The marine concentration connects knowledge about marine processes to broader systems such as climate, terrestrial and freshwater systems, and human communities and activities. Marine Science is a highly interdisciplinary field that seeks to understand the processes that shape our oceans and coasts. We incorporate the tools and insights of physical, chemical, biological, and geological sciences to better understand marine systems and how they interact with local and global processes and support communities.
Students can select courses in oceanography, environmental chemistry, ecology, and toxicology to build an understanding of the various human impacts on the ocean. The major includes a capstone course, where students integrate concepts from environmental science and ocean science to address marine environmental problems. It also includes an internship, senior thesis or project, or foreign study that enables students to gain experience in their chosen field.
How is the Environmental Science Major with Marine Science Concentration different from other marine options like MACS or Marine Biology?
The points in why you may want to consider this concentration (below) are also the key differences between this program and others at WWU. The ESCI marine science concentration differs in these ways:
- You can focus on the marine environment and its connections to terrestrial and freshwater systems.
- The program emphasizes human impacts such as pollution and climate change on the coastal marine environment.
- Many of our courses explore the interdependences between our communities and marine systems including conservation and restoration.
- With fewer required courses, you can create a customized pathway that fits your interests and get hands on experience in internship and capstone experiences.
Why Consider a Marine Science Concentration?
- Focus on the marine environment and its connections to terrestrial and freshwater systems. This concentration will allow you to:
- Pair ecology courses focused on terrestrial, marine and/or wetlands ecology to gain an understanding that spans different systems.
- Explore how the marine environment impacts organisms at a variety of scales, through courses ranging from algae to marine invertebrates, to fishes including salmon.
- Explore the interdependences between our communities and marine systems.
- Understand how climate change influences the ocean on large and small scales and how marine systems are important in climate feedbacks and controls.
- Investigate how people steward marine systems through conservation and resource management, including Indigenous resource management.
- Learn about the presence of contaminants in our waters and the systems in place to detect, prevent and control their effects.
- Create a customized pathway that fits your interests and emphasizes applied learning.
- The ESCI concentration is flexible, with few required courses beyond the preparatory courses.
- Students can select a suite of courses that correspond with their interests as they learn and grow within the program.
- Both the internship and capstone requirements give you additional chances to practice applied learning and to form connections between your course work and real-world questions and solutions.
