The oceanography graduate degree program offers a major in oceanography with tracks in biological, chemical, and physical oceanography. Each of these is offered at both the Ph.D. and M.S. levels. While students pursuing an M.S. in oceanography typically pursue a thesis-based track, each M.S. major also includes a non-thesis option. In addition to these tracks in oceanography, the oceanography degree program is also home to the Aquatic Environmental Science (AQES) Program, which offers two M.S. majors.
Students in the oceanography and AQES programs work closely with faculty in EOAS to conduct ground-breaking, interdisciplinary research. Our students work in all of the world’s major oceans and combine open-ocean or coastal field work with cutting-edge laboratory analyses, satellite remote sensing, and artificial-intelligence-aided numerical modeling. Research projects span such diverse topics as sea turtle conservation, genomic analyses of marine microbes, characterization of organic matter in glacial meltwater, climate change impacts on marine fisheries, and ocean-atmosphere coupling in coastal ecosystems.
Any degree seeking student with at least a B.S. or B.A. degree in a basic science may apply to enter the master’s program. Most successful applicants without a master’s degree in oceanography or a closely allied field are accepted into the master’s degree program. However, such applicants, as well as applicants with master’s degrees in oceanography or a related field, may also apply directly to the Ph.D. program. Admission to the M.S. or Ph.D. program is granted upon a favorable majority vote of the faculty admissions committee and upon agreement of a faculty member to act as a major professor.
The oceanography graduate degree program offers a major in oceanography with tracks in biological, chemical, and physical oceanography. Each of these is offered at both the Ph.D. and M.S. levels. The candidate for the Ph.D. degree is required to take at least 18 semester hours in areas related to the student’s specialty in addition to the general M.S. requirements. The content of these 18 hours will be determined by the student, their advisor and the student’s supervisory committee. These requirements apply to students entering the Ph.D. program with an M.S. degree in a related field as well as students with an M.S. in oceanography. Also, all students must take 24 semester hours of dissertation (OCE6980).
If a student is working toward the Ph.D. degree without completing the M.S. degree, the M.S. minimum course requirement of 33 semester hours must be fulfilled as well as the Ph.D. requirements.
Students completing the M.S. degree may be readmitted to the Ph.D. program upon a favorable majority vote of the faculty. Each Ph.D. student must be continuously enrolled for at least 24 hours in any 12 month period (see the FSU Graduate School Graduate Residency page). Oceanography students are typically supported by either teaching assistantships or research assistantships.
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Biological oceanographers study life in the oceans. Their goal is to obtain a predictive understanding of the activities and distributions of marine organisms, from phytoplankton to apex predators. Current research in the EOAS department focuses on a variety of organisms from microbial communities to large marine mega-fauna at tropical to polar oceans and from the land-ocean interface to deep-ocean. Our research is often interdisciplinary, and uses a variety of approaches, including field observations, laboratory experiments, spatial analysis and theoretical models.
The program allows students to participate in research both in the laboratory and in the field. Many students get to participate in oceanographic cruises and some have the chance to work in the laboratories of our colleagues around the world. Because of the interdisciplinary nature of many of the questions biological oceanographers investigate, we often collaborate with chemical, geological and physical oceanographers.
Frequently, we collaborate with colleagues at other institutions in this country and abroad. Our students also present the results of their research at professional meetings all around the globe.
Chemical oceanographers study the mechanisms that control the distribution of elements and compounds in the atmosphere, ocean, coastal waterways, and sediments on the sea floor. Work is highly inter-disciplinary and seeks to understand how the earth system is evolving over time. Students conduct research spanning rivers and coastlines to the deepest ocean basins and study time-scales ranging from modern day ocean responses to climate change to millennial time scales using paleoclimate proxies. Our students often use cutting edge analytical facilities available either within the EOAS department or at the FSU-headquartered, National Science Foundation-funded National High Magnetic Field Laboratory.
Physical oceanography is focused on the interaction between oceans and atmosphere and how that interaction influences and shapes our world. Professors guide students in their study of wave motions, tides, currents, salinity and temperature of the oceans and how those properties influence weather and climate. Other avenues of study involve the transmission of light and sound through water and the ocean’s interactions with its boundaries at the seafloor and the coast. Physical oceanography requires a basic understanding of geophysical fluid dynamics (the study of fluid motion on a rotating sphere), classical physics, and applied mathematics.
For details about the specific course requirements in the oceanography Ph.D. and M.S. majors, please see the oceanography degree program handbook.
Aquatic Environmental Science (AQES) has two majors and several tracks leading to an M.S. degree.
1. A thesis M.S. program designed to receive undergraduate science majors. The program requires an M.S. thesis directed by an EOAS faculty member. These students are generally supported by teaching assistant or research assistant positions, but positions are very limited. This track is within the AQES major.
2. A non-thesis track program designed to serve working professionals and undergraduate science majors. The program culminates in a capstone project. This track is within the AQES major.
3. A Professional Science Master’s (PSM) degree for students who are looking for a more MBA-like program. This degree is a non-thesis terminal M.S. degree with a capstone course that will focus on a project or internship. This track is within the PSM in AQES major.
4. A joint non-thesis AQES graduate pathway with a the law school, J.D./M.S.