National Marine Science Centre
degrees and awards > undergraduate program
The two partner universities in the NMSC offer an extensive range of undergraduate and postgraduate courses and research degrees that can be located at the NMSC.
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Undergraduate Program
Most Australians are choosing to live near the ocean and nearly all Australians take advantage of the oceans surrounding Australia at some point in their lifetime. Growth in the coastal population has brought new pressures on estuaries and inshore marine areas.
An understanding of these coastal areas and the processes which affect the animal life within them is needed if these important environments are to be wisely managed. This is part of the sustainable use philosophy which underpins the courses offered at the National Marine Science Centre.
The NMSC specialises in the capacity development of students to enable them to meet the new challenges facing scientists and managers conserving marine resources.
The Undergraduate course synthesises contemporary marine scientific concepts such as large marine ecosystems, global climate change and marine biodiversity conservation, with the management of ecosystems and those using the marine environment captured in the concept of ecologically sustainable development.
The course melds theory with practice. It emphasises detailed field studies and fundamental scientific techniques such as sampling design, experimental and monitoring techniques, and shows how these can be applied to marine environmental management.
Students spend the first two years of the undergraduate degree in either Armidale or Lismore, completing approved preliminary subjects. Year three is spent at the NMSC in Coffs Harbour enabling final year students to access the habitats of the Solitary Islands Marine Park and the state-of-the-art facilities at the National Marine Science Centre.
Students can also choose to study their first two years of science as external students, while living in Coffs Harbour and making use of the NMSC facilities and improving their marine skills.
Through its coastal and marine course, the NMSC aims to produce multi-skilled science graduates with not only competency in marine science, with advanced analytical skills, and strong communication abilities, but also being able to apply science and management skills to environmental problems.
Work experience, internships and volunteering, in scientific, management and/or commercial enterprises, is recommended and will form part of the education.
Undergraduates at the NMSC are surrounded by an active postgraduate and research environment.
Staff from both universities have considerable expertise in coastal and marine sciences and in natural resource management. The staff are joined by practising professionals and national and international experts who participate in the delivery of the subjects. Further input comes from staff of various government and non-government organisations providing a first-hand and up-to-date view of current community issues in marine science. Links with these organisations will also give students the opportunity for contact with potential employers in their course of study.
The subjects are offered sequentially as discrete modules rather than simultaneously. Each unit consists of three weeks of study: a week of reading and preparation; a week of intensive lecture, workshop, tutorial, laboratory and field studies; and a week of assignment, report preparation and other assessment work.
The capstone of the course is an intensive coral reef unit which integrates the material taught throughout the year and will involve an extended field trip to tropical reefs in either northern Australia.
The training programs of the NMSC have the objectives of producing graduates and postgraduates that can meet the issues confronting the management of coastal and marine resources as outlined in "Australia's Oceans Policy" and the sustainable marine resource management standards set out in numerous international environmental agreements. The issues studied in the courses apply to not only Australia's marine resources, but also across other countries internationally and to the work of international organisations.
It is envisaged that career outcomes for students from the programs at the NMSC can be in the following areas:
Science, management and research with government agencies, the private sector (eg. consulting or firms supplying products and services) or non-government organisations in:
- marine and coastal biodiversity and ecological processes
- marine park and marine protected areas
- addressing marine and coastal pollution
- monitoring of ocean, coastal and marine processes
- development and commercialisation of marine technology
- fisheries administration and management
- fisheries science, including conservation technology
- aquaculture and mariculture
- sustainable development of coastal and marine resources
- science teacher training, with emphasis on marine and coastal science
- development and sustainability issues relevant to South Pacific and SE Asia under aid programs
- marine tourism and eco-tourism