<p>Any know a good school around California (and probably out of state) that has a good Marine Biology program? This is for a friend of mine and he's very interested. Currently, he's looking for UC SC and that's about it. He's a sophomore with a 3.5 UW(?) GPA, haven't taken the SAT yet, and EC is mostly sports: Water Polo, Swimming, Football. I'm not looking for the top 100 schools, just a school that will probably give him a chance for admission with a great marine biology program. Anyone?</p>
<p>I've heard University of Puget Sound has a good marine biology program</p>
<p>Here is a list:</p>
<p>Weedingout, 3.5 unweighed GPA is not bad at all. He should definitely be looking at good universities, especially if he does well on standardized tests. Here are a couple of schools I really recommend:</p>
<p>Brown University (if he can ace the SAT)
Florida Institute of Technology
Texas A&M University-College Station
University of California-Santa Barbara
University of Miami
University of North Carolina-Wilmington</p>
<p>That's pretty much it for now I guess.</p>
<p>a 3.5 gpa is competitive for many top schools and certainly schools within the top 100 (ucsc is one of these schools). I recommend Miami, good and Miami's avg weighted gpa is 4.0 so im sure hes competitive, especially if he does well on the act</p>
<p>Everyone should keep in mind that Marine Biology, Marine Studies, Oceanography etc is, by and large, a GRADUATE field of study. See Warblersrule' earlier post for a good perspective on this matter. I know of no Sea Lab or Institute (Woods Hole, Scripps or Friday Harbor, for example) that would hire a full-time/permanent person who possessed only an undergraduate degree.</p>
<p>The various graduate programs in Biology, Marine Biology, Marine Science or Oceanography all tell prospective students that their undergraduate degree should just be in any science field. Any many graduate programs will admit folks of various majors who simply have a concentration or a basic foundation in the sciences.</p>
<p>University of Miami has a very good undergraduate major in marine biology, with incredible resources and excellent faculty at the Rosentiel School out on Key Biscayne...check it out.</p>
<p>I second University of Miami. It has an exceptional program in marine biology and other sciences. It is a very good school</p>
<p>Texas A&M University at Galveston</p>
<p>UQAR... Oh wait, you wanted in/near California (and probably English instruction). </p>
<p>/I love to mention obscure local universities</p>
<p>I repeat this every time this topic comes up, but I'll repeat it again. :rolleyes:</p>
<p>It is NOT wise to major in marine biology (unless you're a double major). As any MB will tell you, marine biology is mostly a graduate school field. It is unlikely a marine biology major will land you a career or grad school admission. Furthermore, it is difficult to branch out from marine biology into other fields for grad school. What is far, far more important is getting the necessary anatomy, biology, biochemistry, organic chem, physical chem, physics, advanced calculus, statistics, computer science and possibly geology that you need to succeed in the field. There are many summer programs (Scripps, Duke Marine Lab, and Woods Hole spring to mind) that you can (and should) participate in to gain some background in marine biology. </p>
<p>Marine biology is a subset of oceanography (often called "biological oceanography") and is by far the most popular branch (chemical, geological, and physical oceanography being the other three), so the availability of jobs is not high.</p>
<p>Many, many schools can provide you with the proper undergraduate background for a career in marine biology. Many of these schools, like U Kansas, are not located on the coast. I strongly suggest picking a school strong in the basic sciences and math. Specializing at this point is a very bad idea.</p>
<p>Finally, he needs to know what he's getting into. Wanting to play with dolphins and fish is all very well, but very, very few people get these jobs. Most likely you will take a research cruise for 2-3 weeks PER YEAR, and spend the rest of your time writing up your results and grant proposals for future research. He will probably, with the increased focus on climatology, be studying microorganisms and microfossils instead of the traditional macroscopic focus. Conservation biology, beach loss, and environmental chemistry are also becoming increasingly important in marine biology. If these don't sound fun, it might not be the best field. It's not always fun and games like Cousteau makes people think.</p>
<p>University of Hawaii Manoa (and Hilo I think but dont go there...) has a GREAT Marine Biology program. They have an undergraduate and graduate program and students get a lot of hands on experience. There are lots of research opportunities in Hawaii too for graduates (and you DON'T have to be a double major!) Plus, Hawaii is among the cheapest schools in the country. They are in the the list for least debt upon graduation. Even for out of state its a really good deal!</p>