What will I learn?

By completing this certificate, students, employers, and future employers will know, understand, and be able to apply safe diving practices and proper scientific diving procedures in accordance with AAUS Scientific Diving Standards. The certification courses will take place over three summer sessions (Table 1).

Table 1. Scientific Diving Certificate Course Progression

Why study Scientific Diving at Coastal Georgia?

The American Academy of Underwater Sciences works to “advance and facilitate safe and productive scientific diving.” There are over 130 organizational members that recognize a common standard for the training and certification of scientific divers. Such organizations and institutions include: The California Academy of Sciences, Tetra Tech, The Georgia Aquarium, the University of South Florida, and LG2 Environmental Solutions. Unique to Coastal Georgia is the low-cost to in-state and neighboring state students (Table 2).

Table 2. Estimated Expenses for the Certificate Program (not including tuition).

What can I do when I graduate?

By participating in the Scientific Diving Certificate Program at Coastal Georgia, graduates will be recognized as meeting the standard for performing scientific diving/research tasks by institutions and organizations throughout the United States and in many countries. Sufficient completion of the certificate program provide evidence that a student can not only perform scientific diving/research tasks, but can also think about and interpret the data in a meaningful way. Students will be able to provide evidence (from a final project) that they can propose and execute a research project that can further our understanding of the field of Marine Science. These skills can be applied to graduate studies, work in industry and/or work with local, state, and federal government agencies with regards to environmental consulting, research, surveying, and restoration.