Program Learning Objectives
Graduates of the BS Marine Sciences program will be able to:
- Integrate and synthesize information from the various marine disciplines.
- Recognize and value the diversity of marine life and ecosystems.
- Apply the scientific method, by formulating hypotheses, making predictions, and assessing, analyzing, synthesizing, and interpreting data.
- Communicate marine scientific principles and research findings effectively diverse audiences.
- Demonstrate proficiency in lab and field techniques relevant to marine sciences.
- Locate and utilize bibliographic resources and demonstrate the ability to evaluate scientific literature.
- Relate ethical, social justice or global perspectives to the study and practice of marine science.
Degree Requirements and Curriculum
In addition to the program requirements listed on this page, students must also satisfy requirements outlined in more detail in the Minimum Requirements for Graduation section of this catalog, including:
- 60 units of upper-division courses
- Graduation Writing Requirement (GWR)
- 2.0 GPA
- U.S. Cultural Pluralism (USCP)
Note: No Major, Support or Concentration courses may be selected as credit/no credit.
| MAJOR COURSES | ||
| BIO 150 | Diversity and History of Life | 4 |
| BIO 161 | Introduction to Cell and Molecular Biology (B2 & B3) 1 | 4 |
| BIO 162 | Introduction to Organismal Form and Function | 4 |
| BIO 263 | Introductory Ecology and Evolution | 4 |
| BIO 461 | Senior Project - Research Proposal 2 | 2 |
| or BIO 462 | Senior Project Research Experience | |
| CHEM 302 | Marine Chemistry | 3 |
| MSCI 100 | Orientation to Marine Sciences | 1 |
| MSCI 300 | Marine Ecology | 4 |
| MSCI 301 | Biological Oceanography | 3 |
| MSCI 403 | Ocean Sampling Techniques | 4 |
| PSC 201 | Physical Oceanography | 4 |
| Marine Resources Conservation and Policy | ||
| Select from the following: 3 | 4 | |
| Principles of Conservation Biology | ||
| Marine Conservation and Policy | ||
| Aquaculture | ||
| Fisheries Science and Resource Management | ||
| Marine Biodiversity | ||
| Select from the following: 3 | 4 | |
| Ichthyology | ||
| Invertebrate Zoology | ||
| Microbial Ecology | ||
| Marine Mammals, Birds and Reptiles | ||
| Marine Botany | ||
| Communicating Science | ||
| Select from the following (excess units will be applied to Electives): 3 | 1 | |
| Environmental Communication | ||
| Science Communication | ||
| The Learn By Doing Lab Teaching Practicum | ||
| Marine Science Outreach | ||
| Communicating Ocean Sciences to Informal Audiences | ||
| Electives | ||
| Select additional courses from Marine Resources Conservation and Policy, Marine Biodiversity, or Communicating Science (above) or select from the following: 3 | 25 | |
| At least 18 units must be upper-division. Select courses carefully to ensure that you have taken enough 300-400 level courses to meet the required 60 units of upper-division courses for the degree. | ||
| The Global Environment | ||
| Animal Production and Management Enterprise | ||
| Advanced Animal Production and Management Enterprise | ||
| Special Problems for Undergraduates 4 | ||
| Research Experience for Undergraduates 4 | ||
| Wildlife Ecology | ||
| Extended Field Biology Activity 4 | ||
| Principles of Genetics | ||
| Principles of Animal Physiology | ||
| Special Problems for Advanced Undergraduates 4 | ||
| Evolutionary Medicine | ||
| Evolution | ||
| Biogeography | ||
| Environmental Physiology | ||
| Behavioral Ecology | ||
| Population Ecology | ||
| Community Ecology | ||
| Ecosystem Ecology | ||
| Undergraduate Laboratory Assistantship 4 | ||
