Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Scripps Institution of Oceanography Courses,
Curricula and Program of Instruction
Scripps Institution of Oceanography is one of the oldest, largest,
and most important centers for marine science research, graduate
training, and public service in the world. Its preeminence in
the marine sciences is reflective of its excellent programs, distinguished
faculty, and outstanding facilities.
Scripps Institution was founded in 1903 as an independent biological
research laboratory, which became an integral part of the University
of California in 1912. At that time the laboratory was given the
Scripps name in recognition of Ellen Browning Scripps and E.W.
Scripps.
In all, Scripps occupies sixty-seven buildings on 230 acres
mostly along the Pacific coastline below the mesa on which UCSD
is located. Its staff numbers approximately 1,300, including approximately
200 graduate students. The institutions annual expenditures
exceed $140 million.
Research at Scripps encompasses physical, chemical, biological,
geological, and geophysical studies of the oceans. Ongoing investigations
include the topography and composition of the ocean bottom, waves
and currents, and the flow and interchange of matter between seawater
and the ocean bottom or the atmosphere. Scrippss research
ships are used in these investigations throughout the worlds
oceans. Among the more than 300 programs that may be under way
at any one time are studies of air-sea interaction, climate prediction,
earthquakes, the physiology of marine animals, marine chemistry,
beach erosion, the marine food chain, the ecology of marine organisms,
the geological history of the ocean basins, and the multidisciplinary
aspects of global change and the environment.
Scripps operates four ships and one platform for oceanographic
research in support of programs by Scripps researchers and oceanographers
from other institutions throughout the world. Cruises range from
local, limited-objective trips to far-reaching expeditions in
the worlds oceans.
Investigations supported by contracts and grants, primarily
federal, cover a wide latitude of marine research. The general
research effort is conducted by six divisions: Climate Research
Division (CRD), Geosciences Research Division (GRD), Integrative
Oceanography Division (IOD), Marine Biology Research Division
(MBRD), Marine Research Division (MRD), and Physical Oceanography
Research Division (PORD). The diversity of Scrippss work
is extended by special purpose laboratories and multidisciplinary
centers: Marine Physical Laboratory (MPL), Center for Marine Biotechnology
and Biomedicine (CMBB), Center for Atmospheric Sciences (CAS),
Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation (CMBC), Center
for Observations, Modeling, and Prediction at Scripps (COMPAS),
and the Center for Marine Genomics (CMG). Other specialized groups
also are located on campus. A ship operations and marine technical
support unit provides essential services and facilities to all
research units of the institution.
Scrippss educational program has grown hand in hand with
the research programs. Instruction is on the graduate level, and
students are admitted as candidates for a Ph.D. degree. Academic
work is conducted through an organizational segment of the institution
known as the Graduate Department of Scripps and its eight curricular
groups: biological oceanography, physical oceanography, marine
biology, geological sciences, marine chemistry and geochemistry,
geophysics, climate sciences, and applied ocean sciences. Approximately
ninety professors are complemented by an academic staff of more
than 200 research scientists, many of whom have a regularly scheduled
role in the instructional program.
The Birch Aquarium at Scripps provides a wide variety of educational
courses in the marine sciences for students from primary grades
to high school level. UCSD students also may become involved in
work-study programs or serve as volunteers or aquarist trainees.
A limited number of students can be accommodated for a four-unit
course in independent study by arrangement with a faculty member
and the aquarium director. The facilitys resources include
natural habitat groupings of marine life from local and Gulf of
California waters; many of these marine groups are on display
in the aquarium. The museum exhibits present basic oceanographic
concepts and explain research undertaken at Scripps. The aquarium
is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily.
The La Jolla Laboratory of the University of Californias
Cecil H. and Ida M. Green Institute of Geophysics and Planetary
Physics, and UCs California Space Institute, although organizationally
separate, are closely affiliated with Scripps. The California
Sea Grant College Program, a systemwide program with more than
forty projects and approximately forty-five trainees supported
on California campuses and in several specialized research units,
is headquartered at Scripps. The Southwest Fisheries Science Center
(SWFSC), located near the Scripps campus, is one of thirty major
laboratories and centers operated by the National Marine Fisheries
Service, a component of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
of the U.S. Department of Commerce. Also, the Inter-American Tropical
Tuna Commission is colocated at SWFSC.
Students enter oceanography with extremely varied interests
and backgroundsnaturalists, explorers, engineers, and theorists
from the United States and many foreign countries. One thing they
have in common, however, is that they come to Scripps with a very
strong understanding of science. Most students select positions
as research assistants when they enter the programa practice
that not only gives them an early involvement with research, but
also provides salaries. The student-faculty ratio at Scripps is
about two-to-one; consequently, classes are small, and the student
has the opportunity to work closely with his or her thesis adviser.
Oceanography is an interdisciplinary field that allows for informal
exchange and interaction on a variety of levels.
While at Scripps, students have for their use some of the nations
most sophisticated and complete special laboratories and facilities
for oceanographic studies covering a wide range of disciplines
from biology and physiology to geophysics and atmospheric sciences.
A hydraulics laboratory features a unique 90-foot Stratified Flow
Channel and a unique 150-foot Wind Wave Channel, and an analytical
facility has a host of scanning electron microscopes and other
high-precision instruments. Among the many computer resources
is access to the San Diego Supercomputer Center. The Scripps Library
is the University of Californias major collection of marine
science materials, with outstanding collections in oceanography,
marine biology, and marine technology. It also specializes in
atmospheric sciences, fisheries, geology, geophysics, and zoology.
The various marine life and geological specimens housed at Scripps
form a vast library of oceanographic resources available
for investigations. Two underwater research areas that are part
of the UC Natural Reserve System are adjacent to the Scripps campus.
During a students tenure at Scripps, he or she will have
the opportunity to go to sea on any of Scrippss four research
vessels as well as those from other oceanographic institutions.
The combination of the large scientific staff and extensive
facilities at Scripps provides an extraordinary opportunity for
each student to enjoy close contact with existing oceanographic
concepts and active participation in research.
See Scripps Institution of Oceanography
in Courses, Curricula, and Programs of Instruction for
further details on study programs, requirements, degrees, and courses.
For additional information, write:
Graduate Student Information
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
University of California, San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive, Dept. 0208
La Jolla, California 92093-0208
|