Undergraduate Course Directory

Course Search

To filter and search by keywords in course titles, see the Course Search.

Courses by Subject Area

Click on the links below for a list of courses in that subject area. You may then click “View Classes” to see scheduled classes for individual courses.

1001E. The Sea Around Us

Also offered as: MAST 1001E

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: None.

Grading Basis: Graded

The relationship of humans with the marine environment. Exploitation of marine resources, development and use of the coastal zone, and the impact of technology on marine ecosystems. Taught at Storrs and Avery Point. CA 3.

View Classes »

1002E. Introduction to Oceanography

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: Recommended preparation: A background in secondary school physics, chemistry or biology. Not open to students who have passed MARN 1003, 2002 or 3001.

Grading Basis: Graded

Processes governing the geology, circulation, chemistry, and biological productivity of the world's oceans. Emphasis on the interactions and interrelationships between humans and the physical, chemical, biological, and geological processes that contribute to both the stability and the variability of the marine environment. Students who complete both MARN 1002 and 1004 will receive credit for a CA 3 laboratory course. CA 3.

View Classes »

1003E. Introduction to Oceanography with Laboratory

4.00 credits

Prerequisites: Recommended preparation: A background in secondary school physics, chemistry, or biology. Not open to students who have passed MARN 1002, 2002, or 3001.

Grading Basis: Graded

Processes governing the geology, circulation, chemistry, and biological productivity of the world's oceans. Emphasis on the interactions and interrelationships of humans and the physical, chemical, biological, and geological processes that contribute to both the stability and the variability of the marine environment. Laboratory experiments, hands-on exercises, and field observations. CA 3-LAB.

View Classes »

1004. Oceanography Laboratory

1.00 credits

Prerequisites: MARN 1002 or equivalent. Not open to students who have passed MARN 1003.

Grading Basis: Graded

Laboratory experiments, hands-on exercises, and field observations (including required cruise on research vessel) that teach fundamental oceanographic concepts emphasizing physical, chemical, and biological processes and their interaction in the marine environment. First semester (Avery Point). First and second semester (Storrs). Students who complete both MARN 1002 and 1004 will receive credit for a CA 3 laboratory course.

View Classes »

1160. Introduction to Scientific Diving

2.00 credits

Prerequisites: None.

Grading Basis: Graded

Introduction to scuba diving history, physics and physiology of diving, dive planning, open-circuit diving equipment, and marine environments. Open-water diving certification possible with successful completion of course. Approved medical questionnaire and liability waver required.

View Classes »

1893. International Study

1.00 - 6.00 credits | May be repeated for a total of 6 credits.

Prerequisites: None.

Grading Basis: Graded

Special topics taken in an international study program. Consultation with Marine Sciences program coordinator recommended prior to the student's departure.

View Classes »

1996. Introduction to Research

1.00 - 6.00 credits

Prerequisites: Instructor consent.

Grading Basis: Graded

Investigation of a special problem involving field and/or laboratory observations in marine sciences.

View Classes »

2801WE. Marine Sciences and Society

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: MARN 1002 or MARN 1003; ENGL 1007 or 1010 or 1011 or 2011.

Grading Basis: Graded

Scientific analysis of coastal zone issues and interdisciplinary implications for society, including theories, observations, and models of how humans impact the health and well-being of the natural world and how the natural world impacts the health of humans. Topics incorporate public policies, legal frameworks, and moral and/or ethical dimensions regarding the environment. Written analysis and discussion of primary literature.

View Classes »

2893. International Studies

1.00 - 6.00 credits | May be repeated for a total of 6 credits.

Prerequisites: None.

Grading Basis: Graded

Special topics taken in an international study program. Consultation with Marine Sciences program coordinator recommended prior to the student's departure.

View Classes »

2996. Directed Research 1

1.00 - 6.00 credits

Prerequisites: Instructor consent.

Grading Basis: Graded

Investigation of a special problem involving field and/or laboratory observations in marine sciences.

View Classes »

3000E. The Oceans and Global Climate

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: CHEM 1127Q; PHYS 1201Q or 1401Q or 1501Q or 1601Q. Recommended preparation: ERTH 1051 and MARN 1002.

Grading Basis: Graded

Understanding human impacts on the global climate system; the basics of domestic and international climate policy; and strategies for communicating climate-change science to the broader public, with special emphasis on the oceans. Topics include the Earth's energy budget and carbon cycle; the properties of greenhouse gases; historical and future changes in Earth's climate; impacts of global change on the oceans; and the implications of climate change for human behavior and energy usage. CA 3.

