COASTAL MARINE RESOURCES
MANAGEMENT (CMRM)
Faculty Advisor: Chris Costello (1st-years) and Hunter Lenihan (2nd-years)
Specialization Description
The Coastal Marine Resources Management specialization (CMRM) trains MESM students to address interdisciplinary questions related to marine coastal ecosystems. Coastal marine ecosystems provide a plethora of essential goods and services, including fisheries, navigation space, geochemical products and recycling, disposal space for anthropogenic wastes, and recreation. Managing these goods and services requires an understanding of natural and social sciences, economics, decision-making, behavior, law and institutions, and ethics.
Worldwide, societies are faced with the serious challenge of developing and implementing new strategies for managing at-risk coastal resources and communities that rely on them. CMRM students will be trained to meet this challenge through an interdisciplinary education in marine ecology, oceanography, marine policy and law, economics, and various forms of quantitative modeling. Students from the CMRM specialization will find employment in both the public (federal agencies; state and local governments; universities) and private (consulting firms; industry) sectors.
The University of California, Santa Barbara provides a unique academic setting for the CMRM specialization. Major breakthroughs in basic and applied marine science and related disciplines in policy, economics and sociology have been made by researchers from the Bren School, the Departments of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology (EEMB), Environmental Science (ES), Geology (GEOL), and Geography (GEOG), and the Marine Science Institute (MSI). Marine-related research by UCSB biologists, engineers, economists, anthropologists, and political scientists is conducted both locally in the Santa Barbara Channel and worldwide in a diversity of marine ecosystems including coral reefs, deep-sea hydrothermal vents, and polar seas. CMRM students will be encouraged to interact with faculty, students, and staff from other departments and programs on campus that conduct coastal marine science and management.
The Bren School has particular research strengths in the following areas: (1) developing innovation in fisheries management through interdisciplinary research in fisheries ecology, conservation biology, resource economics, and governance; (2) ecotoxicology, especially concerning emerging nanotechnology; and (3) ecosystem restoration. These all research emphases are often leveraged to develop novel and exciting Group Projects.
Course Work
MESM students have a wide variety of backgrounds, interests, and educational goals. Each CMRM student will tailor an individualized Program of Study (POS) with help from the CMRM specialization leader and other Bren faculty.
CMRM students should take the following courses:
ESM 260: Applied Marine Ecology
At least one of the following:
ESM 242: Natural Resources Economics and Policy
ESM 257: Coastal Marine Policy and Management
At least one oceanography course
Understanding the complex nature of coastal marine ecological processes as well as most policy and economic issues, requires knowledge of oceanographic processes. There is a rich supply of oceanography curriculum in other departments. The Bren School has deliberately avoided developing courses similar to those in other departments on campus and has focused on creating courses that will enhance the overall University curriculum. It is expected that CMRM students will participate in course offerings across the campus.
UCSB offers a variety of courses in physical, chemical, biological (i.e. open ocean), or geological oceanography. The following courses are most often included in CMRM students' programs of study.
ESM 254: |
Coastal Marine Ecosystem Processes |
| EEMB 142A: | Aquatic Communities |
| EEMB 243: | Biological Oceanography |
| EEMB 244: | Marine Microbiology |
| EEMB 265: | Field Studies in Marine Ecological Physiology |
| GEOL 266: | Chemical Oceanography |
| GEOL 276: | Geological Oceanography |
| GEOG 236: | Remote Sensing of the Oceans |
| GEOG 263: | Physical Oceanography |
| GEOG 265: | Upper Ocean Physical Processes |
The full menu of marine-focused offerings in other departments can be found on the Interdepartmental Graduate Program in Marine Science website.
CMRM students are encouraged to enhance their marketability by taking a course in modeling, such as:
| ESM 232: | Environmental Modeling |
| EEMB 225: | Dynamics of Ecological Systems |
| EEMB 279: | Modeling Environmental and Ecological Change |
The rest of the courses ia CMRM student's program of study should be selected to develop knowledge and skills appropriate for the student's specific career interests, whether in policy, conservation, restoration, pollution control/preventsion, business applications, etc.
The following variable topic courses may also provide curriculum opportunities of value for CMRM students:
| ESM 293: | Advanced Special Topics in Energy and Climate |
| ESM 294: | Advanced Special Topics in Environmental Law |
| ESM 296: | Advanced Special Topics in Environmental Management |
ESM 297: |
Advanced Special Topics in Environmental Policy |
| ESM 299: | Advanced Special Topics in Enviromental Science |
| ESM 430: | Workshops in Environmental Science and Mangement |
| ESM 436: | Workshops in Legal Issue in Environmental Problem Solving |
| ESM 437: | Writing for Environmental Professionals |
| ESM 440: | Advanced Environmental Communication |
| ESM 595A-Z: | Seminars/Group Studies in Environmental Science & Management |
Sample Programs of Study
| Example I | Example II |
| ESM 260: Applied Marine Ecology | ESM 260: Applied Marine Ecology |
| ESM 242: Natural Resource Economics and Policy | ESM 257: Coastal Marine Policy & Management |
| ESM 211: Applied Population Ecology | ESM 243: Environmental Policy Analysis |
| ESM 254: Coastal Marine Ecosystem Processes | ESM 245: Cost Benefit Analysis |
| EEMB 243: Biological Oceanography | GEOG 263: Introduction to Physical Oceanography |
| ESM 270: Conservation Planning | ESM 254: Coastal Marine Ecosystem Processes |
| ESM 237: Climate Change Impacts & Adaptation | ESM 595I: Seminar in Marine Resources Management |
| ESM 437: Writing for Environmental Professionals | ESM 294: Advanced Topics in Environmental Law |
| EEMB 279: Modeling Environmental and Ecological Change | ESM 299: Advanced Topics in Environmental Science |
Example III |
Example IV |
ESM 260: Applied Marine Ecology |
ESM 260: Applied Marine Ecology |
GEOL 266: Chemical Oceanography |
ESM 242: Natural Resource Economics and Policy |
ESM 254: Coastal Marine Ecosystem Processes |
ESM 283: Environmental Negotiation |
ESM 257: Coastal Marine Policy and Management |
ESM 238:Climate Change Agreements and Politics |
| ESM 219: Microbial Processes in the Environment | GEOG 236: Remote Sensing of the Oceans |
| ESM 222: Fate and Transport of Pollutants | EEMB 142A: Aquatic Communities |
| ESM 235: Watershed Analysis | ESM 254: Coastal Marine Ecosystem Processes |
| ESM 232: Environmental Modeling | ESM 257: Coastal Marine Policy & Management |
ESM 263: GIS |
ESM 440: Advanced Environmental Communication |
Potential Career Opportunities for CMRM Students