Students pursuing a degree in marine science typically have interests in biodiversity, conservation, the environment, and/or graduate or professional programs. High school preparation should include a solid background in mathematics, introductory life sciences, and chemistry. To complete the degree, students will be required to take courses at a marine lab, providing experiential learning opportunities. Most students opt to take their courses at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, on Dauphin Island, AL, as the courses offered were developed to meet the degree requirements.
Marine Science Requirements
| Marine Science Required Courses | Hours | |
|---|---|---|
| Core Requirements | ||
| Select one of the following: | 4 | |
| Principles Of Biology I and Laboratory Biology I | ||
| Honors General Biology I | ||
| Select one of the following: | 4 | |
| Principles Biology II and Laboratory Biology II | ||
| Honors Gen Biology II | ||
| Select one of the following: | 4 | |
CH 101 or | General Chemistry | |
| Honors General Chemistry | ||
| Select one of the following: | 4 | |
CH 102 or | General Chemistry | |
| Honors General Chemistry | ||
| Select one of the following: | 4 | |
GEO 102 or | The Earth Through Time | |
| Sustainable Earth | ||
| Other Required Courses | 7 | |
| The Dynamic Earth | ||
| Ecology and Evolution | ||
| Marine Science Courses | ||
| MS 304 | Marine Geology | 4 |
| MS 306 | Marine Biology | 4 |
| MS 448 | Intro Oceanography | 4 |
| Marine Science 300 or 400 level Electives | 4 | |
| Marine Invertebrate Zoology | ||
| Marine Ecology | ||
| Coastal Zone Management | ||
| Marine Vertebrate Zoology | ||
| Marine Botany | ||
| Special Topics | ||
| Select one of the following: | 3 | |
ST 260 or | Statistical Data Analysis | |
| Intro Stats Biology | ||
| Upper Division Electives in BSC or MS | 8 | |
| Select from the Elective Course List below. | ||
| Credit Hours Subtotal: | 54 | |
| Required Ancillary Courses: | ||
| Grades in ancillary courses are not computed into the major GPA. The major in marine science requires the successful completion of the following courses outside the major: | ||
| Math - Select one of the following: | 4 | |
MATH 125 or | Calculus I | |
| Honors Calculus I | ||
| Physics I - Select one of the following: | 4 | |
| General Physics I | ||
| General Physics W/Calc I | ||
| Honors Gen Ph W/Calculus | ||
| Physics II - Select one of the following: | 4 | |
| General Physics II | ||
| General Physics W/Calc II | ||
| Honors Gen Ph W/Calculus II | ||
| Total Hours | 66 | |
| Elective Course List | Hours | |
|---|---|---|
| Biological Science Elective Options: | ||
| BSC 300 | Cell Biology | 3 |
| BSC 301 | Cell Biology Laboratory | 3 |
| BSC 303 | Field Zoology | 3 |
| BSC 310 | Microbiology | 3 |
| BSC 311 | Microbiology II | 3 |
| BSC 312 | Microbiology Lab | 2 |
| BSC 313 | Gen Bacteriology Lab | 3 |
| BSC 315 | Genetics | 3 |
| BSC 320 | Freshwater Studies | 4 |
| BSC 340 | Principles of Nat. Res. Cons. | 3 |
| BSC 360 | Plant Biology | 4 |
| BSC 371 | Biology of Lower Plants | 4 |
| BSC 373 | Vertebrate Zoology | 4 |
| BSC 380 | Intro Stats Biology | 3 |
| BSC 386 | General Ecology Lab | 3 |
| BSC 390 | Honors Thesis Research A | 1 to 8 |
| BSC 391 | Tutorial In Biol Science A | 1-2 |
| BSC 393 | Biology Outreach A | 2 |
| BSC 396 | Resident Study A | 1-6 |
| BSC 398 | Undergraduate Research A | 1-4 |
| BSC 399 | Presentation of UG Research A | 2 |
| BSC 400 | Vertebrate Funct Morphol | 4 |
| BSC 403 | Intro To Bsc Instruction A | 2 |
| BSC 404 | Honors Bsc Instruction A | 2 |
| BSC 407 | Honors Seminar In Bsc A | 1 |
