Suitable for students with a good biological, geological and chemical background, this programme prepares students both for further research, and for work within government and commercial oceanographic and environmental research/consultancy laboratories. The programme runs full-time over 24 months (120 ECTS) and consists of advanced courses (90 ECTS) and a Master Thesis, with a dissertation (30 ECTS).

Every student follows an individually tailored study programme, by combining the different disciplines that can be studied at each of the Partner universities, which are the complementary profiles in which each Partner excels):

  • Advanced Oceanography and Coastal Zone Management, in UBx;
  • Advanced Oceanography and Coastal and Oceanic Environments, in Soton;
  • Marine Environmental Monitoring and Ecosystem Health Protection, in UPV/EHU;
  • Biodiversity Conservation and Management, and Oceanic Ecosystems in ULiège; and
  • Conservation and Management of Marine Resources and Ecosystems in UAc.

A pivotal goal of the Programme is to promote international and European cultural exchange and interactions among students. Thus, throughout the coursework, students can make a selection between seven alternative mobility pathways:

  • A1 (UBx-UPV/EHU-Soton);
  • A2 (UBx-UPV/EHU-ULiège);
  • A3 (UBx-UPV/EHU- UAc);
  • B2 (Soton-UPV/EHU-ULiège);
  • B3 (Soton-UPV/EHU-UAc);
  • C1 (UAc-UPV/EHU-Soton); and
  • C2 (UAc-UPV/EHU-ULiège)

The MSc Thesis research is undertaken during Semester 4 (30 ECTS) and consists of a 5-6 month research under the supervision of a PhD holder. The MSc Thesis is judged by an international Examination Board following the consensus procedure approved by the MER Consortium JPB.