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BS - Biological Sciences-Marine

What is a Marine Biology degree?

Whether you want to explore the mysteries of deep-sea organisms, discover marine animal interrelationships, or become a leader in marine veterinary science, you can get there with a marine biology degree from Florida Tech. Here, you'll develop a strong background in biology and get hands-on experience in ecology and oceanography.

Our marine biology degree program is dynamic and focused. Emphasis is on the diversity of marine organisms, their characteristics, interrelationships and interactions with the marine environment. You'll get started right away, taking core courses like Biological Discovery and General Chemistry as a freshman. Guided by highly accomplished faculty who care about your success, you'll hone your strengths and begin specializing as early as sophomore year.

Advantages

Why Florida Tech:

• Florida Tech's undergraduate marine biology degree program was one of the first of its kind in the United States, started in 1971
• Ranked #7 among the country's marine marine biology degree (Gourman Report 1998)
• Broad training in biological sciences with specialization in marine topics
• Intense hands-on field, ship-board and laboratory
experiences, beginning in freshman year
• Undergraduate research opportunities including work-study, volunteer assistant and formal research courses
• Located on the Indian River Lagoon, the most diverse estuary in North America
• 50% of required credits are in biology

Facilities: The biology department is housed in the F.W. Olin Life Sciences Building (LSB). LSB contains eight teaching labs, 12 modern research labs, a 16-workstation computer facility, and an electron microscopy suite. The department maintains the Vero Beach Marine Laboratory where field studies in marine biology can be performed. The facility is located on four acres on the ocean front of the barrier island beach just north of Vero Beach, Florida. The laboratory provides access to a variety of subtropical habitats, including an open coast sand beach, sub-tidal sand bottom habitats and coquina reefs. The nearby Indian River Lagoon contains a variety of habitats that include mangrove fringe, salt marsh, oyster bars, a wide variety of submerged aquatic vegetated system, and intertidal mud and sand bottom habitats.

Learning

Internships and Cooperative Learning: Students in the biological sciences at Florida Tech have been recruited for internships by companies such as:

• American Museum of Natural Science
• Andean Biodiversity Consortium
• Baltimore Aquarium
• Brevard County Environmentally Engangered Lands Program
• Brevard Zoo
• Epcot Center
• Florida Medical Entomology Lab
• The Perry Institute for Marine Science
• Sea World Florida
• Shedd Aquarium

Future Outcomes

Outcomes - Grad School: In addition to pursuing master's and doctoral degrees at Florida Tech, graduates have gone on to study at a number of universities around the country. A few of these include:

• University of Florida
• University of South Alabama
• University of Miami
• University of Texas
• University of South Florida

Curriculum

Curriculum program plans shown reflect current degree requirements. Previous academic year requirements can be accessed from the catalog page by choosing the appropriate academic year.

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Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences–Marine Biology

The Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences – Marine Biology seeks to educate students in unifying themes in biology, while encouraging them to expand their knowledge in more specialized subject areas. The department offers six undergraduate programs in which a student may specialize: aquaculture, conservation biology and ecology, general biology, marine biology, molecular biology and premedical biology. The curriculum is organized so that in the first two years students learn concepts fundamental to all biological sciences, and in the last two years students follow their own interests in selecting courses that are more specialized.

Marine biology includes specialized courses in marine biology and oceanography to provide the knowledge and skills for the study of marine life. Emphasis is on the diversity of marine organisms, their characteristics, interrelationships and interactions with the marine environment. The program prepares students for employment or graduate work on subjects from marine microbes to mammals, and from molecular marine biology to ecology.

Admission Requirements

Students intending to apply for admission to study in the department of biological sciences should complete at least one year each of high school biology, chemistry and physics. Prospective students should also have at least three years of high school mathematics, including second-year algebra and trigonometry.

Florida Tech has articulation agreements with many of the community colleges in Florida. Students contemplating transfer to Florida Tech should consult with the department to determine transferability of credits. If there is a question regarding specific courses needed, students should contact the associate department head for undergraduate studies.

Degree Requirements

Candidates for a Bachelor of Science in Biological Sciences – Marine Biology must complete the minimum course requirements outlined in the following curriculum. Electives are selected in consultation with the faculty adviser to reflect the knowledge a student needs either for employment or graduate school.

Freshman Year

Sophomore Year

Junior Year

Senior Year

TOTAL CREDITS REQUIRED 129

Not all humanities core courses are offered online or every term; check the current schedule of classes for humanities core options.