Academics
While the graduate programs are conducted by the RSMAS faculty who in turn report to the Dean of RSMAS, the University of Miami's Graduate School awards the graduate degrees. RSMAS offers a joint program with the UM Law School which awards its students both a Juris Doctor degree and a Master of Arts in Marine Affairs and Policy. RSMAS also administrates the University of Miami's undergraduate Marine Science, Marine Affairs, and Meteorology programs on the main campus in Coral Gables, Florida.
The Rosenstiel School is divided into six academic divisions, each focusing on a different aspect of oceanography:
- Applied Marine Physics (fluid dynamics, remote sensing, waves)
- Marine & Atmospheric Chemistry
- Marine Affairs & Policy (admiralty law, aquaculture, marine conservation, maritime archaeology, natural resource economics, political ecology)
- Marine Biology & Fisheries
- Marine Geology & Geophysics
- Meteorology & Physical Oceanography
In addition to the academic divisions, RSMAS also has several research units: the Oceans and Human Health Center, the National Resource for Aplysia, the National Center for Coral Reef Research, the Center for Southeastern Tropical Advanced Remote Sensing (CSTARS), and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. As of 2011, 358 professors and scientists conduct research programs and teach at RSMAS and the Coral Gables campus. Of these, 81 are regular full-time faculty members.
The school operates the F.G. Walton Smith research vessel. Designed to met the school's specifications, the catamaran was put on water in 2000. It is used for research in the shallow water environments of Florida and The Bahamas. It is equipped with a special sea water flow system that can take samples. The on-board lab can perform chemical analysis of those water samples. It also has transducers for measuring ocean currents, sub-bottom profiling, and deep water bathymetry. In response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the vessel was reassigned to environmental monitoring of affected areas and to track underwater plumes of oil.
The Rosenstiel School's research invertebrate museum houses one of the world's most extensive collections of invertebrate tropical marine life with 400,000 specimens. It includes Atlantic tropical marine invertebrates. The collection consists of 60,000 specimen lots, out of which 38,900 are cataloged and identified species.
Since 2005, RSMAS has conducted an Underwater Photography Contest that is open to photographers who earn no more than 20 percent of their income from photography. The contest draws international submissions and is judged by a panel of experts in underwater photography and fine arts. RSMAS also makes underwater photographs available through its Digital Atlas of Marine Species and Locations, which is a database that includes photos of specific marine species.
Since 1951, RSMAS has published the Bulletin of Marine Science a scientific journal which publishes research papers in the marine subject areas covered by the school. It is published four times a year.
The United States National Research Council ranked graduate research programs based on 2008 data, and RSMAS ranked 11th to 40th among Oceanography, Atmospheric Sciences, and Meteorology Rankings. The RSMAS entering graduate students' Average Quantitative Graduate Record Examination score was 681.
Read more about this topic: Rosenstiel School Of Marine And Atmospheric Science
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