| Cell Biology | ||
| Senior Project - Research Proposal 2 | ||
| Senior Project Research Experience 2 | ||
| Honors Research | ||
| Selected Advanced Topics | ||
| Selected Advanced Laboratory | ||
| Current Topics in Biological Research | ||
| Molecular Biology Laboratory | ||
| Aquacultural Engineering | ||
| Undergraduate Research | ||
| Organic Chemistry II | ||
| Organic Chemistry III | ||
| Organic Chemistry Laboratory For Life Sciences II | ||
or CHEM 221 | Organic Chemistry Laboratory II | |
| Organic Chemistry Laboratory for Life Sciences III | ||
or CHEM 324 | Organic Chemistry Laboratory III | |
| Biochemistry: Fundamentals and Applications | ||
| Quantitative Analysis | ||
| Environmental Chemistry: Water Pollution | ||
| Biochemical Principles | ||
| Metabolism | ||
| Special Problems for Advanced Undergraduates 4 | ||
| Advanced Undergraduate Research | ||
| Environmental Communication 5 | ||
| Science Communication 5 | ||
| Fundamentals of Computer Science | ||
| Environmental Law | ||
| Data Structures | ||
| Project-Based Object-Oriented Programming and Design | ||
| Programming for Engineering Students | ||
| Computer Programming for Scientists and Engineers | ||
| Introduction to Data Science | ||
| Electric Circuit Theory | ||
| Electronics | ||
| The Learn By Doing Lab Teaching Practicum 5,6 | ||
| Special Problems for Advanced Undergraduates 4 | ||
| Fundamentals of Environmental Engineering | ||
| Special Problems | ||
| Water Chemistry and Water Quality Measurements | ||
| Special Problems for Undergraduates | ||
| Physical Geology Laboratory | ||
| Principles of Stratigraphy | ||
| Special Problems for Advanced Undergraduates | ||
| Calculus III | ||
| Calculus IV | ||
| Linear Analysis I | ||
| General Microbiology I | ||
| Microbial Ecology | ||
| Marine Science Outreach 4 | ||
| Scientific Diving | ||
| Communicating Ocean Sciences to Informal Audiences 5 | ||
| Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) | ||
| The World of Spatial Data and Geographic Information Technology | ||
| Water Resources Technology and Society | ||
| Special Problems for Undergraduates | ||
| Ocean Dynamics | ||
| Special Problems for Advanced Undergraduates 4 | ||
| Senior Project I | ||
| Senior Project II | ||
| Design and Analysis of Experiments I | ||
| Applied Regression Analysis | ||
or STAT 334 | Applied Linear Models | |
| Statistical Computing with SAS | ||
| Statistical Computing with R | ||
| Statistical Analysis of Time Series | ||
| SUPPORT | ||
| CHEM 127 | General Chemistry for Agriculture and Life Science I (B1) 1 | 4 |
| CHEM 128 | General Chemistry for Agriculture and Life Science II | 4 |
| CHEM 129 | General Chemistry for Agriculture and Life Science III | 4 |
| CHEM 216 | Organic Chemistry I 7 | 5 |
| or CHEM 312 | Organic Chemistry: Fundamentals and Applications | |
| GEOL 102 | Introduction to Geology | 4 |
| MATH 141 | Calculus I (B4) 1,8 | 4 |
| or MATH 161 | Calculus for the Life Sciences I | |
| MATH 142 | Calculus II (GE Electives) 1,8 | 4 |
| or MATH 162 | Calculus for the Life Sciences II | |
| PHYS 121 | College Physics I 9 | 4 |
| or PHYS 141 | General Physics I | |
| PHYS 122 | College Physics II 9 | 4 |
| or PHYS 142 | General Physics II | |
| PHYS 123 | College Physics III 9 | 4 |
| or PHYS 143 | General Physics III | |
| STAT 218 | Applied Statistics for the Life Sciences | 4 |
| STAT 313 | Applied Experimental Design and Regression Models (Upper-Division B) 1 | 4 |
| GENERAL EDUCATION (GE) | ||
| (See GE program requirements below.) | 52 | |
| FREE ELECTIVES | ||
| Free Electives 7,10 | 8 | |
