Course Overview

The Marine Sciences (MARS) curriculum concentrates on the physical and chemical aspects of science of the marine, estuarine, and coastal environment. The coastal location of the Galveston campus enables students to acquire extensive hands-on field experience in addition to a solid base of academic in struction in chemistry, geology, physics, biology, and mathematics. Advanced work centers around four semesters of oceanography. Electives in the junior and senior year allow the student to obtain a broader background in ocean studies or to specialize, usually in the areas of environmental science, geology, or chemistry. The Marine Sciences graduate has a strong, well-rounded foundation in the quantitative physical sciences with considerable field and laboratory experience. With suitably chosen electives, graduates are qualified to enter M.S. or Ph.D. programs in Oceanography or related disciplines, or to move directly into jobs in environmental monitoring, oceanographic instrumentation, pollution control, the offshore oil industry and other fields. Also, students majoring in Marine Sciences can be eligible for a secondary teaching field in Physical Sciences, pending a passing score on the state certification test (ExCET).

If desired, Marine Sciences majors may pursue the License Option program. The Marine Sciences License Option program allows the Marine Sciences student to prepare for a career as an officer aboard a seagoing vessel by participating in the U.S. Maritime Service Corps of Cadets. The curriculum provides the basics of Marine Sciences as well as courses leading toward licensing as a Third Mate of any gross tonnage upon oceans, steam, or motor vessels, in the U.S. Merchant Marine.

The Marine Sciences License Option curriculum is an abbreviated version of the Marine Sciences curriculum and is oriented toward field activities consistent with service aboard research vessels. Students who wish to attend a physical science graduate program will need to take additional coursework in science and mathematics.

General Eligibility

Undergraduate students who meet the following general admission requirements at the time of application are assured admission to  A&M-Central Texas:

• Minimum 2.0 cumulative transfer GPA on a 4.0 scale;

• Minimum 30 academic, college-level transferable semester hours. Applicants pursuing an Applied Science or Aviation Science degree may meet this requirement utilizing select workforce education credit from an approved Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree upon completion of 45 hours, to include all general education courses within the AAS.

• Must be eligible to return to all previously attended colleges or universities.

Part Time Work Details

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Language Requirement

• The University requires all students to take at least one year of a foreign language. This requirement is completed by having taken two units of the same foreign language in high school, completing one year of the same foreign language in college or completing the credit-by-examination process.

  Minimum TOEFL Essentials score of 8.5, or. Minimum IELTS Academic test score of 6.0 overall band (Texas A&M University does not accept the IELTS General test)