Bachelor of Science (Marine Science)

Program Overview

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Alina is a past student, now PhD

Entry Points (2022) 460

Course Overview

Marine Science encompasses the study of marine life and environments, how they are formed and evolve, and how they are affected by human activity. Topics covered in this programme include marine biology, earth science, chemistry and experimental physics, mathematics, statistics, oceanography, meteorology, botany, geology and microbiology.

The degree in Marine Science is a four-year degree leading to a BSc (Hons). At the end of the degree, you will have improved your knowledge about the marine environment and will have developed your thinking and practical and personal skills, enabling you to undergo further academic training in a wide variety of scientific disciplines or begin your career. Marine Science is a broad area and the programme aims to help you find what speciality you prefer to study by introducing the subject in a general way at first and allowing you to follow your particular interests later on.

At present, University of Galway is the only Irish university offering this degree programme and it now has the highest concentration of marine scientists of any institution in Ireland. Research ranges from fundamental understanding of the marine ecosystem to very applied activities involving close co-operation with industry and state agencies. The 3,000 square metre Martin Ryan Marine Science Institute houses most of the teaching and research activity in Marine Sciences at the university. MRI Carna carries out applied research in Carna, County Galway.

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Who Teaches this Course

The course is mostly taught by academic staff from The School of Natural Sciences. Optional modules are available in languages, maths, geography and politics. Key lecturers include:

Prof. Louise Allcock https://www.nuigalway.ie/our-research/people/louiseallcock/

Prof. Grace McCormack https://www.nuigalway.ie/our-research/people/gracemccormack/

Dr Anne Marie Power https://www.nuigalway.ie/our-research/people/annemariepower/

Dr Christopher Coates (not IRIS yet)

Der Martin White https://www.nuigalway.ie/our-research/people/martinwhite/

Dr Rachel Cave https://www.nuigalway.ie/our-research/people/rachelcave/

Dr Anthony Grehan https://www.nuigalway.ie/our-research/people
atural-sciences/anthonygrehan/

Professor Peter Croot https://www.nuigalway.ie/our-research/people
atural-sciences/petercroot/

Professor Dagmar Stengel https://www.nuigalway.ie/our-research/people
atural-sciences/dagmarstengel/

Professor Mark Johnson https://www.nuigalway.ie/our-research/people
atural-sciences/markjohnson/

Program Outline

Course Outline

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YEAR ONE

This year is a foundation year to ensure that all students have the background needed for more advanced material. The staff teaching science subjects (Biology, Chemistry, Physics) will not assume that all the class have studied the subject in their school-leaving qualification. There are additional supports to help students like SUMS - the mathematics support centre at University of Galway

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YEAR TWO

Students are able to select from a range of appropriate science modules, alongside core marine material in modules like Fundamentals in Aquatic Plant Science, Introduction to Ocean Science and Invertebrate Zoology (many invertebrate groups are exclusively or mostly marine)

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YEAR THREE

This year continues the balance of core (e.g., Marine Habitat) and optional modules. This is also the year where it is possible to participate in an Erasmus exchange or apply for one of the College of Science and Engineering’s study abroad opportunities).

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YEAR FOUR

The 4

th

year includes a major research project carried out with an academic supervisor. This helps develop deeper knowledge alongside skills in project management and data evaluation. Also in this year there is a module (Field Skills in Marine Science) structured around experience on one of the Marine Institute’s research vessels. There is a free choice of optional modules, including a module in ocean politics.

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Curriculum Information

Curriculum information relates to the current academic year (in most cases).

Course and module offerings and details may be subject to change.

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Glossary of Terms

Credits

You must earn a defined number of credits (aka ECTS) to complete each year of your course. You do this by taking all of its required modules as well as the correct number of optional modules to obtain that year's total number of credits.

Module

An examinable portion of a subject or course, for which you attend lectures and/or tutorials and carry out assignments. E.g. Algebra and Calculus could be modules within the subject Mathematics. Each module has a unique module code eg. MA140.

Subject

Some courses allow you to choose subjects, where related modules are grouped together. Subjects have their own required number of credits, so you must take all that subject's required modules and may also need to obtain the remainder of the subject's total credits by choosing from its available optional modules.

Optional

A module you may choose to study.

Required

A module that you must study if you choose this course (or subject).

Required Core Subject

A subject you must study because it's integral to that course.

Semester

Most courses have 2 semesters (aka terms) per year, so a three-year course will have six semesters in total. For clarity, this page will refer to the first semester of year 2 as 'Semester 3'.

