School of Marine Science and Technology University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

The School for Marine Science and Technology

The School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth engages in graduate education and research in ocean sciences, fisheries sciences, ocean technology, marine resource economics and marine policy with an innovative combined emphasis on curiosity-driven and societal need-driven research and learning. The research and learning environment involve observations, modeling, experimentation, and theory. Researchers at the school work with local industry, non-government, and government agencies to investigate ocean engineering , ocean modeling and monitoring, coastal systems science, fisheries science and management, biogeochemistry, ocean acoustics, and remote sensing.

SMAST is home to the Department of Estuarine and Ocean Science and the Department of Fisheries Oceanography. However, the school offers graduate degrees in seven interdisciplinary fields through a University of Massachusetts system-wide School of Marine Sciences that uses the resources of five different UMass campuses and involves approximately 80 faculty members from over 12 departments.

The Department of Fisheries Oceanography

The Department of Fisheries Oceanography (DFO) has a main mission of education and research in the interdisciplinary sciences related to the interactions between marine organisms and marine environments. This covers a wide range of categories including field exploration, laboratory experiments, theoretical research and modeling. Critical to the development of the DFO at UMass Dartmouth is cooperative research with the fishing industry of New England. New Bedford has been the number one fishing port for the last five years due to the high volume of top quality sea food landed. The scallop industry has worked extensively with the DFO to develop the world's largest video survey database of the sea scallop resource and this research has been used in every management plan since 1999.

DFO's specific purpose is to train scientists in the techniques and theory of fisheries oceanography with emphasis on stock assessment, population dynamics, physical and biological interaction and ecosystem modeling. Both MS and Ph.D. programs will address the growing need for marine scientists in federal and state agencies, academic universities and institutions, and industry.

The Department of Estuarine and Ocean Sciences

The mission of Department of Estuarine and Ocean Sciences of the School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth (UMassD) is to pursue state-of-the-art basic and applied marine science research and to provide quality graduate education. The department has a strong interdisciplinary emphasis. High priority is on the development of innovative approaches and technologies and the training of the next generation of marine scientists for academia, government, and the private sector. DEOS maintains a close partnering with regional, industry, governmental, and non-governmental agencies on compelling regional marine related issues and technological development.

The DEOS faculty identify their research programs with one or more of three research focus areas: (1) coastal ocean processes; (2) ecosystem dynamics; and (3) marine biogeochemical processes. These research focus areas are natural groupings in which the faculty collaborate with each other on both ongoing and proposed research projects and develop and teach SMAST courses. The strength of the focus areas and the overall DEOS research program derives from both the recognized expertise of the individual faculty researchers, and their interest in collaborating within and across focus areas interfaces.

Graduate Degree Options in Interdisciplinary Fields

Through the School of Marine Sciences, SMAST offers not only Master of Science (MS) and PhD degrees, but also a Professional Science Masters (PSM). The PSM program provides a non-thesis degree that blends the study of science management, policy, and law with marine science.

Through SMAST, graduate students can complete MS or PhD programs in one of seven interdisciplinary fields: coastal systems science; ocean and human health; marine observation technologies; marine biogeochemical cycles and environmental change; marine and atmospheric system modeling and analysis; integrated coastal management; and living marine resources science and management.

The MS Program

Graduate students in the MS program can complete a 30-credit hour thesis option or a 33-credit hour non-thesis option. Most students finish the degree within four semesters, but part-time students may take as few as two courses each semester. In addition, students in both tracks attend weekly seminars.

SMAST MS students at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth must maintain a GPA of 3.0.

The PhD Program

Graduate students in the PhD program take four core courses along with 24-credit hours in an area of concentration prior to their oral and written candidacy exams. Graduate students in the SMAST doctoral program also each complete at least 18 credit hours of thesis research.

A Top-Notch Research Facility

The School for Marine Science and Technology is home to a two-story, 32,000-square-foot building that contains 15 research laboratories, two temperature-controlled rooms for acclimation of marine species for culture and reproduction and for physiological and behavioral experiments; a seawater room that contains approximately 2000 square feet of filtered, raw, chilled or heated seawater; a greenhouse for aquatic photosynthetic organisms; and a 90,000-gallon acousto-optic test tank. University, industrial, and government researchers use the tank to test underwater measurement concepts and devices they have developed.

