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Major Immersion Semester

Students admitted to the Coastal & Marine Sciences major will be required to participate in our fall semester immersion experience at the W&M's Batten School & VIMS campus during their first semester in the major program (generally fall of junior year). The immersion semester provides majors a fully-engaged, cohort-based, learning environment which incorporates numerous field and laboratory experiences across their integrated courses. 

Fall 2025 Immersion Semester Courses 

Major Common Core (8 credits) - Taught Mondays and Wednesdays, 9am-4pm

Students selected to participate in the fall 2025 immersion semester experience will be expected to take all of these major common core courses at the Batten School & VIMS campus. They should plan to spend the entire day Mondays and Wednesdays at the Batten School & VIMS campus. Daily return-trip transportation will be provided in the morning and late afternoon.

  • MSCI 320 - Coastal and Marine Chemistry (2 credit version; taught as "MSCI 498") 
    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 (3 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

Those students who will have completed the existing MSCI 401B Chemical Oceanography course (offered spring 2025) will be exempted from taking MSCI 320 Coastal and Marine Chemistry during the fall 2025 immersion semester.

Optional Major Elective (1-2 credits) - Taught Fridays

For the fall 2025 immersion semester only, the remainder of a student's course load will primarily be taken on the main W&M campus, and students are encouraged to complete other major-required courses such as MSCI 250 (People, Society, and the Coast), MSCI 305 (Coastal & Marine Geology), and/or MSCI 315 (Biological Oceanography), all of which will be taught on Tuesday & Thursday. On Fridays, we will also offer one final optional elective as part of the Immersion Semester:

  • MSCI 390 - Research in Marine Science (1-2 credits)
    Pre-req: MSCI 230 Introduction to Marine Science

Anticipated Fall 2026 Immersion Semester Courses 

Students who gain admission to the major in Spring 2026 will be required to participate in the Fall 2026 immersion semester experience at the Batten School & VIMS campus. Students will not take any courses on the main W&M Williamsburg campus during this immersion semester. Students should plan to spend the entire day, Monday through Friday, at the Batten School & VIMS campus. Daily return-trip transportation to the W&M Williamsburg campus will be provided in the morning and late afternoon.

Major Common Core (9 credits) - Taught Mondays/Wednesdays and Tuesdays/Thursdays

  • 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 (3 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 

Major Electives (6-7 credits) - Taught Mondays through Fridays

  • MSCI 390 - Research in Marine Science (1-3 credits)
    Pre-req: MSCI 230 Introduction to Marine Science
  • MSCI 392 - Coastal and Marine Internship (1-3 credits)
  • MSCI 398 - Marine Science Seminars (1 credit)
  • Other courses to be determined