Marine Biology/Oceanography - PhD

There are two informal divisions within the Ph.D. in Oceanography Program: marine biology and physical oceanography.  Ph.D. applicants should have obtained agreement from a faculty member to serve as major professor. For the biological sciences, Ph.D. applicants should have a completed draft dissertation proposal that must be submitted with the application. The proposal content will be a major factor in acceptance.

A successful recipient of the Ph.D. degree in Oceanography/Marine Biology is expected to:

• understand the basic marine biological, chemical, geological, and physical processes to a level sufficient to communicate and collaborate with experts in those sub-disciplines; and  be able to apply this knowledge to issues in research and resource management
• apply the scientific method to define, investigate, and evaluate hypotheses in at least one of these sub-disciplines
• conduct (as guided by, and to the satisfaction of, the doctoral committee and Halmos College of Natural Sciences and Oceanography faculty) advanced, original, and independent research that adds to the body of oceanographic knowledge in one or more of the sub-discipline areas
• communicate scientific results and conclusions clearly and logically in a written dissertation and in scientific presentations and publications
• Students are expected to complete degrees within 5 years of full-time study, and within 9 years in the case of part-time students (a minimum of 3 years enrollment in the Ph.D. program is required)