View Classes »

3001. Foundations of Marine Sciences

4.00 credits

Prerequisites: MARN 1002 or 1003; MATH 1110Q or 1071Q or 1131Q; BIOL 1107 and 1108; CHEM 1127Q and 1128Q; and PHYS 1201Q or 1401Q.

Grading Basis: Graded

Biological, chemical, physical and geological structure and function of coastal systems; with a special focus on field observations in three important coastal habitats: beaches and rocky shores, marshes, and estuaries.

View Classes »

3002. Foundations of Marine Sciences

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: MARN 1002 or 1003; MATH 1110Q or 1071Q or 1131Q; BIOL 1107 and 1108; CHEM 1127Q and 1128Q; and PHYS 1201Q or 1401Q. Not open for credit to students who have passed MARN 2002.

Grading Basis: Graded

Relationships between biological and physical processes in the ocean. Topics include spatial structure of physical properties, patterns and mechanisms of circulation, biological production, food web structure and function, recycling and export of nutrients and organic matter.

View Classes »

3012. Marine Invertebrate Biology

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: BIOL 1107 and 1108. Recommended preparation: MARN 1002 or 1003 or instructor consent.

Grading Basis: Graded

Comparative examination of major adaptations and functional responses of marine invertebrates to biotic and abiotic factors in the marine environment. Field trips required.

View Classes »

3014. Marine Biology

Also offered as: EEB 3230

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: One year of laboratory biology.

Grading Basis: Graded

The study of the kinds and distributions of marine organisms. Particular attention is paid to biotic features of the oceans, organism-habitat and relationships and general ecological concepts influencing marine populations and communities. Field trips are required.

View Classes »

3015. Techniques in Marine Molecular Biology

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: BIOL 1107 and 1108 or BIOL 1107 and 1110; or consent of instructor.

Grading Basis: Graded

Principles and technology in molecular genetics, including nucleic acid purification and manipulation, DNA fingerprinting, gene cloning and sequencing, phylogenetic analysis, and detection of gene expression.

View Classes »

3017. Plankton Ecology

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: MATH 1060Q or 1131Q; PHYS 1201Q or 1401Q; CHEM 1122Q or equivalent; BIOL 1107 and 1108. Recommended preparation: MARN 1002. Consent of instructor for graduate students in lieu of requirements. Not open for credit to students who have passed both 5014 and 5016.

Grading Basis: Graded

Ecology of planktonic organisms (bacteria, protista and metazoa). The evolutionary ecology concept, methods of research, special features of aquatic habitats; adaptations to aquatic environments; population biology; predation, competition, life histories, community structure, and role of plankton in ecosystem metabolism.

View Classes »

3030. Coastal Pollution and Bioremediation

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: BIOL 1107 and 1108 ; CHEM 1127Q and 1128Q, or instructor consent.

Grading Basis: Graded

Overview of processes and compounds leading to pollution in the nearshore marine environment. The impact of pollution on the marine foodweb and its response is emphasized. Alleviation of pollution through metabolism of organisms, including bacteria, seagrasses, and salt marshes.

View Classes »

3060. Coastal Circulation and Sediment Transport

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: MARN 3001.

Grading Basis: Graded

Circulation and mixing in estuaries and the inner continental shelf, including surface gravity waves, tides, and buoyancy and wind-driven circulation. Coastal sediments, geomorphology, and processes of sedimentation, erosion and bioturbation. Required field trips.

View Classes »

3230. Beaches and Coasts

Also offered as: ERTH 3230

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: MARN 1002 or MARN 1003 or ERTH 1050 or ERTH 1051, or consent of instructor.

Grading Basis: Graded

Introduction to the processes that form and modify coasts and beaches, including tectonic setting, sediment supply, coastal composition, energy regimes and sea level change; tools and techniques utilized in marine geologic mapping and reconstruction of submerged coastal features; field trips to selected coastal features. Formerly offered as GSCI 3230.

View Classes »

3505. Remote Sensing of Marine Geography

Also offered as: GEOG 3505

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: Recommended preparation: GEOG 2300 or MARN 1002.

Grading Basis: Graded

Introduction to remote sensing applications in oceans and seas. Applications include image analysis of sea surface temperature, winds, altimetry, sea ice, chlorophyll, primary productivity, and bathymetry.

View Classes »

3811. Seminar on Marine Mammals

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: One year college laboratory biolgoy. Offered at the Mystic Marinelife Aquarium.

