The BSMAS in Oceanography provides a broad foundation in the basic sciences (mathematics, physics, chemistry and biology) and the ocean sciences (physical, chemical, and biological processes in the ocean) as well as elements of geological and atmospheric sciences. Students can choose to specialize in one or more of these sub-disciplines and are strongly encouraged to complete a minor or a second major in Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Geology, Meteorology, Mathematics, Computer Science, or Engineering. These disciplines provide the necessary quantitative foundation from which to study and understand how the ocean works. A double-major is highly desirable for students who want to compete for graduate school and are passionate about going onto a research career in oceanography.
The Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric and Earth Science at UM is one of only a handful of academic oceanographic institutions in the US, with over sixty faculty conducting research of local, regional, and global relevance, from red tides in Biscayne Bay to the rapid warming of the Indian Ocean. There are opportunities to interact with and learn from these world-class faculty through classes, labs, reading groups, senior projects, day trips on UM's research vessel Walton Smith (FLOTSUM program), and the semester-long U-Galapagos program.
The ocean sciences faculty at Rosenstiel School run a number of high-tech facilities, laboratories, and instruments to conduct their research, including CSTARS for the analysis of satellite imagery, SUSTAIN for the study of hurricane-force winds at the ocean surface, cell sorting flow cytometry and mass spectrometry to identify and quantify marine microbes, numerical models to understand ocean circulation and mixing, statistical models to assimilate observations and make predictions, isotopic and radiocarbon analysis to study the ocean's biological carbon pump, a coastal radar network that monitors the Florida Current, and an ocean technology lab with instrumentation that can be deployed for months and years to measure the variability of currents and water properties in the deep ocean.
