Date: Sun, 4 Dec 2016 18:56:05 +0000
From: Marilyn Brandt <mbrandt@uvi.edu>
Subject: [Coral-List] UVI Master of Marine and Environmental Science
Program
To: “coral-list@coral.aoml.noaa.gov” <coral-list@coral.aoml.noaa.gov>
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Applications are being accepted for fall 2017 admission to the Master of Marine and Environmental Science program at the University of the Virgin Islands. The application deadline is March 1, 2017.  Please see details below or forward to students who may be interested. Scholarships as well as Research and Teaching Assistantships are available for Fall 2017.  We are also excited to offer a new Bridge to the PhD program for 2017 (details are below)..

The Master of Marine and Environmental Science (MMES) degree provides students with the training and skills necessary for planning, conducting, and evaluating research in marine and environmental science.  Additionally, students explore how to utilize research to manage natural resources, with a particular focus on the issues and challenges related to natural resource management in the Caribbean region. The program draws upon the expertise of faculty within several units of UVI, in particular the Center for Marine and Environmental Studies and the College of Science and Mathematics. Further, it is a bridge between academia and natural resource management sectors within the US Virgin Islands, the greater Caribbean, and beyond. The program structure allows students to become conversant in the language of both research and resource management, and then to focus on their area of particular interest. Graduates of the program are prepared for a wide array of careers in academic, go
vernment, non-profit, and private sectors.

The MMES program is designed as a two-year degree program. The first year is composed of core courses that students attend on the St. Thomas campus of the University of the Virgin Islands. The core courses are designed to provide the broad theoretical and practical background and tools necessary for effectively conducting scientific research, managing natural resources and communicating the results of research and management decisions to various audiences. During their first year, MMES students are also working with their advisor and committee to develop their thesis research proposal.  Students spend their second year performing their thesis research and taking elective courses or participating in internships. Past internships have included work with The Nature Conservancy, the Virgin Islands Marine Advisory Service, and the Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources. Graduates of the program are prepared for a wide array of careers in academic, government,
non-profit, and private sectors.

We are also very excited to announce a Bridge to the PhD Program with Penn State’s Biology Program beginning in 2017.  The University of the Virgin Islands has been funded by the National Science Foundation’s INCLUDES program to implement a Bridge from the Masters to the PhD program for MMES students. As part of this program, 3-5 MMES students per year will be provided with funding to participate in two summer semesters of graduate study with Penn State faculty. While at Penn State, the students will train on molecular techniques applied to coral reef ecology and will gain guidance on how to apply to PhD programs, including developing personal statements and proposal development.

For more information, go to http://mmes.uvi.edu/ or feel free to contact me at mbrandt@uvi.edu or 340-693-1376.