| BSC 411 | Phage Discovery Laboratory | 3 |
| BSC 412 | Limnology | 3 |
| BSC 415 | Wetland Ecology | 3 |
| BSC 416 | Disease Ecology | 3 |
| BSC 417 | Environmental Modeling | 3 |
| BSC 420 | Principles Of Systematics | 4 |
| BSC 426 | Computational Biology Lab | 3 |
| BSC 428 | Biology Of Fishes | 4 |
| BSC 439 | Bch/Molecular Biology Lab | 3 |
| BSC 441 | Developmental Biology | 3 |
| BSC 442 | Integrated Genomics | 4 |
| BSC 444 | General Virology | 3 |
| BSC 445 | Honors Endocrinology | 3 |
| BSC 448 | Animal Behavior | 3 |
| BSC 449 | Endocrinology | 3 |
| BSC 450 | Fundamentals of Biochemistry | 3 |
| BSC 451 | Molecular Biology | 3 |
| BSC 453 | Biochemistry Lab | 3 |
| BSC 455 | Chemical Ecology | 3 |
| BSC 456 | Microbial Ecology | 3 |
| BSC 458 | Drug Discovery Laboratory | 3 |
| BSC 464 | Biology Of Algae | 4 |
| BSC 465 | Prin Of Toxicology | 3 |
| BSC 467 | Honors Data Man. Vis. in R | 3 |
| BSC 469 | Histology Of Vertebrates | 4 |
| BSC 470 | Prin Pop Genetics | 3 |
| BSC 471 | Plant Physiology | 3 |
| BSC 472 | Mycology | 4 |
| BSC 473 | Bioinformatics | 3 |
| BSC 475 | General Entomology | 4 |
| BSC 476 | Aquatic Insects | 4 |
| BSC 477 | Invertebrate Zoology | 4 |
| BSC 478 | Microbiomes Health & Disease | 3 |
| BSC 480 | Plant Ecology | 3 |
| BSC 481 | Adv Biostatistics with R | 3 |
| BSC 482 | Conservation Biology | 3 |
| BSC 483 | Evolution | 3 |
| BSC 484 | Aquatic Biology Seminar | 1 |
| BSC 487 | Biogeography | 3 |
| BSC 488 | Research Seminars in Biology | 1 |
| BSC 497 | Special Topics | 1-4 |
| Footnotes | |
|---|---|
| A | The department offers a number of courses designed to enrich the learning experience of students beyond the traditional classroom setting. Only 4 credit hours of these courses can be applied to the marine science major or minor. An additional four hours may be applied toward the requirement for 120 hours for the degree. BSC 409 Pre-Health Apprenticeship I and BSC 410 Pre-Health Apprenticeship II are not applicable to the major in marine science. A maximum of 12 hours of 100-level biology courses (BSC 108 Intro Biology Non Maj I, BSC 109 Intro Biology Non Maj II, BSC 114 Principles Of Biology I, BSC 115 Laboratory Biology I, BSC 116 Principles Biology II, BSC 117 Laboratory Biology II, BSC 118 Honors General Biology I or BSC 120 Honors Gen Biology II) may be applied to degree requirements. Students are responsible for ensuring that they have met all University, College, major and minor requirements. However, each student must meet with an adviser in the major department for academic planning and to be approved for registration each semester. College advisers are also available for additional assistance with minor, College, and University requirements. |
Grade Point Average
A 2.0 grade point average in the major is required for completion of the degree. Please see the Grades and Grade Points section of this catalog for an explanation on grade point average calculations.
Required Minor
The marine science major does not require a minor.
Prerequisites
Prerequisites for all BSC courses at the 300- and 400-level must be passed with a minimum grade of C-.
Restrictions on Course Attempts
No undergraduate course offered by the Department of Biological Sciences may be attempted more than three times. Mid-semester withdrawal (any withdrawal that results in a final grade of W) is not considered an attempt. Students who, in three attempts, fail to pass a required course or fail to make a C- or better in a course that is a prerequisite for a required upper level course may no longer major in Marine Science.