Loading ...
`Since 1965, the Marine Science Consortium, a nonprofit educational corporation, has educated and inspired thousands of people through hands-on education.
The bays, marshes, beaches, maritime forests, and off-shore waters of Virginia’s Eastern Shore are the Marine Science Consortium’s classroom. Whether you are an individual interested in learning more about coastal and marine systems or seeking to pursue a career in marine sciences, the Marine Science Consortium offers a wonderful variety of opportunities to meet your educational and/or research goals.
The Marine Science Consortium has two campuses. The main campus is located at Wallops Island and is adjacent to NASA’s Goddard Flight Facility, which consists of several dormitories, laboratory buildings, cafeteria, and classroom buildings that were originally part of a Naval housing complex.
Today, many of these buildings are being removed to make way for a new campus of energy efficient buildings that will better support the Marine Science Consortium’s future endeavors. It is a $15 million campus revitalization project. This project will result in a new education center, residencies, and other upgrades. Currently, the dormitories are a little shabby. The bed, desk, closet, and dresser are all in one unit. There are two people to a room, but you don’t spend much time there, so don’t worry about the cramped space.
The second campus, named the Marine Science Consortium Research Center, provides limited lab space and housing for small groups. This small field station and its surrounding 30 acres of salt marsh are located directly on Chincoteague Bay at Greenbackville, Va.
This is a warning to all prospective Marine Science Consortium students: The mosquitoes at Wallops Island are voracious. Bring tons of bug repellent. Despite the pain that comes from the countless bug bites, it is an amazing experience. Last semester, Millersville University’s Marine Biology class took a field trip to Wallops over a weekend. The bug bites made me want to cry, and being stuck with the same people for about fifty hours was, at times, irritating, but I encountered organisms that we cannot find here. It was incredible and I learned more than I anticipated. Can you imagine all the wonderful things you could learn over the course of three weeks?
There are a few courses that are being offered by Millersville University professors this summer, but there are also a number of courses being offered by professors from Kutztown, East Stroudsburg, Slippery Rock, Shippensburg, and Lock Haven. The variety of professors from other institutions allows students to get the best education possible on an array of Marine Science related subjects. These courses can serve as biology electives and courses for non-majors are also available.
University and college courses are offered in four three-weeks sessions from mid-May to August. Each course is three credits. A student may take only one course per session.
To register for classes at the Marine Science Consortium, you must submit the registration materials to the MSC advisor at the University/College through which you will be registering. The advisor must sign this registration form before you will be accepted into any classes at the MSC. This form, a college transcript, your deposit(s), and a self-addressed, stamped business envelope must then be sent to the MSC for initial registration.
Course deposits are $100 for the first class and $50 for each additional class. Deposits will be applied to the $675 fee for each MSC course. The initial deposit is non-refundable and an additional $200 deposit is due by April 20. More information is also available on the bulletin board outside Roddy 286. Completed applications should be turned into to Dr. Dominique Dagit or Dr. Ajoy Kumar.