Since 1969 the Department of Marine Affairs has offered masters level degree programs (M.A. and M.M.A.) and has attracted students from all over the United States and some 40 countries. As of September, 1998 the Department of Marine Affairs also has offered a program of study leading to the award of a Ph.D. degree. As is the case with the masters level graduate programs, the focus of the Ph.D. program is on coastal/ocean management, policy, and law and will concentrate on the following areas, which are not mutually exclusive:

• Coastal management
• Fisheries management
• Marine ecosystem management
• Maritime transportation and ports
• National and international ocean policy
• Marine human ecology

The Department of Marine Affairs is an interdisciplinary department, with a faculty educated in the fields of geography, political science, law, anthropology, environmental planning, and oceanography. It further draws upon the expertise of associated departments and programs such as the Departments of Environmental and Natural Resource Economics, Natural Resource Sciences, Political Science, Fisheries, Aquaculture, and Veterinary Science and Community Planning as well as the Graduate School of Oceanography.

The Ph.D. program in Marine Affairs is designed to serve the needs of individuals who will be working in government, research institutes, consulting, and academia.