Grading Basis: Graded

Instructors from different areas of expertise discuss the natural history, evolution, anatomy, physiology, husbandry, and conservation of marine mammals. Current research is emphasized. (Special registration: Contact Mystic Marinelife Aquarium, Mystic, CT 06355. 860-572-5955.)

View Classes »

3812. Seminar in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: MARN 2801WE or EEB 2244E or instructor consent.

Grading Basis: Graded

Critical examination of state-of-the-art research, policy and regulatory frameworks of marine conservation biology and associated environmental, cultural, and socio-economic implications. Topics may include aquaculture, endangered species, strandings, biomedicine, ocean pollution, and marine protected areas. Research projects to be conducted at Mystic Aquarium.

View Classes »

3893. International Study

1.00 - 6.00 credits | May be repeated for a total of 6 credits.

Prerequisites: None.

Grading Basis: Graded

Consent of Department Head required, preferably prior to the student's departure.

View Classes »

3899. Independent Study

1.00 - 6.00 credits | May be repeated for credit.

Prerequisites: None.

Grading Basis: Graded

View Classes »

3995. Special Topics

1.00 - 6.00 credits | May be repeated for credit.

Prerequisites: None.

Grading Basis: Graded

Prerequisites and recommended preparation vary.

View Classes »

3996. Directed Research 2

1.00 - 6.00 credits | May be repeated for a total of 12 credits.

Prerequisites: Instructor consent.

Grading Basis: Graded

Investigation of a special problem involving field and/or laboratory observations in marine sciences.

View Classes »

4001. Measurement and Analysis in Coastal Ecosystems

4.00 credits

Prerequisites: MARN 3001 and MARN 3002.

Grading Basis: Graded

Examination of oceanographic processes in local coastal systems; collection and analyses of samples from field trips and lab experiments; data analysis using computers. Required field trips.

View Classes »

4002. Science and the Coastal Environment

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: MARN 4001 or instructor consent.

Grading Basis: Graded

Specific cases of multiple impacts on environmental resources and coastal habitats. Current scientific understanding as a basis for sociopolitical decision-making (e.g., land-use impacts on coastal processes in relation to zoning regulation and water-quality criteria).

View Classes »

4010. Biological Oceanography

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: CHEM 1128Q; MATH 1122Q or 1132Q; PHYS 1202Q or equivalent; BIOL 1107 and 1108.

Grading Basis: Graded

Structure and function of marine food webs, from primary producers to top trophic levels; interaction of marine organisms with the environment; energy and mass flow in food webs; elemental cycling; coupling between pelagic and benthic environments.

View Classes »

4018. Ecology of Fishes

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: MARN 3014.

Grading Basis: Graded

General concepts in fish ecology such as distribution, feeding, bioenergetics, growth, larval fish ecology, biotic interactions, life history evolution and other contemporary research topics.

View Classes »

4019. Algae and the Environment

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: BIOL 1108 or instructor consent.

Grading Basis: Graded

Fundamentals of algae, interactions of algae with the environment, and applications for environmental conservation and human uses. Introduction to the evolution and diversity of marine and selected freshwater algae and major ecological characteristics and responses to environmental variability. Applications may include exploitation of algae for green energy, environmental bioremediation, food, and bioproducts.

View Classes »

4030W. Chemical Oceanography

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: CHEM 1128Q; MATH 1132Q; PHYS 1202Q or equivalent; ENGL 1010 or 1011 or 2011.

Grading Basis: Graded

Composition, origin, and solution chemistry of seawater and the marine biogeochemical cycles of salts, elements, and gases. Distributions and transfer in the marine environment through chemical equilibria, rates, redox, partitioning, ocean circulation, biological cycles, and crustal exchanges.

View Classes »

4050. Geological Oceanography

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: ERTH 1051 or MARN/ERTH 3230 or instructor consent.

Grading Basis: Graded

Concepts in geological oceanography, including the role of plate tectonics in the control of the Earth and ocean system, fundamentals of biosphere-geosphere interaction over geologic timescales, and the reconstruction of past climates using marine sediment archives.

View Classes »

4052. Paleooceanography

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: CHEM 1126Q or 1128Q and PHYS 1202Q or 1402Q.

Grading Basis: Graded

Exploration of how the geologic record, geochemical proxies and model simulations can be used to understand climate change at centennial and longer timescales, with an emphasis on oceanographic processes. Topics include global overturning circulation, carbon cycle dynamics, and feedback mechanisms that govern long-term climate variability.

