Biological oceanographers study the relationship between living organisms in the ocean and their environment. Students may choose from a wide variety of courses specializing in specific organism groups such as microbes, phytoplankton, zooplankton, and fish, as well as courses in the ecology of organism groups or ecosystems.

Students with many different undergraduate backgrounds have successfully completed an M.S. or Ph.D. degree in biological oceanography at GSO. However, an undergraduate student should be prepared for our graduate program if they have an undergraduate major in botany, zoology or biology (including marine biology) and in addition, their undergraduate program includes mathematics through calculus and one semester each of physics and chemistry. Organic chemistry, biochemistry, geology, statistics, a second semester of calculus and physics, and computer literacy are recommended.

Program Requirements

Master of Science: OCG 501, 521, 540, 561, 695; participation in a regular ocean research cruise; thesis. Candidates for M.S. degrees must satisfactorily complete 30 credits (24 course credits and 6 research credits).

Doctor of Philosophy: OCG 501, 521, 540, 561, 695; six credits of OCG 600 level courses (excluding problems and research courses and OCG 695); participation in a regular ocean research cruise; comprehensive examination; dissertation. A Ph.D. qualifying examination is required of all doctoral students. This requirement is satisfied by completing, with a grade of B or better, OCG 501, 521, 540 and 561. Ph.D. candidates must satisfactorily complete 72 credits (42 course credits and 30 research credits).

In consultation with the individual's program committee, the student elects additional courses from those in the course list and from offerings of related departments, such as Ocean Engineering, and in other colleges of the University. Electives serve to strengthen the student's grasp of oceanography and of the sciences basic to oceanography, and prepare students for individual research. Deficiencies in basic undergraduate science courses must be made up without graduate credit.

There is no general requirement for proficiency in a foreign language, but the individual student's major professor may require demonstration of ability in one or more foreign languages.

Faculty

Jeremy S. Collie, quantitative marine ecology
Edward G. Durbin, marine planktonic food chains, zooplankton, and fish ecology
Scott W. Nixon, estuarine and wetland ecosystems
Stephen B. Olsen, coastal management
Candace A. Oviatt, marine ecology
Charles T. Roman, coastal ecosystems, ecology of estuaries and salt marshes
Tatiana Rynearson, marine genomics and poplation genetics
Theodore J. Smayda, phytoplankton ecology and physiology
David C. Smith, marine microbial ecology, food web dynamics
Jennifer Specker, fish endocrinology, adaptation and development
Karen Wishner, maine zooplankton ecology, deep-sea biology

Marine Research Scientists

Robert G. Campbell, zooplankton physiology and ecology
Percy Donaghay, zooplankton physiology, population dynamics in changing environments
Robert D. Kenney, distributional biology, behavior of mammals
Lucie Maranda, ecology, life history, and physiology of dinoflagellates
Jan Rines, phytoplankton systematics and ecology