<p>Hello! I've been seriously considering UM {I live in Central Florida, west coast}, and have so far read most of the posts in this forum. One thing that hasn't been elaborated on, however, is the Marine Science program...Is anyone currently enrolled, or has a friend/relative who is? I would love any kind of feedback on the program that you have to offer.</p>
<p>Thank you! =}</p>
<p>I cannot help you too much but I do know that marine science at UM is supposedly really good. I guess due to the location, UM is a great place to study marine science. </p>
<p>Yeah, I know I’m no help, but others will elaborate haha.</p>
<p>I am a freshman- although I’m technically “undecided”- I’m on the marine science track, sorta.</p>
<p>I took Marine Science first semester and for the most basic intro class, the labs are really pretty interesting. Class is 2 or 3 times a week and one 3 hour lab a week that you go to the RSMAS campus via the free shuttle (15 min ride). We went to the Miami SeaQuarium and observed manatees/dolphins one day. Another lab we handled sea slugs, one lab we looked at small sea communities on rocks and saw sea spiders and sea worms. The class also took a snorkeling field trip. The class lectures were really basic and a bit boring but it was an intro class.</p>
<p>Since there are only about 60-80 freshmen each year enrolled in RSMAS, the profs know a lot of the kids and all the students are fairly close with each other. A bunch are in RHO (Marine sci honor society) or the scuba club. Also the professors are really qualified in their fields and Intro to Mar Sci had 3 really nice professors co-teach. </p>
<p>I will tell you this: if you definitely wanna study marine science during undergrad in the US, the best school is RSMAS at UMiami. Hands down. Great location, great labs, great professors, and great research/internship opps. One student I know got to work with the South FLorida Shark Center this summer and got to tag and research sharks!</p>
<p>Message me if you want more questions answered</p>
<p>Three words: RSMAS is awesome.</p>
<p>I’m a freshman who just finished their first semester. I do agree with Wneckid99 that Intro to Marine Science was a little boring, but you’re going to have that with any intro class. Overall though, the program is super-fantastic. The profs are AMAZING! They really know their stuff and are overjoyed to help you. You can talk to them about pretty much anything and they’ll be able to help you. In my marine science class this past semester, all three profs were outside the lecture hall in Cox half an hour to and hour before each exam to answer any last minute questions or explain something that you simply dont get. They even brought doughnuts to the last exam for everyone! Ginger (I don’t know what her title is, but she’s the head “secretary,” if you will) is amazing and will help you in any way possible (seriously, I went to her to discuss a chem lab I wanted to audit and she offered me cookies). My advisor, Dr. Olson, is always happy to meet with me (like when I panicked and realized I was in a class without the pre-req I called him and he immediately set up an appointment with me first thing the next morning to fix the issue).</p>
<p>The lab-work is fantastic. Theres something for everyone in the intro lab (which is sooooo much better than the lecture). Some of my favorites included analyzing microscopic plankton under the microscope, observing larvae on settling plates, handling aplysia (aka sea slugs used for neurological research across the country), and both the field trips (snorkeling on a coral reef in the beginning of the semester, and wading around in mangroves and sea grasses for the last lab). My TA and prof (Dr. Fieber) for the lab were absolutely fantastic; Dr. Fieber actually got me a volunteer position at the aplysia facility next semester! Speaking of research and such, the window into the marine science office is COVERED with research and volunteer positions, internships, job offers, etc. There are clubs for your every desire (SCUBA club I got certified this past semester, Aquarium Club, Rho Rho Rho, Marine Mammal Stranding Team, etc.). </p>
<p>In summary, for marine science, you cant go wrong with RSMAS.</p>
<p>(Oh, and if youre into meteorology, Dr. Nolan, one of the foremost hurricane researchers in the nation and MSNBCs regular featured hurricane scientist, did a lecture on hurricanes about two weeks into the semester. So meteorology rocks too!)</p>
<p>Thank you guys so much for the quick responses!</p>
<p>November1991, thanks for the insight and opening up the topic!</p>
<p>Wneckid99, thank you for sharing the semester overview…That sounds like a lot more “hands-on” activity than most students get to do, especially in an intro class. The part about your friend tagging and researching sharks was really exciting, it seems that UM tries to help its students secure the best internships, jobs, and experiences that it can! Best of luck with pursuing marine science =}</p>
<p>And Bijou3owl, I can’t thank you enough for the in depth review of both the professors and opportunities available! I hope that you have an awesome time volunteering, it’s so cool that you can do that! I’m getting really stoked about applying within the next few years {sophomore in HS}, RSMAS sounds like my dream school. Would you mind telling me a bit more about the Marine Mammal Stranding Team? That definitely caught my eye. Thanks again for your post, it is reviews like these that make me look forward to college =}</p>