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Major · Multi/Interdisciplinary Studies

An umbrella ocean science track for students still picking a sub-discipline

Marine Sciences (CIP 30.3201) is an interdisciplinary degree blending oceanography, marine biology, marine chemistry, and marine geology. About 322 students complete it across 19 institutions, with bachelor’s graduates earning a five-year median of $53,037 — modest entry pay, with most named higher-wage destinations requiring graduate credentials.

Schools offering
19
Annual completions
322
Typical degree level
Associate's + Bachelor's
Median earnings (5yr)
$53k

About this major

Marine Sciences (CIP 30.3201) is an interdisciplinary bachelor’s in the multi/interdisciplinary studies family that applies biology, chemistry, geology, and physics to marine, estuarine, and coastal environments. The CIP definition organizes coursework around marine biogeochemistry, atmosphere and ocean dynamics, coastal ecology, coastal ocean processes, microbial ecology, marine ecosystem modeling, and polar microbiology. Students take a science core (general biology, chemistry, physics, calculus), an oceanography sequence covering the four classical sub-disciplines, and electives that lean toward field and organism work or quantitative methods like remote sensing and ocean modeling. Most programs cap the degree with a research cruise or coastal field course and a senior thesis.

The major fits students drawn to the ocean as an integrated system who don’t yet know which sub-discipline they want — the integrative breadth is the point. It rewards comfort with both wet-lab chemistry and field ecology, an interest in how physical, chemical, biological, and geological processes interact, and patience for multi-week deployments. Day-to-day at the bachelor’s level looks like seasonal field-tech work at NOAA, USGS, USFWS, state Departments of Natural Resources, and Sea Grant programs, or lab-tech roles in academic ocean-science labs.

A grounded read on scale: 322 students complete this CIP each year across 19 institutions, with bachelor’s graduates earning a five-year median of $53,037. The narrow pipeline reflects administrative grouping — most universities funnel ocean-science students into general biology, earth science, or the bio-skewed Marine Biology CIP (26.1302, 1,922 completions). Tracked destinations span environmental scientists ($80,060), wildlife biologists ($72,860), and geoscientists ($99,240), but the bachelor’s wage signals that many graduates are early-career, in seasonal field-tech roles, or still in graduate study.

Section 3 · Careers

Where this major leads

Occupations most often associated with this major, from the federal BLS+O*NET crosswalk. Job-growth projections and median wages are national.

Occupation Median wage Job growth Typical education
Postsecondary teachers, all other $78k +1.8% Doctoral or professional degree
Natural sciences managers $161k +3.7% Bachelor's degree
Environmental scientists and specialists, including health $80k +4.4% Bachelor's degree
Biological scientists, all other $93k +1.2% Bachelor's degree
Physical scientists, all other $118k +0.6% Bachelor's degree
Geoscientists, except hydrologists and geographers $99k +3.2% Bachelor's degree
Zoologists and wildlife biologists $73k +1.6% Bachelor's degree
Section 4 · Earnings

Earnings at a glance

Median graduate earnings from the federal College Scorecard, 5 and 10 years out.

Median 5-year earnings

$53k

Who this major is for

Strong fit signals start with attraction to the ocean as an integrated system rather than a single sub-discipline, comfort bouncing across biology, chemistry, geology, and physics in the same semester, and willingness to spend weeks on research vessels and at remote coastal field stations. Adding quantitative depth — Python and R for time-series, satellite remote sensing, GIS, autonomous-glider data — strengthens the bachelor’s materially because the emerging high-wage lane is data-science adjacency around ocean-color satellites and ecosystem modeling. Clear-eyed expectations about graduate school as the realistic ramp into salaried research roles at NOAA, USGS, EPA, NASA, and labs like Woods Hole, Scripps, and MBARI round out the profile.

Reconsider this route if you need a clear bachelor’s-to-salary path without graduate study, since the $53,037 bachelor’s median sits below the named destinations of environmental scientist ($80,060) and geoscientist ($99,240), and bachelor’s-only field-tech roles often pay $15-25 per hour seasonally. Pause if your interest is specifically marine organisms — the narrower Marine Biology CIP (26.1302) has six times the national pipeline and is more directly named to employers. Weigh the NOAA Corps officer route seriously as an alternative; it is the cleanest bachelor’s-direct federal path and sidesteps the technician-wage ceiling that defines most bachelor’s-level marine-science work.

Section 6 · Where to study

Top colleges for Marine Sciences

Ranked by annual completions at the associate's or bachelor's level — a proxy for program scale.

