Hey, everyone. I'm Dr. Amy Carlile, Chair of the Department of Biology and Environmental Science here at the University of New Haven. And I wanted to welcome you to our open house virtual event. Today, I'm going to talk to you about our Marine and Environmental programs within the department. So these include three programs that you see before you, that's Marine Biology, Marine Affairs, and Environmental Science. So the reason why I'm presenting on all three of these today is because there's some really interesting overlap and opportunities for our students because we have all three of these here. Now, eventually, you will need to choose a major though. So let's talk about the differences between these programs.
So Marine Biology is the study of living organisms in the marine realm. So it's not only about the organisms themselves, but also how they might interact with each other and with the environment around them. Our Marine Affairs, students are interested in how humans interact with these organisms and habitats, how humans might utilize these marine resources. And from those studies, they might make more policy and management changes to help us utilize those resources. Our Environmental Science program is very much interdisciplinary. It draws upon Chemistry, Biology, Geology, to take a really holistic approach at studying our terrestrial, and also our marine environments. But the really cool part is, since we have all three of these here at the University of New Haven, you could major in one of these programs, and pick up a minor in another. Some really great ways of sort of broadening your degree and making it more marketable after you graduate.
So you might right now be thinking about which program might be the best for you. And perhaps a good way of looking at that is by showing you some of the career paths that are available to you. So this I want to stress is just a snapshot of some of the careers that are available to you in these three programs. But you'll also see some careers that are sort of intersecting between these programs. This is because that to get a job in in one of these realms, you could get any of-- a bachelor's degree in any of these three programs. This is really where you see the synergies between the programs and and sort of the extra opportunities that are available to you because we have all three here. So just a snapshot of what might be available to you.
Another thing that you might want to check out are some of the opportunities that we are working on currently, to allow you to continue your education. You might have already heard of some of these dual degree programs. This is basically where you can get a Bachelor's degree and then stay for an extra year to get your Master's degree. And so you can see there on the slide in front of you some of the 4+1 programs that we already have in place. So we have an Environmental Science, Bachelor of Science, plus Masters of Science, 4+1 program. We are currently working on these other programs, I say coming very soon because it is almost ready, Marine Biology, Bachelor of Science plus Environmental Science. We are currently working on a Marine Affairs Master's degree that will also open up new opportunities. This will complement really nicely our already very successful Environmental Science Master's degree. So there's a lot of options available to you.
So one of the things that I think makes our programs really special that you get to jumpstart your experience. And this means you are taking coursework in your major from your freshman year. This is unusual in many universities, you might have to take up to a year or even two years of sort of background work before you can really get started in your major. We feel like that's too late. We want to get you started right from the beginning. And in fact, all three of these programs have opportunities for you to do so. So our Introduction to Marine Biology course has you out in the field. from week to week to week one you got to go over the syllabus and such but from week two, we have you out in the field every single week learning about organisms and habitats, around Long Island Sound. In Field Practices in Marine Affairs, you will be out interacting with various stakeholders-- that's fishers, managers, getting practice interacting with these folks and doing things like survey design, things that you can use elsewhere in your degree. Our Introduction to Environmental Science course also has you out in the field. You can see some students here, checking out some geology, local to the area, it will also take you on some really interesting tours of local facilities-- things like wastewater treatment plants.
Not only do we have this opportunity to jumpstart your experience in your freshman year, but something that we really pride ourselves on here at the University of New Haven is our emphasis on hands-on learning. We like to say our students learn by doing. So you might learn sort of the technical pieces, the background theoretical knowledge in the classroom, and then you have the opportunity to learn and, and apply that knowledge out in the field. We think this is particularly important because this is the sort of thing that prepares you to be a professional in the field, taking what you learn, and applying it to new situations. And this is also a fun way to learn.
We also have the opportunity for you to work with the community. So a lot of our students are very much concerned with what goes on in the community want to bring their science to folks in the public. And so we have several opportunities for you to do so. We have some service-learning courses. This is a great way of sort of giving back to our communities and learning by those interactions. So we have an Environmental Education course in which our students will write a curriculum for local camps for kids. We have an Introduction to Environmental Science service-learning option where our students will actually collect data about the health of a local river system. And then we also have some study away opportunities. Again, more environmental education, and then also some conservation opportunities out in Cape Cod.
Further afield, we have some additional study-abroad study away opportunities, both in the Bahamas and in Alaska. So in the Bahamas, the University has a partnership with a Juris Research Center, which is run by the University of the Bahamas. And we've been taking classes down there for almost a decade to study tropical marine ecology in a beautiful place. We are also looking at adding some environmental science courses down there as well. We have an Alaska course that is Human Ecology of Coastal Systems in the Arctic systems. So we have students go up there setting in an amazing outdoor place but also interact with state various stakeholders so fishers, US Fish and Wildlife Service, non-profit groups. It's a great place to learn about those issues.
Also available to all three programs is the Bartels Scholarship, so Mr. And Mrs. Bartels have very generously donated funds for one of our students to go up to the Isle of Shoals to take a course during the summer months. So the Iowa Scholes is actually a world-renowned marine Field Station, and they offer courses that we just can't offer here on the main campus. And so we've been doing this since 2018. You can see the last four students and the courses that they have taken at the Isle of Shoals. This is a great opportunity for our students to really expand their course knowledge through taking some really interesting courses.
