Marine Biology and Biological Oceanography

A program that focuses on the scientific study of the ecology and behavior of microbes, plants, and animals inhabiting oceans, coastal waters, and saltwater wetlands and their interactions with the physical environment. Includes instruction in chemical, physical, and geological oceanography; molecular, cellular, and biochemical studies; marine microbiology; marine botany; ichthyology; mammalogy; marine population dynamics and biodiversity; reproductive biology; studies of specific species, phyla, habitats, and ecosystems; marine paleocology and palentology; and applications to fields such as fisheries science and biotechnology.

Degree Statistics

This program is offered at 87 institutions across the United States, with a total of 7120 degrees awarded annually.

Certificates Below Bachelor's

certificates awarded

Associate Degrees

degrees awarded

Bachelor's Degrees

1,843

degrees awarded

Master's Degrees

383

degrees awarded

Doctoral Degrees

degrees awarded

Other Awards

4,752

awards given

Top Schools for Marine Biology and Biological Oceanography

These institutions offer the most degrees in this program, ranked by total annual completions.

Rank	Institution	Degrees
1	Coastal Carolina University Conway, SC	498
2	University of California-San Diego La Jolla, CA	426
3	Texas A & M University-College Station College Station, TX	348
4	University of North Carolina Wilmington Wilmington, NC	306
5	University of Miami Coral Gables, FL	297
6	University of California-Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA	255
7	Eckerd College Saint Petersburg, FL	252
8	Nova Southeastern University Fort Lauderdale, FL	240
9	Unity Environmental University New Gloucester, ME	231
10	University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, HI	213
11	The University of Tampa Tampa, FL	195
12	University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle, WA	186
13	Stony Brook University Stony Brook, NY	183
14	University of South Carolina-Columbia Columbia, SC	153
15	College of Charleston Charleston, SC	144
16	Savannah State University Savannah, GA	141
17	University of Hawaii at Hilo Hilo, HI	138
18	University of Rhode Island Kingston, RI	135
19	Northeastern University Boston, MA	123
20	University of New England Biddeford, ME	123
21	University of West Florida Pensacola, FL	120
22	University of Southern Mississippi Hattiesburg, MS	117
23	California State University-Long Beach Long Beach, CA	114
24	Stockton University Galloway, NJ	105
25	University of Delaware Newark, DE	99
26	University of Oregon Eugene, OR	99
27	Hawaii Pacific University Honolulu, HI	96
28	University of South Florida Tampa, FL	96
29	Jacksonville University Jacksonville, FL	90
30	Boston University Boston, MA	90
31	William & Mary Williamsburg, VA	81
32	Florida International University Miami, FL	78
33	Roger Williams University Bristol, RI	78
34	Florida Southern College Lakeland, FL	69
35	University of Alaska Anchorage Anchorage, AK	64
36	The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley Edinburg, TX	60
37	Western Washington University Bellingham, WA	54
38	East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania East Stroudsburg, PA	51
39	University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles, CA	48
40	University of Puerto Rico-Humacao Humacao, PR	48
41	University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez Mayaguez, PR	45
42	Inter American University of Puerto Rico-Bayamon Bayamon, PR	42
43	Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Brunswick, NJ	42
44	University of New Haven West Haven, CT	39
45	Northwest Missouri State University Maryville, MO	36
46	University of Georgia Athens, GA	36
47	Florida Institute of Technology Melbourne, FL	36
48	Montclair State University Montclair, NJ	36
49	The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, AL	33
50	Southern Maine Community College South Portland, ME	33
51	Mitchell College New London, CT	30
52	Auburn University Auburn, AL	27
53	University of Alaska Fairbanks Fairbanks, AK	27
54	University of Connecticut Storrs, CT	24
55	Texas A & M University-Corpus Christi Corpus Christi, TX	24
56	Rollins College Winter Park, FL	24
57	University of Alaska Southeast Juneau, AK	21
58	University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA	21
59	Maine Maritime Academy Castine, ME	21
60	University of Maryland-Baltimore County Baltimore, MD	21
61	Duke University Durham, NC	18
62	University of the Virgin Islands Charlotte Amalie, VI	18
63	Central Methodist University-College of Liberal Arts and Sciences Fayette, MO	18
64	Wisconsin Lutheran College Milwaukee, WI	18
65	Nicholls State University Thibodaux, LA	18
66	Rowan College of South Jersey-Gloucester Campus Sewell, NJ	15
67	University of Maine Orono, ME	15
68	Hampton University Hampton, VA	15
69	University of North Alabama Florence, AL	15
70	Barry University Miami, FL	12
71	Troy University Troy, AL	12
72	University of West Alabama Livingston, AL	9
73	University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara, CA	9
74	University of Maryland Eastern Shore Princess Anne, MD	9
75	Saint Joseph's College of Maine Standish, ME	9
76	University of Maryland, Baltimore Baltimore, MD	6
77	University of Puerto Rico at Ponce Ponce, PR	6
78	Salem State University Salem, MA	6
79	Fairleigh Dickinson University-Metropolitan Campus Teaneck, NJ	6
80	University of Mobile Mobile, AL	3
81	Loyola University New Orleans New Orleans, LA	3
82	Sacred Heart University Fairfield, CT	3
83	University of San Diego San Diego, CA	3
84	San Jose State University San Jose, CA	3
85	Alabama State University Montgomery, AL	3
86	Hampshire College Amherst, MA	3
87	Samford University Birmingham, AL	3