Coastal Ecology

Given the College’s location in the Golden Isles, students enjoy easy access to diverse coastal ecosystems: beaches and dunes, salt marshes, estuaries, maritime forests, etc. Field sites such as Cannon’s Point Preserve and Jekyll Island serve as living laboratories for hands-on discovery and conservation. Our community partners – the Department of Natural Resources, Georgia Sea Turtle Center, and many others – support internships and service-learning projects that give students practical experience. Students can also conduct undergraduate research with faculty mentors and collaborators, leading to conference presentations and even publications. The annual Coastal Science Symposium provides a forum for students to share their work and explore coastal and marine science research and applications to society.

Building on a strong foundation in Biology – the study of life in all its forms – the Coastal Ecology curriculum includes courses such as Marine Biology, Aquatic Ecology, Conversation Biology, Zoology, Botany, and electives in other areas of biodiversity, ecology, and evolution. You will learn how to think and work as biologists by designing experiments, collecting and analyzing data in the lab and field, and communicating your results. You will also have opportunities to apply and extend your knowledge and skills through service-learning, internships, and biological research – these forms of experiential learning are critical for your scientific and professional development (i.e., they will help you get a job or funding for graduate school)!

A degree in Biological Sciences – Coastal Ecology prepares students for graduate studies and careers in marine biology, ecology, conservation, wildlife and natural resource management, environmental education, etc. Recent graduates have been employed by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Jekyll Island Conservation, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, UGA Marine Extension, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Georgia Aquarium, Tennessee Aquarium, and a number of other public agencies and companies. Alumni have also pursued Master’s and Ph.D. degrees in biology, ecology, marine sciences, and related disciplines at leading research universities, where they have received teaching and/or research assistantships that pay their way through graduate school.