The Marine Biology minor allows students from a wide variety of majors to add a solid foundation in marine biology and integrate the field with their major field of study. The minor covers a variety of marine organisms and habitats and the processes that impact and regulate the oceans and our planet. Students in the minor also have the opportunity to study in residence at Hatfield Marine Science Center (HSMC) in experiential courses ranging from Marine and Estuarine Invertebrates to Pacific Northwest Coastal Ecosystems.

Located right next to the beautiful Yaqina Bay of the Pacific Ocean, HSMC is one of the most advanced centers of marine science research in the country. HSMC is home to OSU researchers, students and scientists from state and federal agencies including Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, US Fish and Wildlife Service, US Environmental Protection Agency, US Department of Agriculture and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Students in the marine biology minor have the opportunity to study for one or more terms at the HSMC, typically during junior year spring or summer. For example, the Marine Biology and Ecology course (BI 450) is taught each spring at HSMC. BI 450 is a 15-credit, highly immersive course in which students eat, breathe and sleep marine biology for 10 weeks through lectures, field studies and laboratory research.

Students in the marine biology minor complete the core of the minor in biology, chemistry and statistics as well as an eclectic range of advanced courses and electives related to oceanography, aquatic botany, marine organisms and marine ecology.

If you would like a deeper background in marine biology, you might want to consider a Biology major with a Marine Biology option.

Students interested in earning a minor in marine biology should contact an Integrative Biology advisor.