graduate program in marine science & conservation
The Division of Marine Science and Conservation administers the Ph.D. program in Marine Science and Conservation (MSC). Like other courses of study within the Nicholas School, the MSC Ph.D. program emphasizes interdisciplinary research in natural and social sciences, focusing on environmental issues. The MSC Division includes a group of approximately 25 regular-rank faculty members with training in the natural and social sciences, working on a wide range of environmental research problems. Graduate students in MSC are actively engaged in research at the forefront of environmental sciences in collaboration with faculty who are leaders in their respective fields.
The Ph.D. in Marine Science and Conservation is offered in two areas of concentration: (1) Marine Biology and (2) Marine Conservation Biology and Policy. Doctoral students in both concentrations emphasize research as a major part of their degree programs. Students working in the Marine Biology track work in a variety of fields, including the ecology, biochemistry, physiology and behavior of marine plants and animals. The concentration in Marine Conservation Biology and Policy is designed to ensure that students working on problems in marine conservation receive detailed training in either natural or social science while, at the same time, are able to synthesize information from both fields.
There are approximately 30 Ph.D. students currently working with MSC faculty. Most of these students, together with their faculty advisors, are resident at the Marine Laboratory in Beaufort. The average time to earn a PhD degree within the MSC program is just over five years, well below the U.S. national average in Environmental Sciences (about 7.8 years) and in the Physical Sciences (about 6.7 years). All matriculating students are guaranteed full financial support as a research assistant or teaching assistant for five years of study.
Ph.D. students working with MSC faculty typically take advantage of the expertise and courses offered by the other academic divisions and departments at Duke and elsewhere. Some students whose research is in conservation biology and policy may require intensive training in economics, political science or another social science. Some of this expertise is available in the MSC Division and elsewhere in the Nicholas School, but these students may also wish to take course work elsewhere at Duke. In particular, students may take classes in Political Science, or Public Policy Studies and the School of Law.
Formal Ph.D. degree requirements include a comprehensive preliminary examination (usually oral but aspects of the exam can be written as dictated by the committee), and the most important requirement - a dissertation document and its successful defense. Dissertation chapters typically include a number of manuscripts submitted or published in peer-reviewed journals, with an introduction that ties these manuscripts together, and a conclusion that charts the path forward on this topic.
Our Ph.D. graduates work as university faculty, and for non-governmental organizations and governmental institutions. Some of our recent graduates hold positions at: Bowdoin College, Eckerd College, Florida State University, University of Montana, Savannah State University, University of North Carolina at Wilmington, University of Puerto Rico, University of Guelph, NOAA, National Institute of Standards and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact individual faculty members with whom they wish to work prior to applying to the Graduate School. Most faculty participating in this program are residents at the Duke University Marine Laboratory in Beaufort, NC, a three and one-half hour drive from main campus.
For more Marine Science & Conservation information visit here >
For more information please contact:
Andrew J. Read, Director of Graduate Studies
E-mail: aread@duke.edu
Phone: 252-504-7590
