Penn State marine science minor goes international

Penn State marine science minor goes international

University Park, Pa. -- Studying marine science in Central Pennsylvania sometimes can pose obstacles, but Penn State's marine science minor has leapt across the pond to solve the problems and provide an international undergraduate experience at the University of Southampton, United Kingdom.

"We thought it was time to rethink the minor and to develop a study abroad opportunity," said Lee R. Kump, professor of geosciences and chair of the Marine Science Minor Committee. "The Worldwide Universities Network presented a unique opportunity to provide our students with easy access to field opportunities, encourage study abroad and provide Southampton's students interested in geosciences to spend a year at Penn State."

The Worldwide Universities Network (WUN), an international alliance of leading higher education institutions, develops collaborations in multidisciplinary areas of global significance and brings together faculty for international projects. WUN also supports student and faculty exchanges, graduate-level collaborative learning and supports teaching by sharing learning materials and pooling expertise.

The new option for the minor incorporates most of the requirements into one semester and eases the way for students not at the University Park campus to participate. Prerequisites for the program include a variety of beginning science courses easily obtained on any campus and "The Sea Around Us," an entry-level course with a laboratory component that is taught on a number of campuses.

"By doing the minor this way, it becomes open not just to University Park students but others as well," said Kump. "Students who minor in marine science are typically biology, geology or environmental resource management majors, but just about any science major would work. The students do need a year of chemistry, physics, calculus and a semester of biology to take the minor courses whether on campus or at Southampton." Penn State has 19 undergraduate campuses besides the University Park campus.

Students can take the minor without going overseas, but field work opportunities are varied.

"We used to go to Wallops Island Marine Science Consortium during the summer for the field component, but interest waned and that program was dropped," said Kump. "Students could still go to another university or institute for field work, but we felt that students should be able to take Penn State courses to fulfill the minor's requirements."

A few options do exist at Penn State. There is a science diving course for students with scuba certification and basic diving courses are offered. "Coral Reef Systems," a course offered at University Park, contains a one-week field work experience in the Bahamas that requires scuba certification and is part of an ongoing reef survey, but this course will not satisfy the entire field-work component.

Southampton's Oceanography Centre has an excellent reputation and Southampton would like to see Penn State undergraduate students in the marine science minor consider it for graduate work. Penn State's geosciences department ranks in the top 10 in the United States and Southampton students may enroll in a joint undergraduate-master's program. Students would spend the third year of their program at Penn State for the geosciences component and then return to Southampton for their fourth year. Bachelor degrees in England require three years of study.

"We hope they will begin their research here and collaborate with Penn State faculty," said Kump.

The new marine minor travel-abroad option began when Kump exchanged e-mail with a colleague at Southampton and became familiar with WUN. The collaborative opportunities connect Penn State with Southampton for marine science and provide an opportunity for Southampton students to study with some of the best geoscientists in the United States, a collaboration that will benefit both universities.