Looking for feedback from those knowledgeable about marine biology and kind enough to respond, in particular @warblersrule …
DD will likely attend URI’s College of the Environment and Life Sciences (CELS) where they offer a wide variety of environmental science programs including marine biology, marine affairs, oceanography etc. She is leaning towards a dual major, one of which would be marine bio with a more general environmental science major or perhaps wild life conservation and biology. URI also offers a combined 5 year BS/MA program in Marine Biology and Oceanography. I understand from the forum that generally one needs a graduate degree in order to become a Marine biologist.
Here are my questions …
- as an undergraduate in marine biology, which second major would you recommend in order to round out DD’s undergraduate education? Something within CELS or in a completely different area of study in another school at URI?
- what are your thoughts about URI’s combined 5 year BS/MA program? It’s an intriguing option from our perspective but would appreciate some feedback:
https://www.gso.uri.edu/blog/5th-year-master-of-oceanography-degree-program/
- DD has a guaranteed transfer offer from Northeastern for sophomore year. How do NU’s marine biology and environmental science programs stack up against URI and would it be worth it for her to consider transferring sophomore year? Though money is not the most important factor, I should point out DD has a generous merit scholarship at URI but would be unlikely to receive merit money at Northeastern and we do not qualify for financial aid.
Thank you!
I can’t speak to 1 or 2, but I always highly advise against sophomore transfer options in general. The uprooting is rarely worth it, especially if it’s more costly. Freshman year is when it’s easiest to build friendships, and there are a lot of adaptations that come with transferring. Northeastern is a great school and has good marine bio as far as I know, but it’s not worth transferring unless your daughter wants to transfer from URI because she dislikes it after freshman year. Hold onto it just in case, but I would go into URI with the mindset that URI is the school of choice.
I strongly recommend picking a second major outside CELS. What that should be depends on her interests…public policy is useful for a career in marine policy, education is useful for those thinking about going into teaching, and statistics and geography (and GIS) are useful for lots of different things.
If she does double major within CELS, I recommend pairing one of the core sciences (biology, geology, chemistry, physics) with one of the more specialized programs.
I wouldn’t let it be a factor, especially if the 5th year would cost extra $$$. One can easily get into a good MS or PhD program from a 4-year program. What matters is getting sufficient research experience.
Northeastern has massively improved as an overall institution in recent years, but URI is the stronger school for anything relating to oceanography.
@warblersrule and @PengsPhils – Thank you very much for your incredibly helpful replies!
@warblersrule - what are your thoughts on Economics as a second major with Marine Bio? Either outside of CELS or within CELS (CELS has an Environmental and Natural Resource Economics major)? Thank you.
@mamafid I might also consider communications. She’ll be useful if she develops her writing (think grants) and speaking skills. Also consider adding other skills. If she doesn’t already have Scuba diving certification or if she can advance her certification. There is a diving community around Jamestown. I think URI has scuba but if not there are plenty of local options. Take advantage of the location and the bay. Learn to sail. Take boating classes. First aid and CPR. All useful skills.