Semester @ CMAST Launched

In Spring, 2016, a special class of undergraduates will be bound for the coast to participate in an intensive hands-on semester in marine science for the first Semester @ CMAST (S@C). Twenty to twenty-five NC State undergraduate students will spend their 2016 spring semester as resident students at CMAST, NC State’s Center for Marine Sciences and Technology. This maiden voyage of the Semester @ CMAST program is the first of a standing series of full semesters allowing students to get their feet wet and hands sandy alongside top professional researchers and graduate students, offering them unprecedented exposure to all facets of marine science. The S@C is the first-of-its-kind NC State commitment for a semester-long, academic coastal and marine program for a large class of undergraduate students.

Participating students will take a full, academic semester at CMAST, earning 15 Cr on NC State courses to their academic programs. Students will be able to take the following five courses, with titles and course numbers subject to slight revisions:

Courses

1. MEA 200, Introduction to Oceanography, DELTA, (3 Cr), Spring Semester, Raleigh
2. MEA 469, Ecology of Coastal Resources, 3 Cr, Dr. Dave Eggleston & A. Schnetzer, and Mr. Jess Hawkins
3. AEC 295 -1, Marine Fisheries, 3 Cr, Dr. Jeff Buckel & Mr. Jess Hawkins
4. ES 295-1, Biology of Marine Mammals Course, 3 Cr, Dr. Vicki Thayer
5. ES 295-2, Marine Resource Management & Policy, 3 Cr, Dr. Louis Daniel
6. Optional External Learning Experience Course (3 Cr):

• ES 496, Environmental Science Internship
• ES 497, Environmental Science Professional Development Activity
• ES 498, Environmental Science Research
• ES 499, Environmental Science Undergraduate Thesis

Tuition and the Student Health Insurance Plan (SHIP) costs are the same as for students on the main campus. Room and board are available for students at the Duke Marine Lab at a cost about $1,500 more than for similar accommodations at the NCSU main campus.

FAQs available at this site.

For additional questions, please contact either:

Dr. William E. Winner: wewinner@ncsu.edu
or
Dr. David Eggleston: eggleston@ncsu.edu

Why CMAST?

NC State University’s Center for Marine Sciences and Technology (CMAST; cmast.ncsu.edu), located on Bogue Sound in Morehead City, supports exciting inter-disciplinary research and a rich educational experience in the marine sciences. Programs include: (1) Aquatic Animal Health & Marine Mammal Stranding Network, (2) Marine Ecology & Conservation, (3) Estuarine & Coastal Fisheries, (4) Seafood Technology, (5) Marine Bio-Technology, and (6) K-12 STEM Marine Science Education. These programs span 3 Colleges and 6 Departments at NC State, and cross-college cooperation occurs daily. The proximity of the CMAST facility in the “coastal research triangle” of marine science facilities in Carteret County, encourages multi-institutional and cross-disciplinary research.

CMAST, UNC-Chapel Hill’s Institute of Marine Sciences, Duke University Marine Lab, and the NOAA Beaufort Laboratory are located within five miles of each other. Other nearby agencies and facilities such as the NC Division of Marine Fisheries in Morehead City, the NC Aquarium at Pine Knoll Shores and the NC Maritime Museum in Beaufort provide additional opportunities for collaborative work and experiential learning. Moreover, CMAST’s coastal setting provides access to an incredibly diverse range of habitats and ecosystems, including small estuarine tidal creeks, large estuaries systems, dynamic barrier islands, coastal shelf and hard-bottom habitats, and the Gulf Stream.

Download a promotional flyer (PDF)