Biology: Concentration in Marine Science
Bachelor of Science, Accelerated Master's
About this program
The Bachelor of Science in Biology: Concentration in Marine Science lets you dive into the study of life in water — from microscopic organisms to marine plants and animals to freshwater systems. You choose an emphasis in areas like invertebrate zoology, botany, microbiology or limnology. You build a strong foundation in physics and chemistry, take upper-level biology courses and gain skills for careers or graduate study in marine, environmental or conservation fields.
Program Curriculum and Requirements
SFSU Accelerated Bachelor's + Master's
The Biology Concentration in Marine Science and Interdisciplinary Marine and Estuarine SFSU Accelerated Bachelor's + Master's Program is an opportunity for exceptional students to become a competitive masters level marine scientist in a shorter time. Our faculty and marine science laboratories, right on the Bay, will train you to work across disciplines on vital issues confronting coastal and ocean regions where environmental and society impacts intersect.
Program Scope
This program offers students an opportunity to immerse themselves in the study of marine environments and the organisms that reside there. The B.S. in Marine Science is suited for students preparing for a variety of careers, such as academic research, aquatic scientist, teacher, naturalist, outdoor educator and state and government agencies including the National Park Service, State Parks and Recreation, Environmental Protection Agency and Water Quality Monitoring Agencies, as well as Non-Governmental organizations such as The Nature Conservancy and many others.
In all of our concentrations, research experiences in the labs of our world-class faculty and instructors are an integral part of student training. Hands-on experiences in our research labs, through the Biology Undergraduate Research Program (BURP), prepare our graduates for high-level jobs in industry or further training toward a higher degree.
Program Learning Outcomes
- UNDERSTANDING THE PROCESS OF SCIENCE: Students can design an experiment with the appropriate control groups to test a hypothesis.
- QUANTITATIVE REASONING: Students can interpret a graph or dataset to determine if the results of an experiment support or reject a hypothesis.
- RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SCIENCE AND SOCIETY: Students can weigh the costs and benefits to society of the use of recent scientific and technological developments.
- EVOLUTION: Students can explain the role that variation between individuals plays in the processes of natural selection and evolution.
- RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION: Students can explain how a change in the structural characteristics of a molecule, tissue or organism will affect its function.
- INFORMATION FLOW AND STORAGE: Students can describe the mechanisms of information flow in classical and molecular genetics and predict the outcomes of crosses.
- PATHWAYS AND TRANSFORMATION OF MATTER AND ENERGY: Students can explain how a carbon molecule flows through a biological process or system.
- SYSTEMS (i.e. living systems are interconnected and interacting): Students can predict the consequences of how a change in one aspect of a biological or complex system will affect other aspects of the system.