The School for Marine Science and Technology also boasts docking facilities that provide access to Buzzards Bay located in the historic fishing port of New Bedford, Massachusetts. The school has a 50-foot, diesel-powered research boat.

Award-Winning Faculty and Students

The SMAST and SMS faculty members are well-regarded in their fields and have been granted over 135 awards for their academic achievements. These include NSF CAREER award, ONR Young Investigator award, Hershman Excellence in Mentoring award (by Joint Ocean Commission), the Oceanic and Atmospheric Research Outstanding Scientific Paper award, the Friends of the Fishing Industry award and the Best Column Award from AFT Communications Network. SMAST students have also received multiple awards for best papers in many national and international conferences, for summer research, and short-term merit awards from private and public funding agencies for their research.

The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth is located in North Dartmouth, Massachusetts in the northeastern region of the United States. It is one of five campuses in the world-renowned University of Massachusetts system. The "US News and World Report" gives the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth a ranking as a top-tier regional university in the Northeast.

Established in 1895, today it is highly-regarded for its outstanding academic programs, personalized teaching methods, and ground-breaking research. The University of Massachusetts Dartmouth has a supportive community that embraces diversity. It provides its students with the resources needed to excel academically, professionally, and socially, including resources such as housing, health, counseling, academic advising, and career services.

• Program in Marine Science and Technology

• Degrees Offered
• Major Degree Levels Offered
• Coastal And Ocean Administration Science And Technology Master of Science (MS)
• Marine Science Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
  Master of Science (MS)

• Degrees Awarded
• Master's Degrees 7
• Doctoral Degrees 1
• First Professional Degrees Not reported
• Other Advanced Degrees Not reported
• * Shows the number of degrees awarded for the last academic year that data was reported.

• Earning Your Degree
• Part-time study available? Yes
• Evening/weekend programs available? No
• Distance learning programs available? No
• Terminal master's degree available? Yes

• Degree Requirements
• Master's Degrees Alternate accepted
• Doctoral Degrees Required and Required
• First Professional Degrees Not reported
• Other Advanced Degrees Not reported

• Acceptance Rate
• Applied44
• Accepted32
• Acceptance Rate72%
• Enrolled8
• Applying
• Application Fee - Domestic $60
• Application Fee - International $60
• Electronic applications accepted? Yes
• Applications processed on a rolling basis? Yes
• Application Deadlines
• Type Domestic International Priority Date
• Fall deadline February 15th January 15th Yes
• Winter deadline Not Reported Not Reported Not Reported
• Spring deadline November 15th October 15th Yes
• Entrance Requirements
• Master's DegreesGRE, Statement of Intent (Minimum 300 words), Statement of Interest (Minimum 300 words), and Resume, 3 Letters of Recommendation and Official Transcripts.
• Doctoral's DegreesGRE, Statement of Intent (Minimum 300 words), Statement of Interest (Minimum 300 words), and Resume, 3 Letters of Recommendation and Official Transcripts.
• First-Professional's DegreesNot Reported
• Other Advanced DegreesNot Reported
• International DegreesTOEFL required, 577 paper based, TOEFL iBT

• Tuition & Fees
• In-state tuition *$2,071
• Out-of-state tuition *$8,099
• International student tuition$8,099
• * Tuition for full-time graduate student per academic year
• Fees
• Per-academic year fees$14,929.00
• Per-term feesNot Reported
• One-time feeNot Reported
• * Fees for full-time graduate students
• Financial Support
• Financial award applicants must submitFAFSA
• Application deadlines for financial awardsMarch 1
• Types of financial support availableFellowships, Research Assitantships

• Gender
• Total Graduate Students58
• Female Percentage36%
• Male Percentage64%
• Participation
• Total Graduate Students58
• Part-time Percentage45%
• Full-time Percentage55%
• Ethnicity
• Hispanic / Latino2%
• Black / African American0%
• White / Caucasian66%
• American Indian / Alaskan Native0%
• Asian0%
• Native Hawaiian / Other Pacific Islander0%
• Two or more races0%
• Unknown32%

• Faculty Breakout
• Total Faculty15
• Full-time Percentage93%
• Part-time Percentage7%
• Female Percentage7%
• Male Percentage93%

• Existing Research
• Focus of faculty researchStorm-forced and internal wave dynamics, estuarine circulation, marine biogeochemical cycles, spatial distributions of marine fishes and invertebrates, plankton communities
• Externally sponsored research expenditures last year$10,529,000