Proposal to Establish
Master of Marine Management
History and Rationale
The College of Marine Studies (CMS)
now offers traditional graduate degrees at both the master and doctoral
level. At the master level students can
matriculate in curricula leading to an M.S. in Marine Studies or in Ocean
Engineering, and a Master of Marine Policy.
At the doctoral level CMS offers Ph.D. degrees in Marine Studies, in
Oceanography, and in Ocean Engineering.
The College is non-departmental, and curricula are administered through
four academic programs: Marine Biology-Biochemistry; Marine Policy;
Oceanography; and Physical Ocean Science and Engineering.
Here we propose a new degree program that targets a different type of student—mid-career professionals employed in management or policy positions relevant to marine environments. Typical students in this new program might come from the United States Coast Guard (USCG), NOAA, EPA, and the Department of Transportation (Maritime Administration). Local sources include DNREC and port authorities. Employees at these agencies and in private companies frequently take leaves-of-absence to complete full-time, one-year degrees and return to fill positions of greater responsibility and status. In order to attract students from this audience, we propose a rigorous multi-disciplinary program built around a highly time-constrained curriculum that can be completed in a single academic year. While the new degree is designed for mid-career professionals, the program has sufficient flexibility to accommodate other types of students. The non-thesis curriculum will be based primarily on existing CMS courses and will offer courses during winter session, as well as during the fall and spring terms.
The proposed degree, Master of
Marine Management (MMM), is the outgrowth of recommendations by the Marine
Studies Futures Committee, which in the spring of 2003 undertook the most
substantial planning exercise within the College since Project Vision more than
15 years ago. This committee, chaired by
the associate dean of the College, consisted of one full professor and one
assistant professor from each of the four academic programs. Among the main findings of the Futures
Committee was that the College could benefit in several ways by targeting the
non-traditional pool of students described above. In order to bring this recommendation to
fruition, a second committee was constituted in September 2003 and was charged
with investigating the feasibility of such a program. The Non-thesis Degree Committee, which
consisted of one full professor from each of the four academic programs, met
several times during the fall of 2003 and presented a report to the associate
dean in December. The report contained a
summary of a proposed new degree along with comments and caveats concerning
implementation of the degree. The
recommendations of the committee were considered at the spring meeting of the Marine
Studies faculty in February 2004. As a
consequence of that discussion, the faculty of the academic program most
directly affected by the proposed degree, Marine Policy, conducted a further
analysis and provided detailed commentary to the associate dean during the
summer of 2004. These comments were
considered at the fall meeting of the CMS faculty in September 2004. In the weeks following that meeting, the Non-thesis
Degree Committee was reconvened to address the concerns of Marine Policy faculty. The committee submitted its final report to
the associate dean in October 2004, and at its October 2004 meeting
The report discussed several reasons for initiating a new master degree program and argued that the new program will:
· Provide an educational experience within a highly constrained time period that will be attractive to mid-career professionals;
·
Be convenient for a large pool of mid-career
professionals working at state and federal environmental agencies located in
·
Provide an educational experience that has
immediate application to important real-world problems, both within the
· Result in the through-put of an additional 5-10 masters-level graduates per year—an important advantage in a small college like Marine Studies.
Argument for the name
“Master of
Marine Management” is similar to the name of analogous programs at other
universities, including Yale (Master of Environmental Management), Brown (Masters
in Public Affairs), UC- Santa Barbara (Master of Environmental Management and
Science), Duke (Master of Environmental Management), and
Several universities offer a Master of Marine Affairs (e.g. University of Rhode Island, University of Miami, and University of Washington), but we decided instead to use “management” in our title to emphasis the applied aspect of our degree. We also felt that “affairs” was vague and perhaps signaled a weaker degree. Our intention is to signal to employers that our graduates are trained to enhance their skills in managing marine resources and to emphasize that it is applied. “Management” also had greater appeal to our current students when asked to compare several competing titles.
The
proposed name and the use of “management” in the degree title were reviewed by
John Sawyer, Chairman of the Department of Business Administration,
Relationship with
Existing Programs at the University
The proposed degree would complement the Masters of Marine Policy (MMP) degree now offered in CMS. The MMP degree is different from the proposed MMM degree in a number of respects as outlined in the table below. As a one year, non-thesis degree, MMM is more practical and less research oriented. There are fewer courses taken in policy analysis and economics in MMM, but greater opportunity to blend science and policy into a practical degree of value to marine resource managers. It is purposefully more flexible to allow for different marine resource orientations, such as management of beach replenishment, marine transport, and wetlands management.
