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Education

UNCW Center For Marine Science

The Center for Marine Science is compelled to help foster the first of UNCW's seven strategic goals: To create the most powerful learning experience possible for our students.

About

CMS offers students the opportunity to learn through collaborative scholarly activities with world-class faculty at a level that rivals exclusive research institutions. The center considers itself a community of learners who embrace scholarship and the necessary interplay between teaching and research.

The faculty and staff at CMS strive to create learning environments and experiences that promote the cognitive, affective, physical and social development of the student learner.

CMS Faculty

CMS faculty members conduct coastal and marine science research in the departments of:

Center faculty serve on regional, national and international research policy advisory groups and thereby contribute to the development of agendas on marine research in the United States and the world. International interactions with labs in Scandinavia, Japan, Australia, Europe, the Caribbean, and all regions of coastal United States augment extensive programs addressing North Carolina coastal issues.

B.S. in Marine Biology

The UNCW marine biology curriculum is a unique baccalaureate program in the university system. It includes a strong foundation of biology with an emphasis in marine biology at the junior and senior levels. Full use is made of the natural laboratory provided by the adjacent Atlantic Ocean through extensive fieldwork in many marine biology and biology courses.

The curriculum is flexible enough to meet the individual needs of the student enabling preparation for graduate studies or for teaching and research careers available to one with the baccalaureate degree.

B.S. in Oceanography

The B.S. Oceanography program is designed specifically for students interested in pursuing professional, research or academic careers and advanced degrees in the ocean sciences. The oceanography degree program requires students to develop basic proficiencies in:

  • Mathematics
  • Chemistry
  • Physics
  • Biology
  • Effective oral and written communication skills

In addition, the program allows students to focus on their specific interests through selection of appropriate elective course work. The program includes an applied learning component which can be fulfilled through appropriate field- or ship-based course work, internships and faculty directed research.

View the B.S. Oceanography program

Marine Science Degrees

The UNCW Center for Marine Science supports both undergraduate and graduate program in marine science-related disciplines. Click on a degree program below to find out more about the educational opportunities fostered by the center.

Applications are being accepted for UNCW’s newest doctoral program, the Ph.D. in Applied Coastal and Ocean Sciences (ACOS). This dissertation-based degree program will provide students with skills to develop translational and entrepreneurial thinking useful for pure and applied scientific research and development in the marine sciences.

The ACOS Ph.D. takes advantage of more than 80 faculty at UNCW who are engaged in the many facets of marine research.

Questions About Marine Science Degrees?

Dr. Nicole Fogarty, our graduate program director, is available for questions by email or phone.

M.S. in Marine Biology

The graduate program in marine biology is designed to:

  • Prepare students for further graduate work leading to a Ph.D.
  • Provide professional biologists with advanced research and educational opportunities
  • Prepare students as managers of coastal and marine resources, trained to deal with contemporary problems in the environment
  • Provide students with a broad-based graduate program allowing for specialization in the diverse fields of inquiry represented by the faculty of the department

M.S. in Marine Science

The Center for Marine Science oversees an interdisciplinary program of study leading to an M.S. degree in marine science. The educational objectives of this degree program are to:

  • Provide a broad interdisciplinary understanding of marine science to students having strong undergraduate training in mathematics and the sciences
  • Develop skills that will enable these students to utilize this knowledge to solve complex marine environmental problems.

These problem solving skills will provide the foundation for future contributions by the graduates in marine-related industries, environmental management, teaching, research, and other marine-oriented careers. Students will also be prepared to undertake additional graduate study in a doctoral program.

View the m.s. Marine science program

Ph.D. in Applied Coastal and Ocean Sciences

The doctor of philosophy in Applied Coastal and Ocean Sciences (ACOS) combines high caliber research in ocean and coastal science with entrepreneurial skills and career readiness training for students seeking to apply core principles of marine science to the development of solutions with societal and/or commercial benefit. The educational objectives of this degree program are to:

  • Provide an advanced understanding of the principles and concepts in core areas of marine science

  • Develop skills that will enable these students to produce an idea, process, service, or product to provide societal benefit

The research intensive nature of the program is supported with coursework in both advanced coastal and ocean science, entrepreneurial thinking, and career readiness.

View the Ph.D. Acos program

CMS Summer Courses

More course details will be added soon.

Questions about CMS summer 2026 courses?
CMS_Education@uncw.edu

2026 Summer Courses

In this course students will learn methodologies and techniques applied in scientific diving. Students will meet the core educational requirements of AAUS with focus on skills related to advanced and research diving, nitrox use, and dive rescue. Students will gain hands on experience conducting underwater mapping, transect data collection, and equipment deployment and recovery under the supervision of a collaborative multidisciplinary team or researchers who actively utilize scientific diving. Upon successful completion of the course, students will be eligible to participate as a scientific diver in training or scientific diver at UNCW or their home institution.
This course will introduce students to fundamental techniques used in marine surveying, including sidescan sonar, bathymetry, navigation and seabed sediments. The course will be a combination of lecture, lab and offshore surveys.
This experiential course examines coastal flooding and resilience through place-based case studies in New Hanover County, NC. Students will integrate coastal processes, climate change impacts, social vulnerability, and land-use planning and governance to understand why flooding risk persists and how communities adapt. Through field visits to flood-prone neighborhoods, stormwater infrastructure, and nature-based solutions, students evaluate adaptation strategies and develop a site-specific resilience assessment or applied communication product. The course emphasizes interdisciplinary thinking and real-world problem solving.
Students will collaborate in teams to create well-organized short documentary films about a variety of Marine Science topics. Skills learned included field producing, cinematography, sound recording and editing.

Graduate Program Director

Dr. Nicole Fogarty

Phone: 910.962.3397

CMS_Education@uncw.edu