UNCW vs. UMiami for marine biology?

[Harambee]

<p>I don’t think you can make a wrong choice here, as both schools are excellent for Marine Biology. However, if cost is a huge issue, and you end up with a lot of debt, then I’d lean towards UNCW which seems to be the less expensive school. Also, are you an undergrad or grad student? That could make a huge difference. I say that because Marine Biology is more of a graduate field of study, so it might be better if you major in a general science (if you’re an undergrad that is).</p>

<p>One of the advantages that UNCW has is that it’s one of the few NC colleges that offers a marine bio major. As such, it gets a lot of [government</a> grants/funding](<a href=“http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20090720/ARTICLES/907209958]government”>http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20090720/ARTICLES/907209958). Also, Marine Biology is one of UNCW’s highest rated fields, so the university takes a lot of pride in that and [spends</a> more funding for the marine bio program](<a href=“http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20100701/ARTICLES/100709999/-1/opinion?Title=Bonds-approved-to-fund-new-UNCW-marine-sciences-building]spends”>http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20100701/ARTICLES/100709999/-1/opinion?Title=Bonds-approved-to-fund-new-UNCW-marine-sciences-building) than almost any other field of study. In fact, I’m sure that Marine Biology is the only program at UNCW that awards PhDs.</p>

<p>As for UNCW itself, it’s a great, picturesque college. It’s located in the great city of Wilmington, and it’s near some of the best beaches on the East Coast. Another advantage that UNCW has is that it runs [the</a> world’s only undersea research laboratory (Aquarius)](<a href=“http://aquarius.uncw.edu/]the”>http://aquarius.uncw.edu/) off the coast of Florida.</p>

<p>Here’s a post that’s worth reading from warblersrule86 (who’s very informed about marine bio).

…if you are interested in becoming a marine biologist, take this advice to heart:</p>

<p>It is NOT wise to major in marine biology (unless you’re a double major). As any MB will tell you, marine biology is mostly a graduate school field. It is unlikely a marine biology major will land you a career or grad school admission. Furthermore, it is difficult to branch out from marine biology into other fields for grad school. What is far, far more important is getting the necessary anatomy, biology, biochemistry, organic chem, physical chem, physics, advanced calculus, statistics, computer science and possibly geology that you need to succeed in the field. There are many summer programs (Scripps, Duke Marine Lab, and Woods Hole spring to mind) that you can (and should) participate in to gain some background in marine biology. </p>

<p>Marine biology is a subset of oceanography (often called “biological oceanography”) and is by far the most popular branch (chemical, geological, and physical oceanography being the other three), so the availability of jobs is not high.</p>

<p>Many, many schools can provide you with the proper undergraduate background for a career in marine biology. Many of these schools, like U Kansas, are not located on the coast. I strongly suggest picking a school strong in the basic sciences and math. Specializing at this point is a very bad idea.</p>

<p>Finally, you needs to know what you’re getting into. Wanting to play with dolphins and fish is all very well, but very, very few people get these jobs. Most likely you will take a research cruise for 2-3 weeks PER YEAR, and spend the rest of your time writing up your results and grant proposals for future research. You will probably, with the increased focus on climatology, be studying microorganisms and microfossils instead of the traditional macroscopic focus. Conservation biology, beach loss, and environmental chemistry are also becoming increasingly important in marine biology. If these don’t sound fun, it might not be the best field. It’s not always fun and games like Cousteau makes people think…

</p>

<p>Here are some other threads worth reading that might help:
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/238909-unc-wilmington-info-marine-bio-2.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/238909-unc-wilmington-info-marine-bio-2.html&lt;/a&gt;
<a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/92499-what-10-best-marine-biology-departments-2.html?highlight=marine+biology+ranking[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/college-search-selection/92499-what-10-best-marine-biology-departments-2.html?highlight=marine+biology+ranking&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>I hope that helps…and yeah, the UNCW forum isn’t as large as other school’s forums, so it might seem inactive, but I’ll try to make sure it sees some activity.</p>