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Major Immersion Semester

Students admitted to the Coastal & Marine Sciences major (Stravitz Scholars) are required to participate in the Fall Immersion Semester during their first term in the program (typically the fall of junior year). This experience takes place at William & Mary’s Batten School & VIMS campus and provides a fully engaged, cohort-based learning environment with integrated coursework, fieldwork, and laboratory experiences.

Stravitz Scholars conducting field research along the York River

Immersion Semester Courses 

Major Common Core (14 credits) - Monday-Friday 

During their first semester as Stravitz Scholars, students are expected to enroll exclusively in the Immersion Semester courses listed below. Students should plan to spend the full day on the Gloucester campus Monday through Thursday.

Please note: For MSCI 360, lectures are held on William & Mary’s main campus to allow students to participate in research opportunities either on the main campus or at the Batten School/VIMS campus.

MAJOR IMMERSION SEMESTER (REQUIRED)

  • MSCI 320 - Coastal and Marine Chemistry (3 credits)
    Pre-req: MSCI 230 Introduction to Marine Science & CHEM 103 General Chemistry (or CHEM 205 Advanced General Chemistry)
  • MSCI 360 - Field and Research Methods in Marine Science (4 credits)
    Pre-req: MSCI 230 Introduction to Marine Science
    Co-req: MSCI 365 
  • MSCI 365 - Quantitative Methods in Marine Science (3 credits)
    Pre-req: MSCI 230 Introduction to Marine Science
    Co-req: MSCI 360
  • MSCI 398 - Fish Collections & Careers (1 credit)
  • MSCI 422/522-Coastal Evolution (3 credits) OR MSCI 457/557-Economies of the Coast (3 credits)

Elective Immersion Semester course

  • MSCI 390 - Research in Marine Science (1-3 credits)   Pre-req: MSCI 230 Introduction to Marine Science