The Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (MAS) graduate program is located within the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS). Research activities within SoMAS are coordinated through the Marine Sciences Research Center (MSRC), and the Institute for Terrestrial and Planetary Atmospheres (ITPA). MSRC is the center for research, graduate education, and public service in the marine sciences for the entire State University of New York system. SoMAS faculty have active research programs in all major oceanographic and atmospheric disciplines and many focus on interdisciplinary approaches to understanding environmental processes and issues. Specific areas of cross-disciplinary focus include: biogeochemical transformation of energy and elements, conservation and management of marine resources, environmental health and contaminants, environmental modeling and prediction, and patterns and impacts of global climate change.
SoMAS is ideally situated for studies of a variety of coastal environments including estuaries, lagoons, salt marshes, barrier islands, and continental shelf waters. Long Island has a greater diversity of coastal environments in a limited geographical range than any other comparable area in the United States. The proximity of New York City and the burgeoning population of Long Island and Connecticut make New York coastal waters an excellent laboratory for assessing human impacts on the coastal seas, and understanding land/sea interactions at all levels. In addition to working on coastal issues, SoMAS scientists have active research programs on all the world's oceans and ITPA faculty examine atmospheric processes on the Earth and other planets.
SoMAS offers an M.A. in Marine Conservation and Policy and an M.S. and Ph.D. in Marine and Atmospheric Sciences with concentrations in either oceanography or atmospheric sciences. Interested students should address inquiries to the graduate program director. Tuition scholarships and stipends are available for students in the research based M.S. and Ph.D. programs.
SoMAS also offers an accelerated B.S./M.S. program allowing high achieving Stony Brook undergraduate students in the Marine Sciences (MAR), Marine Vertebrate Biology (MVB), Atmospheric Sciences (ATM), and a B.A./M.A. with the Environmental Studies (ENS) B.A.. Program to allow student to begin working on their masters degree prior to completing their bachelors degree, allowing up to 12 credits of course work to count towards both degrees.
The M.S. Program in Marine and Atmospheric Sciences
The M.S. program offered by SoMAS consists of a rigorous interdisciplinary approach to oceanography and atmospheric sciences based on interdisciplinary course work and a research thesis. It is designed to prepare students for positions in research, management, environmental protection, and resource development. The program provides students with a firm basis for more advanced study, but more importantly, it is designed to equip students with the background and tools needed for effective careers without additional training. Required course work is identical to the Ph.D. program allowing M.S. to continue on in the Ph.D. program provided they have demonstrated adequate performance and found a suitable faculty advisor. The time required to complete this program depends on the scope of research undertaken. Most students complete their degree in 2-3 years.
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