Also available to our students, and something that we really pride ourselves on is our faculty-mentored research. So several of our students have dreams of going on to graduate school, perhaps you are among them, we students who want to do that really need to get started in their undergraduate career by doing research. And so all of us, as faculty at the University also conduct research and involve our students in that research. And so our students will get involved with projects, from the design all the way up to writing up the results, and then presenting those results at scientific conferences. And in fact, several of our students have gone on and, and presented at conferences and met their future graduate school mentor at these conferences, or secured their first job at these conferences. So it's a really great opportunity.
Now you might be thinking to yourself, "Well, I don't think I want to go to graduate school or do research. Is this still for me?" I would very much encourage you to pursue this opportunity. Even if you don't want to do research. It still gives you a really valuable experience. It's one thing to learn a technique in a class. It's a totally another thing to have to troubleshoot that technique, have to apply it in a new situation to do a large-scale project. So this is a great opportunity for our students. And I will mention that even though we have a lot of really interesting projects going on at the university if there's something that you want to work on that that none of us are currently working on, we have a lot of contacts locally. And we can, we can help hook you up with some of our colleagues at local aquariums, government research agencies, and such, so you can do research with those folks as well. And we've, in fact, facilitated those opportunities for many students in the past.
Another opportunity is the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship, or "SURF." This is basically a paid internship over the summer. It is a competitive program amongst the whole university. But our students do very well in this program because they learn how to write from their freshman year. And so basically, the deal is you come up with a project with a faculty mentor. They mentor you through the whole summer, and you do a research project. At the very end, we have a big presentation day. And it's a really great opportunity for our students to sort of have a first foray into research if you will. And many of our students will do this SURF program and that makes them more competitive for higher-scale internships, the year afterward. So many of our students have started off in this program, and then gone on to get NSF-funded, that's National Science Foundation-funded research experience for undergrad internships after they've completed this. So, and that's something that students are competing on at a national level. So it's pretty impressive.
Outside of the classroom, you might want to get involved in one of our over 200 student clubs. We have a club that's associated with our majors called the Marine Conservation Society. And they do all sorts of great things, from fun things like whale watch, to coastal cleanups and cleanups of local beaches, so I really encourage you to get involved in things outside the classroom.
And speaking of you know, your freshman year, you might be thinking, "Oh, it's, you know, kind of nervous about going away from home for college." Well, we have a living-learning community that is basically our freshman dorm. It is called currently Marine Biology Living Learning Community, but it is available for students from all three programs. And this is basically a way for you to have sort of a built-in community of like-minded individuals when you go to college. So your RA or Resident Assistant would be an upperclassman in one of the three programs. So they are a great mentor for you. You also have a faculty member who is sort of the faculty mentor for the living-learning community. So not only do you get to form study groups, you know, all the folks that you're living with are taking the same classes as you. It's a great way to study, but you have some fun outside of the classroom too. And you can see just sort of a snapshot of some of the things that are LLC has done in the past everything from kayaking to going to aquariums to a Work Day at a local Aquaculture Facility to going to the Peabody Museum. So lots of fun things for you to do. Um, it's not required, you don't have to do this. But I think it's a really neat thing for our freshmen to be involved with.
So I just mentioned a lot of really neat opportunities that are available to you, as a student at the University of New Haven. And you might be thinking, "How do I keep this all straight?" Well, another thing that I think is a real strength for our programs is the fact that we have one-on-one faculty advising. So a faculty member will be your advisor. I might pay your advisor when you start here. And we basically work together to sort out your program, make sure that you're taking the classes that you need to be taking, so that you can graduate on time. But it's not just about the classes that you're taking. We'll also talk about internship opportunities, you might bring in your resume for me to help you with, we might be talking about, "What's next?" So where are you going to look for a job or go to graduate school, those sorts of thing. So we take a really holistic approach and our advising, and we'll be with you along the way. Because we want to make sure that you succeed in all of this.
And really finally that is our main goal in all three of our programs is your success so that every graduate of our programs will be in the best position they can be in order to achieve their personal career goals. And so this gets back to the advising piece too. It's one-on-one. We'll get to know you, figure out what you want to do with your life. If you're not sure, we'll try to help you get there so that you can go on and succeed. And the fine folks you see in front of you are some of our recent graduates who have gone on to do great things. I don't have time to talk about all of them today but I just want to mention that we have students who are now getting into law school, really prestigious Ph.D. programs, Master's programs, we have students getting into vet school, and then also students who want to go get a job right away after college, not go on with their schooling. And so we've had students get jobs at some of the local aquariums, aquaculture industries, government organizations, non-profit groups. So we're really proud of the success of our graduates and I hope to put one of your pictures up here one day.
So I hope that was a good overview of our programs. We are now available on the chat. So please come over and say hello and ask questions. If you have questions also and you think of these afterward, I've included the contact information for Dr. Jean-Paul Simjouw. He is the coordinator for Marine Biology and Environmental Science programs. Dr. Tarsila Seara is our Marine Affairs Program Coordinator. And then my name there at the bottom-- Dr. Amy Carlile, the Department Chair. Also want to encourage you to follow us on our social media so you can see what we've been up to. But mostly I want to thank you for listening and wish you the best of luck in your search for a university program.