Marine Biology: Laboratory at Woods Hole

Founded in 1888, the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, is a world-renowned center for biological research and education with a long tradition of offering excellent hands-on research courses at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. The MBL’s facilities include one of the world’s best library collections of biological and oceanographic literature, a campus-wide computer network, teaching laboratories equipped with running seawater, advanced instrumentation for chemical analysis including two isotope ratio mass-spectrometers, climate-controlled growth chambers and a Marine Resources center dedicated to the culture and maintenance of marine organisms.

The Semester in Environmental Science (SES) is sponsored by the Marine Biological Laboratory’s Ecosystems Center, the ecological research arm of the MBL. The goal of the Center is to investigate fundamental processes and interactions linking organisms with their environment and to apply the resulting knowledge to the wise management of the world’s natural resources.

The SES program comprises two core courses (Aquatic Ecosystems, Terrestrial Ecosystems), one elective course (usually two or three of the following are offered in any year: Aquatic Chemistry, Mathematical Modeling in Ecology, Ecology and Management of Wetlands, Human Dominated Ecosystems, Issues on Global Ecology, Microbial Methods in Ecology, The Role of Animals in Ecosystems), two Special Seminars (Distinguished Scientists Series, Science Writers Seminar), and an Independent Research Project.