About Our Undergraduate Programs

Marine Science has been part of the academic curriculum at the University of Miami since 1949, when the Marine Laboratory, now known as the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (RSMAS), initiated a program of studies leading to the Master of Science degree. Today, RSMAS is one of the largest oceanographic institutes in the country with a faculty of just over a hundred scientists who conduct sponsored research and engage in academic training. In 1977, the College of Arts and Sciences and RSMAS joined together to establish an undergraduate Marine and Atmospheric Science Program. The degree granting authority for this program was formally transferred to the Rosenstiel School in 2008.

Our curriculum is designed to take full advantage of the University’s subtropical location, with year-round access to a variety of specialized marine environments including the deep ocean waters offshore, the coral reef tracts of the Florida Keys, and the estuarine sea grass beds and mangrove shoreline of South Florida. Students are introduced to the general complexities of the ocean and atmosphere through lectures, laboratories and field trips. Undergraduate students are encouraged to work with the faculty in their laboratories, and are able to earn course credit by conducting independent research under the supervision of leading scientists in their field.

Degree Options

The Rosenstiel School offers two undergraduate degree options, a Bachelor of Science in Marine and Atmospheric Science with majors in Marine Science and Meteorology and a Bachelor of Arts in Marine Affairs. The Bachelor of Science track in Marine Science is a full double major program that requires a major in Marine Science through the Rosenstiel School and a major in one of the basic sciences through the College of Arts and Sciences. The accepted double major combinations are marine science/biology, marine science/chemistry, marine science/geology, marine science/physics, and marine science/computer science. The Bachelor of Science degree in Meteorology is a single major program, though students often combine meteorology with a second major in mathematics, physics, or ecosystem science and policy, among others. A double major combining meteorology and broadcast journalism through the School of Communications is an increasingly popular option.

The Bachelor of Science degree program is meant for students planning to continue with graduate studies in marine and atmospheric science, or for those who will pursue a technical career in this area in government or private industry.

The Bachelor of Arts degree in Marine Affairs will be useful to students planning either non-technical careers with government agencies or private industries directly or indirectly concerned with the ocean, or graduate studies in such areas as business, law, economics, political science, education, or communication.

In cooperation with the graduate program in Marine Affairs and Policy, a five-year BA/MA program in Marine Affairs is available. This program enables qualified students to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Marine Affairs in four years with the opportunity to earn a Master of Arts in Marine Affairs with only one additional year.