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Marine Sciences B.S.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

1. Upon completion of the degree, students should be able to explain how biomass and diversity of marine organisms impacts the functioning and output of marine food webs, describe the processes which produce and maintain the abundances, composition, and temporal variations of organisms in the ocean, from microbes to fisheries and apply traditional biological oceanographic methods in field and laboratory settings in observational and experimental studies.

2. Upon completion of the degree, students should

be able to describe large-scale ocean and atmospheric circulation in relation to air-sea gas exchange, explain the distribution of nutrients and organic matter in the ocean, describe the acid-base chemistry of the ocean, and the relationship to the carbonate system, explain the use of trace elements and stable isotopes as chemical tracers of oceanographic processes.

3. Upon completion of the degree, students should be able to identify the physical processes and forces that drive the movement of fluids on Earth, describe physical oceanographic processes that range in scale from millimeters to 1000s of km. use the scientific method and a variety of tools (including data collection and oceanographic instruments) to study marine processes.

4. Upon completion of the degree, students should be able to explain how the geology of the oceans influences the biology, chemistry, and physics of the global ocean, describe why we have oceans in the first place, and how oceans are born, mature, and die, explain the formation of the ocean’s non-living resources, define the ocean’s role in global climate change on a variety of time scales.

CAREERS MARINE SCIENCES B.S. GRADUATES PURSUE

  • Aquarist
  • Coastal Zone Manager
  • Conservationist
  • Educator/Professor
  • Environmental Planner
  • Fisheries Scientist
  • Marine Biologist / Animal Trainer
  • Program Coordinator / Outreach
  • Research Analyst
  • Toxicologist

SUCCESS RATES

68.0%

6-year graduation rate

3.85

Avg. years to degree

MEDIAN EARNINGS

N/A

10 years after graduation

N/A

5 years after graduation

N/A

1 year after graduation

PLACEMENT2 years after graduation

69.6%

Working in New York

21.1%

Continuing Education

Notes

Graduation rates: the percent of students entering in the selected major as first-time, full-time students in a fall term and graduating by August 31 six years later. Average of three most recent reporting years (2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24) Years to degree: the average number of years it takes a student to complete the selected major if they entered as a freshman. Average of the three most recent completion years (2021-22, 2022-23, 2023-24) Earnings: the median annual earnings of graduates in the selected major based on the 4-digit CIP code at 1, 5 and 10 years after graduation. U.S. Census, Postsecondary Enrollment Outcomes Explorer. Degree completers from 2001-2022 in 2022 dollars.  Working in NY State: the percent of graduates working in New York State two years after graduation. SUNY Wages Dashboard, includes graduates from 2015-18. Continuing education: the percent of students enrolled in a U.S. postsecondary institution, 2 years following graduation. National Student Clearinghouse, includes graduates from 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-2022)