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Marine science is a field which encompasses many traditional disciplines including
biology, geology, chemistry, physics and engineering. More and more, the investigation
and understanding of the ocean requires an interdisciplinary perspective of the
ocean as an integrated system. At UC Santa Barbara, we recognize the intrinsic
interdisciplinary nature of modern marine science and the necessity for cross-disciplinary
graduate-level training through a graduate program which brings together 47 marine faculty located in 9 departments on the UCSB campus. Areas such as biological,
chemical, and physical oceanography, marine optics and remote sensing, marine
geology and geophysics, marine biology, paleoceanography, ocean engineering and
marine policy are typically pursued by students in this program. Some of our students
focus on a particular disciplinary area for their research (e.g. biological oceanography,
marine geology, ocean physics, etc.), but seek a broader training in marine science
than can be provided within the framework of traditional departmental programs.
Others complete interdisciplinary dissertations involving expertise in two or
more subdisciplines within marine science.
UCSB is one of the top ranked institutions in the nation in the area of marine
science. Located in an incomparably beautiful setting directly on the California
coast, it is within close range of a myriad of unique marine features including
the oceanic Pacific and California Current, deep coastal basins, areas of extensive
coastal upwelling, a high diversity of oceanic, coastal, deep sea, estuarine,
subtidal and intertidal habitats near major faunal boundaries, submarine faults
and seeps, and an unsurpassed marine sedimentary global climate record. Marine
faculty on campus constitute an active and cooperative group of dynamic scientists
who interact extensively on multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary projects,
grants, and cruises. Investigations are underway not only off California but across
the globe including such regions as the tropical Pacific, the Sargasso Sea, and
Antarctica. Numerous professional marine researchers associated with the Marine
Science Institute and the Institute for Computational Earth Systems Science at
UCSB provide research opportunities and expertise which further stimulates our
exciting program.
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