MMM students will take a “hands-on” case study course in the spring taught by policy and science faculty. This course is the centerpiece of the program and is preceded by a short tools workshop in the winter session. Two faculty mentors, one in science and one in policy, oversee all students through the program. MPP students take a more traditional path – courses are taken in methods and analysis, a thesis is written and defended before an advisory committee, and the student is guided by an advisor and advisory committee. Finally, MMM is shared by all four programs in the College, while MMP is housed and run by the Marine Policy Program.
Comparison of the proposed Master of Marine Management with the Master
of Marine Policy currently offered by CMS
|
|
MMM |
MMP |
|
Thesis |
No |
Yes |
|
Years |
1 |
2 |
|
Advisement |
2 Mentors |
1 Advisor and Committee |
|
Home |
Shared by 4 Programs |
Marine Policy |
|
Coursework |
-- More practical,
“hands-on” -- Greater blend
of policy and science -- Tools course in
the winter session --“Hands-on” case
study in the spring |
-- More research
and analysis -- More on
governance and policy institutions |
|
Course requirements |
--Several science
courses --Case study in
marine management |
--One science
course --Marine policy
seminars |
Admission and Program
Governance
The MMM degree will be administered
by a three member committee (MMM Advisory Committee) composed of the Program
Director for Marine Policy and two faculty mentors. One of the mentors will be from the Marine
Policy program and the other from one of the science programs in CMS. This committee will oversee admissions and
guide students through the program. The
committee will report to the Associate Dean who in turn will consult with
Admission
Requirements
The
minimum requirements for admission to this program include: a Bachelors degree
in an appropriate natural or social science program (along with official
transcripts of all undergraduate work), an undergraduate grade point average of
at least 3.0 (out of a possible 4.0), GRE scores (verbal and quantitative
combined) of at least 1050, and a TOEFL score (for international students) of
at least 600 (paper-based test) or 250 (computer-based test). Professional experience will be encouraged
and will be an important consideration for admission. The application also requires at least three
letters of recommendation and a statement of intent, stating specific interests
and objectives for pursuing this degree.
The
proposed program can accommodate part-time students. The only requirement is
that students take MAST 801 and MAST 802 in the same year.
Admission to the graduate program is
competitive. Those who meet stated requirements are not guaranteed admission,
nor are those who fail to meet all of those requirements necessarily precluded
from admission if they offer other appropriate strengths.
Degree Requirements
The overall requirement of the MMM degree is to complete the
course work indicated in the table given below and to maintain an overall GPA
of 3.0 (on a 4.0 scale) or better.
As
indicated above, no thesis is required for this degree.
Summary of Academic Program
Course Work
|
Credits |
|
Fall Term |
|
|
Decision Tools for Policy
Analysis (MAST663) |
3 |
|
|
3 |
|
Science Elective |
3 |
|
Policy Elective |
3 |
|
Science Seminar (MAST 821, 853,
or 882) |
1 |
|
|
|
|
Winter Term |
|
|
Environmental Measurement
Tools (MAST 801) |
5 |
|
|
|
|
Spring Term |
|
|
Case
Study in Coastal and Ocean Management (MAST 802) |
3 |
|
Policy or Science Electives |
9 |
|
Policy Seminar (MAST 873) |
1 |
Total
Credit Hours
|
31 |
Science and Policy Course Electives Several electives are available in the proposed MMM program in order to appeal to a broad audience and to accommodate students with diverse backgrounds. The electives will be 600-level courses currently offered by CMS and elsewhere in the University. The suitability of an elective for a particular student will be decided by the MMM Advisory Committee. A list of possible electives is included in the Appendix.
Development of New Courses
The proposed MMM program is
based on courses already being offered in CMS, with two exceptions which are
discussed below. The two new courses have
been submitted for review and approval. (See the Appendix).
Environmental
Measurement Tools (MAST 801).
