Hey I have debated on going to school in marine biology for awhile but for certain reasons I majored in secondary education social studies. I now realize that I want to be a marine biologist but am going to graduate in the spring with a completely unrelated degree. Does anyone have any advice on how to proceed if I want to be a marine biologist? I know masters programs won’t accept me because of my non science background but is there a post-bacc program I could take to satisfy the admissions requirements?
I would suggest that you contact some schools with good marine biology programs and ask them what you need to do prior to applying for a master’s degree. You are going to need to at a minimum take some number of biology courses and probably some marine related courses (whether marine biology, oceanography, or something related). You should also ask them about the relative value of taking additional courses then applying for a master’s program, or going back and getting a second bachelor’s degree. I would do this during this summer, in case there is anything that you want to change about your senior year course load.
I do know some cases of students taking courses after graduation in order to get ready for graduate school (or in one case one course to prepare for veterinary school).
Do they have any marine biology at the university that you are currently attending?
Another more drastic option would be to take a gap year, and transfer to a school that has a good marine biology program. This is likely to take you at least two additional years, and it might be more depending upon what courses you have already taken.
What do your finances look like? How many more years of university can you afford? I do know of some “not too horridly expensive” schools that have very good marine biology programs, but most of them are in Canada rather than the US.
My understanding is that you need some form of graduate degree to work in marine biology. I used to know someone who got a master’s in marine biology from Stanford. I was not impressed by the job that she was able to get afterward, but did not stay in touch. I have met a couple of marine biologists, both of whom have PhD’s.
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