Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology

Humboldt State University (California State University, CSU)

Marine Biology emphasizes hands-on learning. We have outstanding facilities to support our marine biology major, including the Telonicher Marine Laboratory in the nearby town of Trinidad, which gives students opportunities for hands-on observation and experimentation with living marine organisms. The unique setting of this lab, just minutes away from the ocean, estuary, and lagoon habitats, provides students with unlimited research opportunities.Learning OutcomesIdentify and classify marine microbes, algae, invertebrates, fishes, birds and mammals, in the context of a phylogenetic framework.Describe how marine life functions at the gene, genome, cell, tissue, organ and organ-system level. They will be able to describe the development, reproduction, and behavior of different forms of marine life and use ecological and evolutionary principles to explain how these organisms perform their functions in an environmental context.Relate the physical features of the marine environment to the structure of marine populations, communities, and ecosystems and explain how they are affected by human activities.Explain how descent with modification has shaped all biological processes and why biological evolution offers the only logical scientific explanation for the simultaneous unity and diversity of life on earth.Apply the scientific method to questions in marine biology by formulating testable hypotheses, gathering data that address these hypotheses, and analyzing those data to assess the degree to which their scientific work supports their hypotheses.Present scientific hypotheses and data both orally and in writing in the formats that are used by practicing scientists.