This will be a team-taught course offered during the five-week winter
term. Each week of the course will
concentrate on a different tool for ecological analyses specific to marine
resources (e.g., salt marsh restoration, beach replenishment, microbial
remediation, water quality analysis, fisheries management, etc.) and will be
taught by a different faculty member. Topics
will be covered at the conceptual level, but will offer experience in rigorous
quantitative data analyses using practical examples that prepare students for
the case study (MAST 802). Mathematical
competence at the pre-calculus college level will be assumed, but statistics will
introduced as part of the course. Student
performance will be assessed via a short paper written on each topic. Although this is a new course per se, the
material it covers will likely be taken from existing courses. We anticipate that the faculty involved with
this new course will build on lectures and exercises already developed for
other courses.
Case Study in Coastal
and Ocean Management (MAST 802). This
will be the capstone course for the new-degree program. This course will be in the format of
problem-based learning and will address a specific problem in coastal and ocean
management. The culmination of the
course will be a mock hearing or similar forum appropriate to the case study presented
to the College community at large. Instructors
for this course will be the cohort mentors with help from relevant faculty as
appropriate. Student performance will be
assessed via the quality of the mock hearing and via an in-depth position paper
written independently by each student.
Financial Aid
It is expected that students matriculating in this
program will not receive financial aid from university sources.
Master of
MARINE MANAGEMENT
Resolution
Whereas the College of
Marine Studies currently offers degrees at the Master and Ph.D. level designed
for traditional graduate students, and
Whereas the College of
Marine Studies has recognized the great need for a new master program to reach
potential students not being served by current degrees, and
Whereas the proposed
master program will provide an enhanced educational opportunity that is not
currently offered at the
Whereas the delivery of
such a program does not require resources beyond those already approved for the
M.S. and Masters of Marine Policy degrees, be it therefore
Resolved that a Master
of Marine Management be established in the
Appendices
Supporting material for the proposal to establish a
Masters of Marine Management
Appendix 1.
E-mail from John Sawyer (Chairman of Department of Business Administration),
reviewing proposed name, Master of Marine Management.
Appendix
2. Examples of
electives for the Master of Marine Management degree.
Appendix 3. Description of new courses from the Challenge List
Appendix 1. E-mail from John Sawyer (Chairman of
Department of Business Administration), reviewing proposed name, Master of
Marine Management.
From: Sawyer, John [sawyerj@lerner.udel.edu]
Sent:
To:
Cc:
Subject: RE: New CMS degree
Thank you for the opportunity to review your proposed Masters degree program, “Master of Marine Management.” As you know, AACSB accreditation is highly valued and critical to the status and success of our business school. AACSB accreditation standards require that any program within the university that carries the name “management,” “business” or is substantially like business be included in the Alfred Lerner College AACSB accreditation review, unless it meets specific standards for exclusion.
I have reviewed the proposed Masters Degree program with an eye to protecting our accreditation given your use of the term “Management.” Given the clear focus on marine studies, the lack of any coursework that could be viewed as substantially business, and your focus on marine policy, I see no concern about excluding this program from the AACSB accreditation.
In conclusion, my department supports the establishment of the Master of Marine Management program.
John E. Sawyer, Ph.D.
Professor and Chairman
Department of Business Administration
237 Alfred Lerner Hall
302-831-1787 (office) 302-831-4196 (fax)
sawyerj@lerner.udel.edu
-----Original Message-----
From:
Sent:
To: Sawyer, John
Cc:
Subject: New CMS degree
Mary pointed out that your college may have some specific questions about this degree. If so, we’d like to try to address those before we present this proposal to the faculty senate committee on graduate programs, which is scheduled to meet next on January 14, as you know.
I’m happy to meet with you about this, chat over the phone, or do this via email. Unfortunately, my schedule is rather complicated the next few weeks. I’ll be out of the country Dec 20-Jan 6 and then I have a meeting Jan 10-12. Perhaps George Parsons could answer your questions. George is the program director for the Marine Policy program of CMS and has been working with me closely on the attached document.
Looking forward to hearing your input. Dave
**********************************************************************
David L. Kirchman 302-645-4375
Professor and Associate Dean 302-645-4028 (fax)
http://www.ocean.udel.edu/cms/dkirchman
Appendix 2. Examples of electives for the Master of
Marine Management degree. Electives must be approved by
the MMM Advisory Committee.