View Classes »

4060. Physical Oceanography

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: PHYS 1202Q, 1402Q, 1502Q or 1602Q; MATH 1122Q or 1132Q.

Grading Basis: Graded

Overview of physical properties and dynamics influencing the oceans and coastal waters. Descriptions of global water property distributions, surface mixed layer, pycnocline, surface heat fluxes, and major ocean currents. Introduction to dynamics of ocean circulation, waves, tides, and coastal circulation.

View Classes »

4066. River Influences on the Marine Environment

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: Recommended preparation: Calculus and general physics.

Grading Basis: Graded

Influences of rivers on estuaries, coastal and open ocean water properties, energy budgets and ecosystems including inputs of buoyant waters, sediments and pollutants and variability from storms, seasons, human alterations, and climate change.

View Classes »

4130. Geomicrobiology

Also offered as: ERTH 4130

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: CHEM 1124Q, 1125Q and 1126Q; or CHEM 1127Q and 1128Q; or ERTH 2500; or permission of instructor.

Grading Basis: Graded

Microbial diversity and biogeochemistry in aquatic ecosystems, microbe-mineral interactions, fossil record, atmospheric record, microbialites, and research methodology in geomicrobiology. A weekend field trip may be required. Formerly offered as GSCI 4130.

View Classes »

4160. Scientific Diving

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: Recommended preparation: MARN 1160.

Grading Basis: Graded

Physics and physiology of scuba diving, federal regulation, consensus standards, dive planning, dive accident management and emergency planning, scientific diving methods, diving modes. Scientific diver certification possible with successful completion of course plus CPR, First Aid and Emergency Oxygen certification. Scuba certification and approved diving physical required.

View Classes »

4202Q. Models of the Ocean Carbon Cycle

4.00 credits

Prerequisites: MARN 1002 or 1003; MATH 1110Q or 1071Q or 1131Q or 1151Q or 2141Q; BIOL 1107 and 1108; CHEM 1126Q or 1128Q; and PHYS 1201Q or 1401Q.

Grading Basis: Graded

Introduction to the chemical/biological reactions and transport dynamics of ocean models with the focus on attribution of anthropogenic carbon in the global ocean. Quantitative topics include mass balances, the coupled dynamics of oceans and the atmosphere as biogeochemical systems, and parameterizations of important biogeochemical processes. Formerly offered as MARN 3003Q.

View Classes »

4210Q. Experimental Design in Marine Ecology

4.00 credits

Prerequisites: MARN 3001 or EEB 3230/MARN 3014; or instructor consent.

Grading Basis: Graded

Introduction to experimental design and data analysis for marine biology and ecology. Analysis and visualization of experimental data using the statistical software package R. Topics include analysis of variance, replication and pseudoreplication, factorial designs, and significance testing.

View Classes »

4891. Internship in Marine Sciences

1.00 - 3.00 credits | May be repeated for a total of 9 credits.

Prerequisites: Instructor consent. Recommended preparation: Nine credits of MARN courses at the junior-senior level.

Grading Basis: Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory

An internship under the direction of MARN faculty. Placements stress application of academic training. A journal of activities is required. One credit may be earned for each 42 hours of pre-approved activities in a semester to a maximum of three credits. Students taking this course will be assigned a final grade of S (satisfactory) or U (unsatisfactory).

View Classes »

4893. International Study

1.00 - 6.00 credits | May be repeated for a total of 6 credits.

Prerequisites: Department Head consent. Consultation with Marine Sciences program coordinator recommended prior to the student's departure.

Grading Basis: Graded

Special topics taken in an international study program.

View Classes »

4895. Special Topics

1.00 - 6.00 credits | May be repeated for credit.

Prerequisites: Prerequisites and recommended preparation vary.

Grading Basis: Graded

View Classes »

4897W. Senior Research Thesis

3.00 credits

Prerequisites: Three credits of MARN 3899, which may be taken concurrently; ENGL 1007 or 1010 or 1011 or 2011. Recommended preparation: MARN 2801WE.

Grading Basis: Graded

Senior thesis reflecting independent research. Not limited to honors students. Formerly offered as MARN 4896W.

View Classes »

4898. Variable Topics

1.00 - 3.00 credits | May be repeated for credit.

Prerequisites: Prerequisites and recommended preparation vary.

Grading Basis: Graded

View Classes »

4996. Independent Research

1.00 - 6.00 credits | May be repeated for a total of 12 credits.

Prerequisites: Instructor consent.

Grading Basis: Graded

Investigation of a special problem involving field and/or laboratory observations in marine sciences.

View Classes »