What education is needed to become a marine biologist?

This is a very broad question, and your education will depend on what your specific interest is in marine biology. Finding a school that has a marine biology program is a great start, especially if there are opportunities to get involved in lab work, field work, or any other type of hands on work that gives you experience. When deciding on what part of marine biology interests you (ecology, conservation, evolution, animals, behavior, geology, the list is endless!), try to find opportunities and classes that align with that. There are a lot of internships and field experiences that are available in the marine field that need people to help; you can even work on citizen science projects that are marine biology based on websites such as zooniverse.com.

If you want to be a teacher or researcher, you may want to pursue a PhD, if you want to work for the park service, a bachelors degree may be sufficient. There is a lot that goes into the decision of your degree level - you first must have a career goal. That goal may decide what degree you need to get!

I have a bachelors in marine biology and work as a marine mammal trainer in a zoo. While in school, I took a lot of classes on ecology, biology, physiology, psychology, and math. I also worked in a research lab while in school that worked with marine mammals to learn about their senses. This experience, plus volunteer work, helped with shaping what my career goals would turn out to be. In my field, people have a lot of different degrees - psychology, neuroscience, chemistry, biology, art, and more. To get experience working with animals, people will volunteer or do internships to help expand on their classroom knowledge.

Here are two links which should answer most of your questions:

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How to Become a Marine Biologist | EnvironmentalScience.org

1. https://www.environmentalscience.org/career/marine-biologist

Do you love spending time on the ocean? Are you interested in dolphins and whales? While many marine biologists study these intelligent and endearing ...

What is Marine Biology?

1. https://utmsi.utexas.edu › Academics › Undergraduate
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Marine biology is the study of marine organisms, their behaviors and interactions with the environment.Marine biologists study biological oceanography and the associated fields of chemical, physical, and geological oceanography to understand marine organisms.