Marine science program short of a degree?

[Dogbowl]

I'm interested in learning about marine science, marine biology, oceanography, etc. I was wondering if anyone knows of any structured programs available online or via distance learning? I am not interested in actually becoming a marine biologist so don't want to complete a full-blown undergraduate degree in marine biology. But I'm interested in something more detailed and more structured than just me going to Amazon, buying books and reading them. Any thoughts?

BTW, I have no science background beyond high school, if that makes any difference. And I work for a living (unfortunately) so hence, the need for online/distance learning as opposed to in-class.

 

[EireDiver606]

I am seriously considering becoming a marine scientist as well. Any real info on marine science would be greatly appreciated like areas of specialties, fieldwork, diving?, pay scale!

 

[Bubblesong]

Have you looked at MIT website? The missing part of on line is the lab and field trips, but the “open courseware” is free, so here is a partial list of topics for you: (full course list: Find Courses by Topic | MIT OpenCourseWare | Free Online Course Materials)

The dates given are when course was taught live, and recorded.

 

[Dogbowl]

Have you looked at MIT website? The missing part of on line is the lab and field trips, but the “open courseware” is free, so here is a partial list of topics for you: (full course list: Find Courses by Topic | MIT OpenCourseWare | Free Online Course Materials)

View attachment 445536

Interesting! Free too! Thank you!

 

[northernone]

Have you looked at MIT website? The missing part of on line is the lab and field trips, but the “open courseware” is free, so here is a partial list of topics for you: (full course list: Find Courses by Topic | MIT OpenCourseWare | Free Online Course Materials)

View attachment 445536

The dates given are when course was taught live, and recorded.

Incredible resource. No financial barrier now.

 

[tc]

I Tunes U also has a bunch of free marine science courses.

 

[Bubblesong]

Incredible resource. No financial barrier now.

That is the joy of it- anyone in any country with a computer, internet and who understands English, can learn. There may be options for other languages, i have not looked into it. But there are translation websites for the truly unstoppable.

 

[CuzzA]

Interesting! Free too! Thank you!

A not so free but personally rewarding option is to start a marine aquarium. Get on sites like reefcentral and reef2reef. Tons and tons of information, research and product development. A bonus is you can have a full blown reef tank filled with coral critters that have never seen the ocean. The aquaculturing breakthroughs have all but eliminated the need to take anything from the ocean.

Anyway, that's how I learned all I know.

 

[WinfieldNC]

I am seriously considering becoming a marine scientist as well. Any real info on marine science would be greatly appreciated like areas of specialties, fieldwork, diving?, pay scale!

There are several different concentrations in marine science at NCSU. Here is a link: Marine Science | Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Sciences | NC State University. I realize this is a long way from Ireland but it does give some info on the different things you can do with a degree in marine science. You can also see what courses are required for the different degrees.

 

[KathyV]

The Central Caribbean Marine Institute on Little Cayman offers a number of educational programs (live programs not online) including volunteers, internships, workshops, etc., see the link below.

They have a nice facility on LC and they offer tours on Friday afternoons.

https://reefresearch.org/