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Year 1 (60 Credits)

Optional

MA161:

Mathematical Studies

- 15 Credits - Semester 1

Optional

MA180:

Mathematics (Honours)

- 15 Credits - Semester 1

Optional

MP180:

Applied Mathematics

- 15 Credits - Semester 1

Optional

CS102:

Computer Science

- 15 Credits - Semester 1

Required

PH101:

Physics

- 15 Credits - Semester 1

Required

CH120:

Chemistry: Molecular Science

- 15 Credits - Semester 1

Required

BO101:

Biology

- 15 Credits - Semester 1

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Year 2 (60 Credits)

Optional

MI202:

Laboratory Skills in Microbiology I

- 5 Credits - Semester 3

Optional

BO202:

Evolution and the Tree of Life

- 5 Credits - Semester 3

Optional

MA211:

Calculus I

- 5 Credits - Semester 3

Optional

MP231:

Mathematical Methods I

- 5 Credits - Semester 3

Optional

MP236:

Mechanics I

- 5 Credits - Semester 3

Optional

BO201:

Molecular and Cellular Biology

- 5 Credits - Semester 3

Optional

BO2101:

Scientific Writing Skills

- 5 Credits - Semester 3

Optional

GR224:

Beginner's German for Science

- 10 Credits - Semester 3

Optional

GR252:

German

- 10 Credits - Semester 3

Optional

GR353:

German

- 10 Credits - Semester 3

Optional

MA284:

Discrete Mathematics

- 5 Credits - Semester 3

Optional

LN2210:

Scileanna Gaeilge don Eolaíocht 1

- 5 Credits - Semester 3

Optional

ST2001:

Statistics for Data Science 1

- 5 Credits - Semester 3

Required

EOS213:

Introduction to Ocean Science

- 10 Credits - Semester 3

Required

BPS202:

Fundamentals in Aquatic Plant Science

- 5 Credits - Semester 3

Optional

MP237:

Mechanics II

- 5 Credits - Semester 4

Optional

MP232:

Mathematical Methods II

- 5 Credits - Semester 4

Optional

MI203:

Laboratory Skills in Microbiology II

- 5 Credits - Semester 4

Optional

MA203:

Linear Algebra

- 5 Credits - Semester 4

Optional

MA212:

Calculus II

- 5 Credits - Semester 4

Optional

FR252:

French

- 10 Credits - Semester 4

Optional

PAB2101:

AgriBiosciences

- 5 Credits - Semester 4

Optional

LN2211:

Scileanna Gaeilge don Eolaíocht 2

- 5 Credits - Semester 4

Optional

EOS2102:

The Earth: From Core to Crust

- 10 Credits - Semester 4

Optional

BPS203:

Plant Diversity, Physiology & Adaptation

- 5 Credits - Semester 4

Optional

ST2002:

Statistics for Data Science 2

- 5 Credits - Semester 4

Optional

MA2111:

Anailís

- 5 Credits - Semester 4

Required

ZO208:

Invertebrate Biology

- 5 Credits - Semester 4

Required

MI204:

Microbes and the Environment

- 5 Credits - Semester 4

Required

ZO209:

Vertebrate Zoology

- 5 Credits - Semester 4

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Why Choose This Course?

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Career Opportunities

The oceans are fascinating and full of things to discover, and it has always been good advice to study something you are interested in. At the same time, we are in the middle of what has been called a ‘blue acceleration’. This is a rapid expansion across the world in marine-related sectors like marine protected areas, offshore renewables, aquaculture, and shipping. All these sectors need marine scientists working in non-governmental organizations, government agencies and private companies. The types of jobs may include data collection in the field, data analysis, laboratory analyses, report writing, fund-raising, education, or policy advice. There are well over 100 small companies in the Irish marine sector, most of which you will not have heard of due to their size, but some of these companies will expand as the blue acceleration proceeds. There will also be a continual need for marine scientists at the Marine Institute and in other government agencies and departments.

We have graduates working in marine-related roles in the Irish public and private sector. Our graduates have also gone on to study and work overseas. A final thing to remember: Although you will always have studied marine science, the skills from a degree are transferrable, allowing access to many different types of graduate careers.

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Study Abroad

Erasmus opportunities in Oviedo, Spain. Marine Science students also go to Hong Kong with the HKUST exchange scheme. https://www.nuigalway.ie/studyabroad/

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About University of Galway

Founded in 1845, we've been inspiring students for 178 years. University of Galway has earned international recognition as a research-led university with a commitment to top quality teaching.