibility. </p>

<p><a href="http://www.american.edu/cas/env_std/programs_BA.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.american.edu/cas/env_std/programs_BA.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>warblersrule86 is right. It wuold be easier if you could combine somehow and it might turn out to offer you broader opportunities. For instance, my S's major is called Natural Resoursces-Policy and Administration.</p>

<p>For marine sciences, you can't beat the Rosentiel School at UMIAMI. Located on Virginia Key, the school conducts tons of research and offers many internship opportunities. A tour guide we had at UM was finishing her undergrad degree in marine bio and had been accepted to several law schools. She said she intended to focus her career on int'l marine law. She explained to our group that she turned down an undergrad admission to an Ivy because UM offered the best opportunities for her intended career.</p>

<p>UMIAMI also offers and undergrad major of marine affairs with the option of a 5 year BA/MA. <a href="http://www6.miami.edu/umbulletin/und/artsci/mar.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www6.miami.edu/umbulletin/und/artsci/mar.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br>
There is also a nice study abroad program in Austrailia for marine majors.</p>

<p>UM really is worth a closer look for any study associated with marine science. Good luck.</p>

<p>No, No, No, willmington wave, you missed my point. Let me give you an example. Let's say you want to be a specialist in international economic affairs. As someone who worked in this field, I would tell you: learn economics, it's the basic underlying speciality. And then do a sub-specialization in international affairs economics. If you start out with international affairs as your base, and then try to be an economist after the fact, you will find yourself marginalized as a generalist much more often. And the number of political science/IR people is much greater, so anchor yourself to the deeper specialty like biology and add on international affairs. Get it?</p>

<p>But to the poster: you said you like UNC. Done. Go there. UNC is a great school. It sounds like it would be a great fit for you, based on the most important measure: gut.</p>

<p>Go visit UMIAMI too to see if you have the same gut reaction.</p>

<p>I'm going to be double majoring International Realtions with Bio to eventually do International health...
i'm still waiting for American but i probably go to Case Western Reserve Univ.</p>

<p>I know University of Hawaii has a top marine biology program, and I think their IR is ranked high too.</p>

<p>Take a look at Eckerd College in Florida. The college is located right on the Gulf and marine bio is one of their top majors. They also have a good program in international business.</p>

<p>connecticut college has a wonderful partnership with the Mystic Aquarium (fabulous aquarium), excellent reputation in international relations, and very into environmental studies/ecological awareness (the campus is an arboretum). they also encourage self-designed majors, which would be perfect for you.</p>

<p>marching-- this is odd....I had a thread going a while back on schools with strong IR combined w/ marine bio:
<a href="http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=249571%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/showthread.php?t=249571&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>wow, thats awesome! haha</p>

<p>Definitely check out the University of Washington. They have one of the strongest Oceanography programs in the country and are also well known for International Relations. If you're worried about the logistics of double majoring in those to fields, e-mail people in those departments - I'm sure they'd be glad to assist you.</p>

<p>what about the marine affairs program at UMiami? That’s what I’m looking into!</p>