Sandy beaches, rolling waves, fascinating sea life — even online oceanography students have the opportunity to experience these wonders through ASU’s ocean futures degree programs.
Each semester, ocean futures students who attend online and in-person have the same opportunity to visit the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences, a dedicated ocean research station with a long history of impactful research.
When you go to the Bermuda Institute, you can earn between three and seven ASU course credits. Through your courses you’d take while in Bermuda, you’ll have the opportunity to learn about many ocean concepts, including:
- The Functional Ecology of Coral Reefs
- Marine Molecular Ecology
- Coral Reef Ecology
- Research Diving Methods
This study abroad opportunity is where you can gain hands-on experience working in an ocean environment alongside researchers and peers. You’ll build a deep understanding of the marine and atmospheric sciences by supporting the daily operations at this active research station.
“In Bermuda, you’re going to get in the water and see what it’s like to work in the ocean,” said Dr. Amy Maas, an associate professor at the School of Ocean Futures. Maas is based in Bermuda and is closely involved in the ocean futures online degree program, having built and taught the Ocean Futures SEA 101 course.
While this opportunity is available to science students in any program, it’s most helpful for online students enrolled in ASU’s Ocean Futures, BS; Ocean Futures (Coastal and Marine Science), BS; or Coastal and Marine Science and Management, MS.
When you go to Bermuda as an online student, you’ll get to snorkel, explore reefs, study sea creatures and meet peers and colleagues from around the globe who are all passionate about the ocean, Maas explained.
“It’s really powerful,” Maas said of studying at the Bermuda Institute. “You’re not only going to meet others with a shared passion and interest, but you’re also going to experience a different culture.”
Bridging the land and sea gap
Sometimes it can be easy to think of the ocean as a far off place, especially when you’re an online student who might be completing their everyday coursework from less coastal locations.
Whether you’re passionate about pursuing scientific questions around the health of the ocean and its organisms, or a career working in the blue economy — from working at fisheries, in tourism or beyond — ASU’s ocean futures programs, and the Bermuda experience, are designed to give you the practical skills for a successful ocean-related career.
Each ocean futures program aims to give you a holistic understanding of the ocean. That means, you’ll not only be studying the scientific aspects of the ocean, but social and cultural components too.
The entire world is connected to the ocean in some manner, and this program shows how everyday decisions by industry, politicians and people have a direct and real impact on the ocean. And the same is true about the ocean and how it impacts our lives.
Learning about this through your online courses is just one aspect, which is why it’s important to gain real-world experience with the ocean through experiences like the one in Bermuda.
The Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences, where you have the option to study, was originally founded in 1903.
Since its founding, major research initiatives have been conducted at the Bermuda Institute, including the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study, which started collecting physical, biological and chemical properties of the ocean each month since 1988.
ASU and the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences partnered in 2021, giving students access to the breadth of knowledge and expertise available there.
Maas and other researchers have been eagerly expanding operations to get as many students to the Bermuda Institute as possible — showing what it’s like to conduct research based in the Atlantic Ocean at the many laboratories and vessels available there.
Bermuda experience requirements
Visiting Bermuda is open to ASU Online students from any major. Completion of previous university-level biology and/or ecology courses are required. Additionally, completed marine science and oceanography coursework is desirable.
Depending on the courses you take while there, you may need a minimum of a PADI Open Water Diver scuba certification or equivalent.
Courses are intensive experiences where you work a minimum schedule of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day, with occasional evening and weekend requirements. But, it’s very rewarding, Maas said.
The program also requires boat work and the ability to work comfortably in the water with a mask and snorkel.
Going to the Bermuda Institute is an opportunity of a lifetime that allows students to connect their coursework to real-world work. This is part of the ocean futures’ program goals of giving you a comprehensive understanding of what you can do with an ocean-related career.
“We give you all the skills to make sure that everyone has the broad base to then launch into a specialty,” Maas said of the ocean futures programs and the Bermuda experience. “Whether your specialty ends up being more academic, or into a blue economy, applied job, everyone’s going to walk away with the needed skills for a successful career in their passion.”