Friday, May 10, 2002

WILMINGTON, NC – At its meeting in Chapel Hill this morning, the Board of Governors of the University of North Carolina authorized the University of North Carolina at Wilmington to grant the Ph.D. in Marine Biology, the only such degree in the state and one of only two on the East Coast.

This is the first doctorate to be authorized for UNC Wilmington, although a cooperative Ph.D. in Marine Science has been offered with N.C. State University since 1990. The program is expected to accept students for fall semester 2002.

“Approval of the doctoral program in marine biology is the crowning achievement and ultimate recognition for the long and dedicated efforts by the faculty,” said Dr. John Cavanaugh, provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs. “This action is evidence that UNCW's, the president's, the board of governors’, and the state's investments in our marine programs here have paid off. The world class faculty and facilities will enable UNCW to build a top-ranked doctoral program that is competitive with the finest programs in the country.”

The major emphasis of this new degree program will be doctoral training in the areas that encompass modern marine biology, with four major areas of research interest: coastal and estuarine biology, crustacean biology, marine mammalogy, and molecular genetics and systematics of marine organisms. In essence, it will be a doctoral program in biology as applies to organisms that live in estuarine and marine environments.

With its immediate access to the marine environment, UNC Wilmington is uniquely positioned to provide doctoral training in marine biology. Its undergraduate marine biology program, offered through the Department of Biological Sciences, is ranked fifth in the nation by The Gourman Report. The department also has extensive experience in marine biology graduate education, having graduated 169 Master of Science in Marine Biology students since 1982 and six doctoral students in the cooperative Ph.D. program with NCSU.

Since its inclusion in the University of North Carolina system in 1969, UNCW’s mission has been focused on strengthening and enhancing the state’s leadership in marine studies. The establishment of a Ph.D. program in marine biology will do that as well as provide a basis for increased cooperation among those institutions engaged in marine science research.

This is UNCW’s first doctoral program; however, the primary mission continues to be a focus on undergraduate and master’s level education. Having this Ph.D. program will allow UNCW to expand its ability to recruit and retain high quality faculty and will benefit all the programs within the Department of Biological Sciences.

For more information, contact Dr. Scott Quackenbush, chair of the UNCW Department of Biological Science, at 910/962-3470.