Marine Science

Marine Science is a field which encompasses many traditional disciplines including biology, geology, chemistry, physics, and engineering. The program recognizes the intrinsic interdisciplinary nature of modern marine science and the necessity for cross-disciplinary, graduate-level training through a program which brings together more than 50 marine faculty located in nine departments on campus. The program emphasizes the understanding of the ocean as an integrated system. Students conduct research in areas such as biological, chemical, and physical oceanography, marine geology and geophysics, marine biology, paleoceanography, marine optics and remote sensing, ocean engineering, and marine policy.

Applicants to the Department must be accepted by a major professor with whom they wish to work and who has agreed to supervise the student’s graduate training and thesis dissertation research. Therefore, it is strongly encouraged that prospective students contact individual faculty members in the Program whose research interests coincide with their own and to list potential advisors on their application.

Marine Science encourages potential applicants to review materials at https://www.igpms.ucsb.edu/academics/apply for guidance on how to apply and a description of the Program's application evaluation process, as certain elements of the online application are not used in reviewing applicants.