College Location Assoc. Bach. Total
California State University-Monterey Bay Seaside, CA 0 99 99
University of Maine Orono, ME 0 67 67
University of Florida Gainesville, FL 0 37 37
California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo San Luis Obispo, CA 0 24 24
University of California-Davis Davis, CA 0 19 19
College of Micronesia-FSM Pohnpei, FM 16 0 16
Western Washington University Bellingham, WA 0 14 14
University of Georgia Athens, GA 0 11 11
Oregon State University Corvallis, OR 0 8 8
St. Mary's College of Maryland St. Mary's City, MD 0 7 7
Section 7 · Explore sideways

Related majors to explore

Biology/Biological Sciences, General

83,027 completions/yr

Biological and Physical Sciences

25,374 completions/yr

Neuroscience

9,625 completions/yr

Geology/Earth Science, General

3,815 completions/yr

Cell/Cellular and Molecular Biology

3,392 completions/yr

Nutrition Sciences

3,240 completions/yr

Cognitive Science, General

2,642 completions/yr

Human Biology

2,094 completions/yr
Section 9 · Frequently asked

Common questions

What do Marine Sciences majors actually study day-to-day?
The CIP definition organizes coursework around biology, chemistry, geology, and physics applied to marine, estuarine, and coastal environments — including marine biogeochemistry, atmosphere and ocean dynamics, coastal ecology, coastal ocean processes, microbial ecology, marine ecosystem modeling, and polar microbiology. In practice, students take a science core (general biology, chemistry, physics, calculus), an oceanography sequence covering the four classical sub-disciplines, and electives that lean either field-and-organism (fisheries, coastal ecology) or quantitative (remote sensing, ocean modeling, time-series analysis). Most programs require boat-based field methods, a research cruise or coastal field course, and a senior thesis or capstone project.
How does this differ from Marine Biology (CIP 26.1302)?
Marine Biology and Biological Oceanography (26.1302) is the narrower bio-skewed track centered on ocean organisms and marine ecology, with about 1,922 completions across 85 schools. Marine Sciences (30.3201) is the broader integrative track covering chemistry, geology, and physics of the ocean alongside biology, and it is much smaller — 322 completions across 19 schools. Students often pick 30.3201 because they don’t yet know which sub-discipline they want, while 26.1302 is the right call once you know your interest is marine organisms. The smaller national pipeline reflects administrative grouping at most universities — many ocean-science students get rolled into general biology or earth-science majors instead.
What jobs do Marine Sciences graduates land at the bachelor’s level?
Tracked destinations include environmental scientists and specialists ($80,060, 4.4% growth, bachelor’s typical), zoologists and wildlife biologists ($72,860, 1.6% growth), and geoscientists ($99,240, 3.2% growth, bachelor’s typical). Bachelor’s-only roles in practice are seasonal field technician work at NOAA, USGS, USFWS, state DNRs, and Sea Grant programs — typically $15-25 per hour — or lab tech roles around $40,000 to $50,000. Higher wages in the data, like physical scientists, all other ($117,960) or natural sciences managers ($161,180), are mid-career or graduate-degree paths, not entry-level. NOAA Corps offers a bachelor’s-direct uniformed-officer track with federal pay and benefits.
Do I need a master’s or PhD?
For most named higher-wage roles in the data, yes. Postsecondary teachers, all other ($78,490) require a doctorate, and the natural sciences manager wage ($161,180) is a mid-career destination achieved after years of industry experience, not an entry-level role. Most lead research positions at NOAA, USGS, EPA, NASA Ocean Color, and academic labs (Woods Hole, Scripps, MBARI, MBL) require a master’s minimum and often a PhD. The bachelor’s opens technician, field-tech, and NOAA Corps officer paths, but the wage ceiling without a graduate credential is real.
Where do students actually complete this major?
Of the 322 annual completions across 19 institutions, California State University-Monterey Bay leads with 99 bachelor’s graduates, followed by University of Maine (67), University of Florida (37), Cal Poly San Luis Obispo (24), and UC Davis (19). College of Micronesia-FSM (16) is the only top-ten institution reporting associate’s completions. Western Washington (14), University of Georgia (11), Oregon State (8), and St. Mary’s College of Maryland (7) round out the top ten. The pattern is coastal-state and Pacific-Islands-public dominance, with strong field-program access driving school choice.
What if I like ocean science but want better job leverage at the bachelor’s level?
Two routes work. First, layer a quantitative or technical depth on top — oceanographic data analysis, Python and R for time-series and remote sensing, GIS, or autonomous-platform engineering — through a minor, double major, or focused electives. The emerging high-wage lane is data-science adjacency around ocean-color satellites, autonomous gliders, and ecosystem modeling. Second, pick a more specialized adjacent major: Geology/Earth Science (CIP 40.0601, 3,815 completions) feeds geoscientist roles ($99,240) directly, and Biology, General (26.0101, 83,027 completions) keeps pre-med and biotech doors open if marine work doesn’t pan out. The NOAA Corps officer route is the cleanest bachelor’s-direct path with stable federal pay.