Marine ecosystems play a central role in the health and function of our planet. Given the increasing exploitation and modification by humankind, there is an urgent need for us to study and understand marine systems if management strategies are to succeed.

The Marine Science major is a multidisciplinary science program at the ANU that encompasses many fields, in particular, biology, chemistry, geology and physics, with an emphasis on understanding the coastal and open ocean environment through field, laboratory and modelling approaches.

This program aims at equipping students with the tools to understand and monitor coastal and oceanic processes and interactions between the atmosphere, biosphere and geosphere under an ever changing climate that may affect marine resources. A major in Marine Sciences opens up possibilities for work in government agencies and science education. It serves as a pathway to higher degree research at Australian or overseas universities.

Graduates from ANU have been rated as Australia's most employable graduates and among the most sought after by employers worldwide.

The latest Global Employability University Ranking, published by the Times Higher Education, rated ANU as Australia's top university for getting a job for the fourth year in a row

Learning Outcomes

1. Overview the advancement of the discipline and how that has influenced modern Marine Science.
2. Have an understanding of the evolution of the oceans, and the organisms contained within, from a molecular to the global scale.
3. Quantitatively analyse marine environments using a variety of observations and techniques.
4. Draw on diverse learning environments including field, laboratory and classroom settings encompassing individual and group learning.
5. Perform process-oriented, multidisciplinary studies to critically evaluate hypotheses and models on how our oceans and the life within operate.
6. Write scientific reports and communicate efficiently with university staff, peer students and the wider community on Marine Science topics.
7. Conduct themselves in a way that reflects professional expectations within the discipline.