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SMAST Programs

Program overview

UMass Dartmouth's School for Marine Sciences & Technology (SMAST) is a premier educational and research program located in the heart of New Bedford, MA, the nations #1 fishing port. SMAST offers a wide array of choices for advanced degrees in marine science, with emphasis areas in ocean sciences, fisheries sciences, ocean technology, marine resource economics, and marine policy.

As a student in our program, you will engage in curiosity-driven and societally relevant research and learning in an interdisciplinary environment that involves observations, modeling, experimentation, and theory.

You will work with faculty members who are leaders in their professional fields and are active in research at regional, national, and international levels. As a graduate of our program, you will have opportunities to work in academia, government, and the private sector.

Join one of our programs and become part of the next generation of marine scientists.

Intercampus Marine Science Program

SMAST is also part of the system-wide University of Massachusetts Intercampus Marine Science (IMS) Program, granting the MS and PhD degrees. As a student enrolled in the IMS Program, you gain access to marine sciences resources within the entire University of Massachusetts (UMASS) System.

Option areas of study

UMass IMS program offers seven (7) option areas to choose from, providing you with a broad spectrum to study–from the boundless nature of our outer atmosphere to the microscopic inner workings of the human body.

  • Marine and Atmospheric System Modeling and Analysis (MASMA)
  • Coastal Systems Science (CSS)
  • Integrated Coastal Management (ICM)
  • Living Marine Resources Science and Management (LMRSM)
  • Marine Biogeochemical Cycles and Environmental Change (MBEC)
  • Marine Observation Technologies (MOT)
  • Ocean and Human Health (OHH)

Learn more about the option areas of study.

Research focus areas

SMAST students work independently as well as collaboratively with some of the most highly regarded oceanographic institutions to pursue a range of leading-edge research projects, including (but not limited to) the following areas: 

Biogeochemical Cycling

Coastal Ecosystem Dynamics and Restoration

Computational Modeling

Fisheries Science

Marine Renewable Energy

Ocean Observing/Remote Sensing

Ocean Physics