Oceanography College Class Pros and Cons

[divadiver74]

I signed up for an Oceanography college class for this fall and looking for pros and cons if anyone has taken this class. I need all info I can get.

On a level 1 to 10 (1 being easy and 10 being hard), how do you rate the overall class?

Do you recommend taking with a math class?

Did you like the class and why?

Thanks for any input on this....see ya'll in the threads, gotta run for now...

 

[Tobagoman]

I'm not sure how your class will be structured, but when I took mine back when I was in Grad school it was a very indepth class (it was actually called Physical Oceanography) and was very much math intensive (alot of calculus). I enjoyed the hell out of it and it really helped describe alot of phenomena that you experience while diving and alot that is unseen. If you plan on degree in the marine or limnic sciences, I would definetly take it, and if your higher level math is a bit rusty, brush up on it.
Hope that helps.

 

[cabrerad]

I also took a calculus laden Oceanography class (Physical, Chemical, Geological, and Biological) in graduate school. It was a great class. You learn a lot about ocean currents and how they affect weather, temperature and biota. You also learn about plate and shelf movements as well as island formation.
My course also covered some biological and chemical oceanography. I actually bought the text for the undergraduate text so I could look at it first and then tackle the graduate text. The undergraduate text was not as math heavy as far as I can remember. I imagine your course will cover physical, chemical and biological oceanography as will probably be kind of a survery class. Compared to my other grad classes I would rate the class at about 6 (though that's mainly due to the calc i had to relearn). I can look through the text of the undergrad course and see how much math is in there when I get home today. Is this class within the bio major or is it a class anyone can take regardless of major? Whether it is a course within a biology track or a science elective for any major would influence how in depth the class is.

David

 

[DennisS]

I took an Oceanography 101 class and it was a good overview of the ocean sciences. It covered biological (plankton, coral, critters), Geological (seafloor spreading, vents, sedimentation), Chemical (salinity, trace elements), Physical (currents, density, thermo layers). It was a good sampler of the various disciplines.

As far as difficulty it varies with the teacher. If the teacher is into Physical Oceanography-lots of math. As Tobagoman says, if you're going into science, get the math.

 

[RIOceanographer]

I got my undergraduate degree in Oceanography and I am about to finish my PhD in oceanography. I have taken A LOT of oceanography classes....

The intro oceanography classes for undergraduates are usually pretty basic (professors may vary). Like DennisS, said it is usually a sampler of the different disciplines (bio, geo, chem, and phys) but won't get into too much depth in any of them. Expect a basic intro to the composition and properties of seawater, thermohaline circulation, coriolis, currents, tides, plankton, benthos, nekton, nutrients, ecosystem types, seafloor spreading, sedimentation and general terminology.

Usually the calculus laden material others mentioned will not come up in an intro class, they typically save that for the specialized classes (like physical oceanography) later on, but you can always ask the professor and see what he/she says.

I will let my screenname speak for itself as to whether I think it is worthwhile or not....

 

[drbill]

I feel it is impossible to accurately respond to this question without knowing the professor, text and syllabus specific to her school. However those who have responded have offered some very good advice on such courses in general.

I think DivaDiver74 would be best served by asking others in her institution who have taken the same class. When I was an undergrad, we had a booklet called the Confi (Confidental) Guide. In it undergrads who had taken courses at the university were asked to evaluate those same courses. Perhaps such a thing exists at your school.

I taught satellite remote sensing several years while the usual professor was on sabbiticals. I'm sure my course, using the same texts and labs, was quite different from the course she taught.

Dr. Bill

 

[sb_diver]

Hey, It really depends on the professor and the way the class is going to be structured. From my experience here at my university, if its a lower division course and doesn't have any prerequisites it probably will be more broad and probably less in depth. I took an introduction to oceanography class my freshman year and it was not that math intensive. Good luck.

Thomas

 

[SSRosecastle]

I signed up for an Oceanography college class for this fall and looking for pros and cons if anyone has taken this class. I need all info I can get.

On a level 1 to 10 (1 being easy and 10 being hard), how do you rate the overall class?

Do you recommend taking with a math class?

Did you like the class and why?

Thanks for any input on this....see ya'll in the threads, gotta run for now...

Diva,

I took Intro to Oceanography at the University where I'm studying. It was an intro level course, and I personally found it very easy and educational. I'm an engineer and doing a discipline change into Ocean Engineering, so I do have alot of Math/physic's background, but in all honesty that was a super easy course and I know non-science students who took it and learned alot. You should talk to your prof and find out how he's structuring it and tell him your background and if he's any kind of a good prof he'll be honest and tell ya if you can handle it or not. What is your background? What are you studying in school?

Chris