MSCI 230 - Introduction to Marine Science

Credits: (3)
College Curriculum: COLL 200
Domain (Anchored): NQR
Domain (Reaching Out): CSI

This course provides a comprehensive, introductory overview of marine science, exploring oceanic systems, coastal environments, and the organisms that live there. The course emphasizes the key geological, physical, chemical, and biological processes that characterize the ocean system, highlights the interdisciplinary linkages among them, examines the fundamental role of the oceans in controlling the larger Earth system, and explores the myriad ways the oceans impact - and are impacted by - humans. As a COLL 200 course, concepts are linked to related fields of study in the social sciences and humanities. The course is designed to be accessible to students with both scientific and non-scientific backgrounds, and is the entry point for W&M’s major and minor in marine science.