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 research scientists, 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 donors Ellen Browning Scripps and E. W. Scripps.
In all, Scripps
occupies fifty-five buildings on 170 acres along the
Pacific coastline below the mesa on which UCSD is located. Its
staff numbers
approximately 1,000, including more than 200 graduate students. The institution’s
annual expenditures exceed $133 million.
Research at Scripps encompasses physical,
chemical, biological, geological, and geophysical studies of the oceans.
Among the hundreds of research 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 floating instrument platform
for oceanographic research in support of programs by Scripps researchers
as well
as oceanographers
from
other institutions
throughout the world. Cruises range from local, limited-objective trips
to far-reaching expeditions in the world’s oceans.
Investigations
supported by contracts and grants, primarily federal, cover a wide
latitude of marine research. The general research effort
is conducted
by
five divisions: Climate Research Division, Geosciences Research
Division, Integrative Oceanography Division, Marine Biology
Research
Division, and Physical Oceanography Research Division.
The diversity
of Scripps’s work is extended by special purpose laboratories
and multidisciplinary centers: Marine Physical Laboratory, Center
for
Marine Biotechnology and
Biomedicine, Center for Atmospheric Sciences, Center for
Marine Biodiversity and Conservation, Center for Observations,
Modeling and
Prediction at Scripps, Center for Earth Observations and Applications,
and Scripps Genome Center.
The
La Jolla laboratory of the University of California’s Cecil
H. and Ida M. Green Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics,
and
UC’s California
Space Institute, although organizationally separate, are closely
affiliated with Scripps.
Other specialized groups are also located
on campus. The California
Sea Grant College Program, a systemwide program with thirty to
fifty projects and approximately
forty 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.
A ship operations and marine technical support
unit provides essential services and facilities to all research
units of the institution.
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 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 facility’s 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 oceanography concepts and explain research undertaken
at Scripps. The aquarium
is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily.
Scripps’s
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. Many Scripps
scientists also teach courses in undergraduate programs such
as biology, earth sciences, and environmental systems.
Students
enter oceanography with extremely varied interests and backgrounds—naturalists,
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 program—a 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
nation’s 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. The Hydraulics Laboratory features
a 90-foot stratified flow channel and a 150-foot wind-wave
channel, and the Unified Laboratory Facility has 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 California’s
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 student’s tenure at
Scripps, he or she will have the opportunity to go to
sea on any
of Scripps’s four research vessels as well as those
from other oceanographic institutions.
The combination
of a 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
www.siograddept.ucsd.edu
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