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Marine Science Major

Marine Science

179 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
68 Master's Degrees Annually
#263 in Popularity

Types of Degrees Marine Science Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many marine science graduations there were for each degree level during the last year for which data was available.

Education Level Number of Grads
Bachelor’s Degree 262
Master’s Degree 89
Associate Degree 34
Doctor’s Degree 28
Basic Certificate 13
Undergraduate Certificate 10

What Marine Science Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to marine science and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for Marine Science Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in marine science should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

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  • English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Mathematics - Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
  • Biology - Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
  • Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
  • Law and Government - Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

Skills for Marine Science Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to marine science:

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  • Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
  • Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems.
  • Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
  • Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
  • Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.

Abilities for Marine Science Majors

Some of the most crucial abilities to master while a marine science student include the following:

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  • Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
  • Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
  • Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
  • Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
  • Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.

What Can You Do With a Marine Science Major?

People with a marine science degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title Job Growth Rate Median Salary
Climate Change Analysts 11.1% $71,130
Clinical Research Coordinators 9.9% $123,860
Environmental Restoration Planners 11.1% $71,130
Environmental Scientists and Specialists, Including Health 11.1% $71,130
Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers 14.1% $91,130
Molecular and Cellular Biologists 8.0% $79,590
Natural Sciences Managers 9.9% $123,860
Professors 9.4% $65,660
Remote Sensing Scientists and Technologists 6.8% $107,230
Water Resource Specialists 9.9% $123,860
Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists 7.7% $63,420

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Marine Science?

262 Bachelor's Degrees Annually
70% Percent Women
39% Percent Racial-Ethnic Minorities*
This is a less frequently chosen undergraduate major. Only 179 students graduated with a bachelor’s degree in marine science in 2021, making it rank #263 in popularity. This major is dominated by women with about 70% of recent graduates being female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of marine science majors is as follows:

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Race/Ethnicity Number of Grads
Asian 16
Black or African American 5
Hispanic or Latino 53
White 151
International Students 3
Other Races/Ethnicities 34

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in Marine Science. About 1.1% of those with this major are international students.

Some careers associated with marine science require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

Find out what the typical degree level is for marine science careers below.

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Education Level Percentage of Workers
Less than a High School Diploma 0.3%
High School Diploma - or the equivalent (for example, GED) 1.1%
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production) 1.2%
Some College Courses 0.1%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree) 1.0%
Bachelor’s Degree 42.4%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master. 3.7%
Master’s Degree 33.2%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level. 1.3%
First Professional Degree - awarded for completion of a program that: requires at least 2 years of college work before entrance into the program, includes a total of at least 6 academic years of work to complete, and provides all remaining academic requirements to begin practice in a profession. 0.6%
Doctoral Degree 9.7%
Post-Doctoral Training 5.2%

Online Marine Science Programs

The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level Colleges Offering Programs Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year) 0 0
Certificate (1-2 years) 1 0
Certificate (2-4 Years) 0 0
Associate’s Degree 3 0
Bachelor’s Degree 0 0
Post-Baccalaureate 0 0
Master’s Degree 17 0
Post-Master’s 1 0
Doctor’s Degree (Research) 11 0
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice) 0 0
Doctor’s Degree (Other) 0 0

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to marine science.

Major Number of Grads
Other Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies 29,596
Biological & Physical Science 28,469
Interdisciplinary Studies 9,341
Data Analytics 7,294
International Studies 6,458
Nutrition Science 5,514
Behavioral Science 4,777
Data Science 4,416
Sustainability Science 4,382
Cognitive Science 2,959
Human Computer Interaction 2,324
Natural Sciences 2,275
Computational Science 2,167
Human Biology 2,016
Mathematics & Computer Science 1,489
Systems Theory 1,080
Peace Studies & Conflict Resolution 1,074
Gerontology 951
Museum Studies 892
Geography and Environmental Studies 809
Science, Technology & Society 805
Dispute Resolution 652
Multicultural & Diversity Studies 584
Historic Preservation 423
Cultural Studies & Analysis 375
Classical & Ancient Studies 290
Biopsychology 208
Philosophy, Politics, and Economics 153
Mathematical Economics 139
Climate Science 110
Medieval Studies 105
Environmental Geosciences 102
Economics and Computer Science 89
History and Political Science 68
Maritime Studies 68
Holocaust Studies 67
Accounting & Computer Science 55
Digital Humanities and Textual Studies 54
Anthrozoology 47
Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature 40
Earth Systems Science 25
Economics and Foreign Language/Literature 12
Thanatology 8
Linguistics and Computer Science 4
Geoarcheaology 1
Linguistics and Anthropology 1
History and Language/Literature 1
Geobiology 0

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

More about our data sources and methodologies.

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