Details - 2013 Summer Field Program
Note: The Summer Field Program will be offered again in 2013. Details will be posted later this fall. In the mean time, 2012 program details are provided for reference.
Experience the Marine Biology of the Gulf of Mexico.
Content on this page: Faculty | Student Research Opportunities | Facebook | Accommodations | ADA | Academic Credit | Admissions | Fees | Transcript Requests
Class Description and Schedule
Class descriptions and schedule are here.
Resident Faculty – Department of Coastal Sciences
- Patrick Biber, Ph.D., Marine Botany, Associate Professor
- Reginald B. Blaylock, Ph.D.,
Fish Diseases and Aquaculture,
Associate Research Professor
- Gregory Alan Carter, Ph.D.,
Remote Sensing and Botany,
Research Professor
- Kevin S. Dillon, Ph.D.,
Chemical Oceanography, Assistant Professor
- Robert Joseph Griffitt, Ph.D.,
Toxicology, Assistant Professor
- Jay Grimes, Ph.D.,
Marine Microbial Ecology, Professor
- Richard W. Heard Jr., Ph.D.,
Invertebrate Zoology and Ecology, Professor
- Jeffrey M. Lotz, Ph.D.,
Diseases of Marine Organisms, Professor and Chair,
Department of Coastal Sciences, Acting Director of GCRL
- Robin M. Overstreet, Ph.D.,
Marine Parasitology and Pathobiology,
Professor
- Mark S. Peterson, Ph.D.,
Fisheries Ecology, Professor
- Chet Rakocinski, Ph.D., Benthic Ecology, Associate Professor
- Eric Saillant, Ph.D.,
Aquaculture and Conservation,
Assistant Professor
- Wei Wu, Ph.D.,
Landscape Ecology, Assistant Professor
Summer Faculty
- Peter Adam, Ph.D., Northwest Missouri State University
- Stephen A. Bullard, Ph.D.,
Auburn University
- Matthew Chatfield, Ph.D.,
Tulane University, Louisiana
- Stephen S. Curran, Ph.D., The University of Southern Mississippi, GCRL
- Stanley Eisen, Ph.D., Christian Brothers University
- Jill Hendon, M.S., The University of Southern Mississippi, GCRL
- Jessica Kastler, Ph.D.,
The University of Southern Mississippi, GCRL
- Jerry McLelland, Ph.D., The University of Southern Mississippi, GCRL
- Jeffrey Siegel, M.S., Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, Mississippi
- Gregory L. Thurmon, Ph.D.,
Central Methodist University
- James T. Wetzel, Ph.D.,
Presbyterian College, South Carolina
- Mark Woodrey, Ph.D., Mississippi State University
Summer Field Program on Facebook
Check out GCRL's Summer Field Program on Facebook.
Research Study Program
Positions are available in both the first and second terms.
This Research Study Program allows upper level undergraduate students an opportunity to gain valuable experience in designing a research project, sampling, analyzing data, and presenting research findings. Research options encompass a broad spectrum of disciplines in coastal sciences that include: Marine Aquaculture, Marine Biodiversity, Marine Biomedicine, Marine Ecology, Marine Education, Marine Fisheries, Marine Pathology, and Marine Toxicology. This course could easily form the basis of a Senior or Honors Project.
Prerequisites: Four semesters of biology or permission of instructor.
Special Topics: Research; COA 492. One to six hours credit is available and is assigned by the instructor.
Accommodations
The Gulf Coast Research Laboratory's air-conditioned dormitory houses two students per room. Suites consist of four rooms and a common bathroom facility. Requests for housing are filled as received. Married couples must make their own arrangements for off-site housing. The rooms have Internet access via Ethernet.
The dining hall serves three meals daily. Commuting students may purchase meals at a modest cost. Students should bring linens, towels, and clothing suitable for field work, such as shorts, bathing suits, hat, long-sleeved shirt and light-weight pants, washable athletic shoes, polarized sunglasses as well as a good sunblock. Laundry facilities are available on-site.
Dormitory stays typically provide excellent opportunities to meet other students, as well as to engage in water sports, fishing, golf, tennis, biking, weight lifting, aerobics, and hiking that form some of the many summer pastimes on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
The community of Ocean Springs, as well as the neighboring cities of Biloxi, Gulfport, Gautier, and Pascagoula provide ample opportunities for shopping, banking, dining, and recreation. New Orleans is less than two hours away by care. Mobile, Alabama is about an hour drive.
Summers are hot on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and students should be prepared to protect themselves from intense sunshine. Bring a good sunblock, hat, and sunglasses.
CONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES ON LABORATORY GROUNDS IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.
Academic Credit
GCRL summer courses are offered by The University of Southern Mississippi and accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. All courses are offered through the Department of Coastal Sciences. Credits earned in the Southern Miss GCRL Summer Field Program are transferred to students’ home institutions upon course completion.
