MS and PhD Opportunities in Marine Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, USA

The Department of Marine Sciences at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill invites applicants for graduate study in Ph.D. and M.S. programs. Our Marine Sciences program has substantial federal, state and private funding support for cutting-edge research on topics including marine ecology, biogeochemical processes, marine microbiology, coastal and estuarine physical oceanography, river-ocean interactions, coastal geology, fluid dynamics and acoustics.

These interdisciplinary, collaborative projects are increasing our understanding of the marine environment and are assessing impacts of human- and climatically-induced change in the coastal zone. Graduates of our program hold positions in a variety of settings, including at universities and research institutions (within the US and abroad), and in federal and state agencies.


We are addressing a wide range of environmental processes and problems along the continuum spanning riverine, estuarine, coastal and open ocean environments around the globe including the Arctic, the Amazon, the US East Coast and Florida Keys, the Caribbean/Gulf of Mexico and Gulf of California, Chinese rivers and lakes, and the Pacific, including the Galapagos Islands (where UNC-Chapel Hill maintains a field laboratory). Research projects focus on the ecosystem and regional scale, utilizing field experimental, observational and modeling approaches. Details of specific research projects and publications can be found at http://www.marine.unc.edu/.

Potential students are strongly encouraged to contact our Academic Program Coordinator (nadera[ at ]email.unc.edu) and relevant individual professors by email.

Recruitment events will be held in late February and middle March. Interested applicants should contact the Department to learn about the possibility of support for your visit to the UNC-Chapel Hill campus.

Top candidates will be nominated for Graduate School awards including competitive 5 year Fellowships. All entering graduate students are supported by Fellowships, Teaching and Research Assistantships, and generally receive tuition remission and in-state tuition awards.

All Ph.D. students in Marine Sciences are eligible for Gussenhoven Endowment Travel Funds to attend scientific conferences or visit outside laboratories. Chapel Hill and the North Carolina coast are excellent places to live and the academic resources at UNC Chapel Hill are of the highest national quality.