Frequently Asked Questions

Coral Reefs, Schools, and Higher Learning
Where can I find coral information for my school paper?
Where can I find a good college for coral reef studies?
Where are some coral reef marine laboratories for summer study?

The internet is the best place to find general coral related information. Numerous satisfactory sites can be found by simply typing in "coral reef" while visiting your favorite search engine. For those that have restricted internet access, there is a good introductory chapter to coral reefs found in the book "Essentials of Oceanography." This chapter is conveniently posted on the web as well under the given link below.

-Thurman, H. V. 1993. "Essentials of Oceanography." 4^th Edition. MacMillan Publishing. New York, New York.
URL: http://www.geology.iupui.edu/academics/CLASSES/g130/reefs/EO.htm

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Where can I find a good college for coral reef studies?

The study of coral reefs is primarily limited to students who have already obtained their baccalaureate in a Biological or Environmental Science. Students interested in pursuing graduate opportunities in coral reef research should have a strong background in biology, chemistry (both inorganic and organic), calculus level physics, and mathematics. Opportunities to study coral reefs are very competitive and will usually require a lot of long, hard work before one may even begin to intricately study coral reefs. The University of Miami-Rosentiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, the University of North Carolina-Wilmington, the University of South Florida, Florida International University, and the University of Hawaii-Manoa offer PhD and masters degrees in coral reef related research. Other institutions may have faculty that work with coral reefs, although, the university itself may be thousands of miles from any reefs. For example, investigators at the University of Georgia and University of North Carolina-Wilmington have done substantial work on the Florida Keys Reef Tract. For undergraduates interested in being exposed to the study of coral reefs, the University of Miami offers an excellent undergraduate program in the marine sciences. The University of Miami takes advantage of its location and provides excellent field exercises on coral reefs for undergraduates. Websites for the programs mentioned are listed below.

Florida International University.
URL: http://ww.fiu.edu

-Rosentiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami.
URL: http://www.rsmas.miami.edu/

-University of North Carolina-Wilmington.
URL: http://www.uncw.edu/cmsr/

-University of Hawaii-Manoa.
URL: http://www2.hawaii.edu/~zoology/

-University of South Florida
URL: http://www.usf.edu

-Undergraduate Program in the Marine Sciences, University of Miami.
URL: http://mscserver.cox.miami.edu/

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The National Association of Marine Laboratories has an excellent website where one can perform a search on the marine labs in a given location in the United States. Specifically, it offers links and information in regards to marine labs in the Florida Keys, U.S. Virgin Islands, Bermuda, Guam, and Hawaii all of which are excellent locales to study coral reefs if summer internships are available. The website is listed below. Note- this site also offers links to specific courses that are offered at specific marine labs.

-The National Association of Marine Laboratories.
URL: http://www.mbl.edu/labs/NAML/

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