Possible Policy Electives
MAST664 Marine
Transportation Policy
MAST671 Coastal
Processes and Management
MAST673 International
Law
MAST674 Legal Aspects
of the Coastal Zone
MAST675 Economics of
Natural Resources
MAST676 Environmental
Economics
MAST677
MAST678 Admiralty and
Maritime Law
MAST679 Shipping and
Port Management
MAST692 Environmental
Values, Movements & Policy
Possible Science Electives
MAST 601 Introduction to Oceanography
MAST618 Marine Microbial
Ecology
MAST623 Physiology of Marine
Organisms
MAST627 Marine Biology
MAST 629-010 Statistics in Marine Sciences
MAST 629-011 Ichthyology
MAST637 Geological
Oceanography
MAST646 Chemical Oceanography
Appendix 3
|
Challenge List for Fall 2005 |
|
|
New Course |
|
|
|
|
|
Effective Term: |
05F |
|
Course ID: |
MAST801 |
|
Course Title: |
ENVIRONMENTAL MEASUREMENT TOOLS |
|
College: |
|
|
Department: |
Office of the Dean-Marine Studies |
|
Credit Hours: |
Variable: 1-5 |
|
Max. Repeatable
Credits: |
5 |
|
Grade Type: |
Standard |
|
Multicultural: |
No |
|
Satisfies Writing
Requirement: |
No |
|
Pathways: |
No |
|
Instructional
Format: |
None Specified |
|
Course Catalog Title: |
Environmental Measurement Tools |
|
Narrative: |
Provides exposure to limitations of techniques used in
sampling and analyses that develop information used in resource management
decision making. The 5-credit team-taught course has separate components. |
|
Restrictions: |
This is a 5-week Winter Term course aimed at students in a proposed new one-year MA degree program for the Graduate College of Marine Studies. It is an expansion of an existent 2-credit chemical methods course. It should be possible for students outside the program to take portions of the full course as 1 or 2 credit components. |
|
Justifications: |
Justify the need to initiate this course. |
|
|
Identify and justify any effect on other courses in
your department or in another department. Specifically list other departments
chairpersons and/or faculty consulted and summarize results of discussion. |
|
|
Identify the main emphasis of the course and indicate
the nature of the change. |
|
Instructor
Reference: |
|
|
|
|
|
Review History |
|
|
College Dean Designate: |
kirchman@udel.edu
(David L. Kirchman) |
|
Department Chair: |
kirchman@udel.edu
(David L. Kirchman) |
|
Submitter: |
jsharp@cms.udel.edu
( |
challenge
course change 
search
challenge list logout
|
Challenge List for Fall 2005 |
|
|
New Course |
|
|
|
|
|
Effective Term: |
05F |
|
Course ID: |
MAST802 |
|
Course Title: |
CASE STUDY: COASTAL & OCEAN MGMT |
|
College: |
|
|
Department: |
Office of the Dean-Marine Studies |
|
Credit Hours: |
Fixed: 3 |
|
Max. Repeatable
Credits: |
3 |
|
Grade Type: |
Standard |
|
Multicultural: |
No |
|
Satisfies Writing
Requirement: |
No |
|
Pathways: |
No |
|
Instructional
Format: |
Lecture: 3 |
|
Course Catalog
Title: |
Case Study in Coastal and Ocean Management |
|
Narrative: |
Analyzes issues in coastal and ocean management. Develops interdisciplinary problem-solving strategies. Engages students in real-world marine science/policy problems. Applies disciplinary knowledge, develops synthesis skills. Topics change, but case designs contain multi-disciplinary elements, e.g., physical ocean science, marine biology, oceanography, and marine policy. |
|
Prerequisites: |
MAST801 or instructor approval. |
|
Justifications: |
Justify the need to initiate this course. |
|
|
Identify and justify any effect on other courses in
your department or in another department. Specifically list other departments
chairpersons and/or faculty consulted and summarize results of discussion. |
|
|
Identify the main emphasis of the course and indicate
the nature of the change. |
|
Instructor
Reference: |
James Corbett |
|
|
|
|
Review History |
|
|
College Dean Designate: |
kirchman@udel.edu
(David L. Kirchman) |
|
Department Chair: |
kirchman@udel.edu
(David L. Kirchman) |
|
Submitter: |
jcorbett@cms.udel.edu
( |