Maine Maritime Academy > Undergraduate Catalog > Curricula > Marine Biology

Marine Biology

The Marine Biology major focuses its training and experiences on the biological component of Ocean Studies. This major provides instruction in essential biology courses (biology, ecology, physiology, cell biology and genetics) as well as more specialized topics relevant to marine organisms. Graduates may pursue graduate education as well as careers in fisheries, aquaculture, environmental management, consulting, medicine, and public education.

In addition to meeting the college requirement for graduation with at least a 2.0 grade point average for the B.S. degree, graduating students are required to have a minimum grade point average of 2.25 in the MB program core courses. For the MB program, core courses are defined as courses with the prefixes BI, CH, OS, as well as the courses GE221 and EN202.

The following sequence of courses will be taken by candidates for the Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology:

2024/Fall – Undergraduate/Bachelor of Science/Marine Biology
Major Requirements

Credits : 125.00 Min  |  127.00 Max
2.250 Core GPA Minimum
2.000 Overall GPA Minimum
First Year Semester 1
Courses : 6 Min  |  6 Max Credits : 18.00 Min  |  18.00 Max
Course Name Credits
BI101 General Biology I 4.00
CH210 Ocean Studies Chemistry I 4.00
FY100 First Year Experience 1.00
MS101 Pre-Calculus Mathematics 4.00
OS000 OS Seminar O 1.00
OS101 Int. to Oceanography and Env. Science 4.00
Total : 18.00
First Year Semester 2
Courses : 5 Min  |  5 Max Credits : 16.00 Min  |  16.00 Max
Course Name Credits
BI102 General Biology II 4.00
CH220 Ocean Studies Chemistry II 4.00
HC111 Composition 3.00
MS150 Calculus I 4.00
OS001 OS Seminar I 1.00
Total : 16.00
First Year Sem2 Swim PE
Courses : 1 Min  |  1 Max Credits : 0.50 Min  |  0.50 Max
Course Name Credits
PE102 Basic Water Skills  (Optional) 0.50
PE103 Skin & Scuba Diving  (Optional) 1.00
PE113 Lifeguard Training  (Optional) 1.00
PE114 Ocean Survival  (Optional) 0.50
PE123 Water Polo  (Optional) 0.50
Total : 3.50
Sophomore Semester 1
Courses : 4 Min  |  4 Max Credits : 12.00 Min  |  12.00 Max
Course Name Credits
BI220 Marine Botany 4.00
CH310 Introduction to Organic Chemistry 4.00
HC220 Humanities I 3.00
OS002 OS Seminar II 1.00
Total : 12.00
Soph Sem1 Hum-SS Elect
Courses : 1 Min  |  1 Max Credits : 3.00 Min  |  3.00 Max
Course Name Credits
EC% Any EC Course
GE% Any GE Course
HC% Any HC Course
HMSS% Any Hum/SS Transfer Course
HY% Any HY Course
PO% Any PO Course
PY% Any PY Course
Sophomore Semester 2
Courses : 5 Min  |  5 Max Credits : 17.00 Min  |  17.00 Max
Course Name Credits
BI210 Marine Zoology 4.00
OS003 OS Seminar III 1.00
OS203 Design & Applied Stat In Science 4.00
OS212 Chemical Oceanography 4.00
PS102 Technical Physics I 4.00
Total : 17.00
Junior Semester 1
Courses : 5 Min  |  5 Max Credits : 17.00 Min  |  17.00 Max
Course Name Credits
BI201 Ecology 4.00
BI301 Marine Organism Physiology 4.00
OS004 OS Seminar IV 1.00
OS210 Physical Oceanography 4.00
PS301 Technical Physics III 4.00
Total : 17.00
Junior Semester 2
Courses : 3 Min  |  3 Max Credits : 9.00 Min  |  9.00 Max
Course Name Credits
BI308 Cell and Molecular Biology 4.00
OS005 OS Seminar V 1.00
OS400 Prep for Research in Marine Science 4.00
Total : 9.00
Junior Sem2 Dept Elective
Courses : 2 Min  |  2 Max Credits : 6.00 Min  |  8.00 Max
Course Name Credits
BI% Any BI Course
OS% Any OS Course
Junior Sem2 PE Elective
Courses : 1 Min  |  1 Max Credits : 0.50 Min  |  0.50 Max
Course Name Credits
PE% Any PE Course  (Optional)
Senior Semester 1
Courses : 3 Min  |  3 Max Credits : 8.00 Min  |  8.00 Max
Course Name Credits
HC230 Humanities II 3.00
OS006 OS Seminar VI 1.00
OS401 Research Project 4.00
Total : 8.00
Senior Sem1 Free Elective
Courses : 1 Min  |  1 Max Credits : 3.00 Min  |  3.00 Max
Course Name Credits
% Any Course
Senior Sem1 Hum-SS Elective
Courses : 1 Min  |  1 Max Credits : 3.00 Min  |  3.00 Max
Course Name Credits
EC% Any EC Course
GE% Any GE Course
HC% Any HC Course
HMSS% Any Hum/SS Transfer Course
HY% Any HY Course
PO% Any PO Course
PY% Any PY Course
Senior Sem2 Dept Elective
Courses : 1 Min  |  1 Max Credits : 3.00 Min  |  3.00 Max
Course Name Credits
BI% Any BI Course
OS% Any OS Course
Senior Sem2 Free Elective
Courses : 2 Min  |  2 Max Credits : 6.00 Min  |  6.00 Max
Course Name Credits
% Any Course
Senior Sem2 Hum-SS Elective
Courses : 1 Min  |  1 Max Credits : 3.00 Min  |  3.00 Max
Course Name Credits
EC% Any EC Course
GE% Any GE Course
HC% Any HC Course
HMSS% Any Hum/SS Transfer Course
HY% Any HY Course
PO% Any PO Course
PY% Any PY Course