The
Hydrographic Science master's program is one
of the world's finest, designed in cooperation
with the U.S. Navy to meet Category A certification
requirements by the Féderation Internationale
des Géométres/International Hydrographic
Organization (FIG/IHO) International Advisory
Board. This demanding and intensive curriculum
covers all aspects of geodesy and hydrographic
science leading to a Masters of Science degree.
This
program brings together the operational arm
of the U. S. Navy with the state academic leader
in marine science, The University of Southern
Mississippi, to establish a nationally unique
Center for Hydrographic Excellence. The Navy
brings eight of the world's most modern survey
ships, a solid core of experienced field hydrographers,
and the nation's most extensive holdings of
bathymetric and hydrographic data to the partnership.
USM joins the union with a graduate degree program
in Hydrographic Science established by the Department
of Marine Science at Stennis Space Center.
This
new graduate degree program, approved by the
Mississippi Board of Trustees of the State Institutions
of Higher Learning, offers a rigorous, one-year
Master of Science (M.S.) degree in Hydrographic
Science. This non-thesis degree program requires
36 semester hours of graduate-level courses,
taught on-site, and enables professional field
hydrographers to participate in a resident master's
level program with minimal impact to operations
for employers. A selection of elective courses
is also offered that gives students the option
of completing the degree program with a practical
field orientation or with a more theoretical
course of study.
USM
is the only educational institution in the United
States to offer a "Master of Science degree
in Hydrographic Science" certified at the
category A level by the FIG/IHO.
Stennis
Space Center is the home of the Naval Oceanographic
Office (NAVOCEANO), a U. S. Naval Research Laboratory
(NRL) detachment, and the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA's) National
Data Buoy Center. NAVOCEANO, primarily an operational
data collection and production center, additionally
hosts the Navy's Supercomputing and Visualization
Center, the Warfighting Support Center, and
the Matthew Fontaine Maury Oceanographic Library,
the world's largest military oceanographic library.
In addition, NAVOCEANO presents a well-established,
certified FIG/IHO Category B level course. The
USM Department of Marine Science maintains various
academic and research activities that focus
on interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary aspects
of the marine sciences in coastal to offshore
environments. The unique aggregation of academic
faculty, hydrographers, oceanographers, and
facilities at the Stennis Space Center provides
an ideal location for this program.
At
a minimum, this program will provide students
with fundamental, practical, and detailed knowledge
in the following topics:
2.
Data Collection: Global Positioning System (GPS)
Navigation, Multibeam Sonars, Laser Bathymetry,
Multispectral and Hyperspectral Imagery, Bottom
Imaging Sonar;
3.
Data Processing and Analysis: Standard Data
Assessment Tools, Imagery Mensuration, Orthorectification,
Stereo Photography4. Data Management: Geographic
Information Systems (GIS), National/International
Virtual Digital Data Bases, Data Exchange/Formats;
4.
Data Management: Geographic Information System
(GIS), National/International Virtual Digital
Databases, Data Exchange Formats; and
5.
Production and Applications: Products on Demand,
Electronic Chart Display and Information Systems
(ECDIS), Navigation End-Use, Coastal Zone Management.