| Total units | 180 | |
| 1 | Required in Major or Support; also satisfies General Education (GE) requirement. |
| 2 | If BIO 461 or BIO 462 is used to meet the senior project requirement, it cannot be double-counted as an Elective. |
| 3 | If a course is taken to meet a Major or Support requirement, it cannot be double-counted as an Elective. |
| 4 | Maximum of 6 units may be applied toward Electives: BIO 200, BIO 300, BIO 330, BIO 400, BIO 450, BIO 485, BIO 495, CHEM 400, ENGR 400, MSCI 401, PHYS 400. |
| 5 | No more than 3 units from COMS 390, COMS 395, ENGR 322/SCM 302, MSCI 440. |
| 6 | Maximum of 2 units may be applied toward Electives from ENGR 322/SCM 302. |
| 7 | If CHEM 216 is taken, then some Free Electives may need to be 300-400 level to ensure completion of the required minimum of 60 units of upper-division. |
| 8 | Students emphasizing in Chemistry, Physics or Engineering should take MATH 141 and MATH 142 instead of MATH 161 and MATH 162. GE Area B4 will be met with any of the following: MATH 161, MATH 162, MATH 141, MATH 142. |
| 9 | Students emphasizing in Physics should take PHYS 141, PHYS 142 and PHYS 143 instead of PHYS 121, PHYS 122 and PHYS 123. GE Area B1 will be met with any of the following: PHYS 121, PHYS 122, PHYS 141 or PHYS 142. |
| 10 | If a General Education (GE) course is used to satisfy a Major or Support requirement, additional units of Free Electives may be needed to complete the total units required for the degree. |
General Education (GE) Requirements
- 72 units required, 20 of which are specified in Major and/or Support.
- If any of the remaining 52 units is used to satisfy a Major or Support requirement, additional units of Free Electives may be needed to complete the total units required for the degree.
- See the complete GE course listing.
- A grade of C- or better is required in one course in each of the following GE Areas: A1 (Oral Communication), A2 (Written Communication), A3 (Critical Thinking), and B4 (Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning).
| Area A | English Language Communication and Critical Thinking | |
| A1 | Oral Communication | 4 |
| A2 | Written Communication | 4 |
| A3 | Critical Thinking | 4 |
| Area B | Scientific Inquiry and Quantitative Reasoning | |
| B1 | Physical Science (4 units in Support) 1 | 0 |
| B2 | Life Science (4 units in Major) 1 | 0 |
| B3 | One lab taken with either a B1 or B2 course | |
| B4 | Mathematics/Quantitative Reasoning (4 units in Support) 1 | 0 |
| Upper-Division B (4 units in Support) 1 | 0 | |
| Area C | Arts and Humanities | |
| Lower-division courses in Area C must come from three different subject prefixes. | ||
| C1 | Arts: Arts, Cinema, Dance, Music, Theater | 4 |
| C2 | Humanities: Literature, Philosophy, Languages other than English | 4 |
| Lower-Division C Elective - Select a course from either C1 or C2 | 4 | |
| Upper-Division C | 4 | |
| Area D | Social Sciences - Select courses in Area D from at least two different prefixes | |
| D1 | American Institutions (Title 5, Section 40404 Requirement) | 4 |
| D2 | Lower-Division D | 4 |
| Upper-Division D | 4 | |
| Area E | Lifelong Learning and Self-Development | |
| Lower-Division E | 4 | |
| Area F | Ethnic Studies | |
| F | Ethnic Studies | 4 |
| GE Electives in Areas B, C, and D | ||
| Select courses from two different areas; may be lower-division or upper-division courses. | ||
| GE Electives (4 units in Support plus 4 units in GE) 1 | 4 | |
| Total units | 52 | |
| 1 | Required in Major or Support; also satisfies General Education (GE) requirement. |
San Luis Obispo, California 93407