Course credit hours reflect extent of lecture and laboratory study time as shown in course descriptions. Marine Biology, Oceanography, Cetacean Behavior, and Barrier Island Ecology are for undergraduate credit only. All other courses may be taken for undergraduate or graduate credit. For graduate credit, courses include additional research and writing components.
Admissions
Admissions Deadline
Applications for summer 2012 classes are accepted beginning the first week of January. To apply,submit all paperwork and a non-refundable $35.00 application fee (not applicable to current USM students) by May 1, 2012, to:
Office of Student Services
Department of Coastal Sciences
Gulf Coast Research Laboratory
Attn: Margaret Firth
703 East Beach Drive
Ocean Springs, MS 39564
Application Requirements
- Completed “Application for Admission” form signed by either advisor, department head, or on-site affiliate coordinator.
- $35.00 non-refundable application fee
- Official copy of transcript
- Completed immunization form (Immunization form is included in applications form package.)
Fees and Costs
Tuition
- Undergraduate: $244 per semester hour
- Graduate: $325 per semester hour
Room and Board
- Summer Mini-Session: $480
- 1st and 2nd Terms: $1160 per term
Fees and Expenses
- Class Fee
- Undergraduate: $5.50 per credit hour
- Graduate: $7.35 per credit hour
- Undergraduate: $5.50 per credit hour
- Lab Fee: $60 per course
- Field Fee: $100 - $400 (See course description for field fees.)
- Books, supplies, etc.: Approximately $75 - $200, depending on course
Students with Disabilities
If a student has a disability that qualifies under the Americans with Disabilities Act and requires accommodations, he/she should contact the Office for Disability Accommodations for information on appropriate policies and procedures. Southern Station Box 8586; telephone/voice: (601) 266-5024; telephone/TDD: (601) 266-6837; fax: (601) 266-6035.
Transcript Requests
PLEASE NOTE: Students requesting transcripts for classes taken at Southern Miss, Hattiesburg, Southern Miss on the Coast or GCRL Summer Field Program after 2001please go to http://www.usm.edu/registrar/records/transcript_processing/index.php.
Transcripts for Gulf Coast Research Laboratory Summer Field Program coursework prior to Summer 2002 are obtained by submitting a request in writing to:
Office of Student Services
Gulf Coast Research Laboratory
703 East Beach Drive, Ocean Springs, MS 39564
To ensure that your transcripts reach the proper destination, we ask that you provide us with complete mailing addresses for the transcript recipients.
We accept transcript requests by fax to (228) 872-4204 or U.S. mail. Please sign your request.
For More Information
| Sam Clardy,
Coordinator of Educational Programs 228.818.8890 Samuel.clardy@usm.edu |
For Admissions: Margaret Firth, Undergraduate Programs Specialist 228.818.8890 Margaret.firth@usm.edu |
Affiliates
- MISSISSIPPI – Alcorn State University, Lorman; Belhaven College, Jackson; Delta State University, Cleveland; Jackson State University, Jackson; Millsaps College, Jackson; Mississippi College, Clinton; Mississippi State University, Mississippi State; Mississippi University for Women, Columbus; Mississippi Valley State University, Itta Bena; Rust College, Holly Springs; The University of Mississippi, University; The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg; William Carey University, Hattiesburg
- ALABAMA – Auburn University, Auburn;
- ARKANSAS – Arkansas Tech University, Russellville; Hendrix College, Conway; University of Arkansas at Ft. Smith; University of Arkansas at Little Rock; University of Arkansas at Monticello; University of Central Arkansas, Conway; University of the Ozarks, Clarksville
- FLORIDA – University of Tampa;
- GEORGIA – Berry College, Rome; Shorter College, Rome
- ILLINOIS – North Central College, Naperville
- INDIANA – University of Evansville, Evansville
- IOWA – Drake University, Des Moines; Iowa State University, Ames; Wartburg College, Waverl
- KENTUCKY – Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond; Morehead State University, Morehead
- LOUISIANA – Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge; Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond; Xavier University of Louisiana, New Orleans
- MICHIGAN – Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant
- MISSOURI – Central Methodist University, Fayette; Northwest Missouri State University, Maryville; Southeast Missouri State University, Cape Girardeau; Missouri State University, Springfield; Truman State University, Kirksville
- NEW YORK – State University of New York, Potsdam
- OHIO – Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green
- OKLAHOMA – Northeastern State University, Tahlequah; Southwestern Oklahoma State University, Weatherford
- SOUTH CAROLINA – Presbyterian College, Clinton
- TENNESSEE – Belmont University, Nashville; Carson-Newman College, Jefferson City; Christian Brothers University, Memphis; Lambuth University, Jackson; Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro; Rhodes College, Memphis; Tennessee State University, Nashville; Tennessee Technological University, Cookeville; Tennessee Wesleyan College, Athens; Trevecca-Nazarene University, Nashville; Union University, Jackson; University of Memphis, Memphis; University of Tennessee at Chattanooga; University of Tennessee at Martin
- WISCONSIN – University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire; University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point
