Marine Science Undergraduate Degree Program Expands, Welcomes Greenhow

Offering Mississippi's only undergraduate degree program in marine science, The University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast continues to enhance and enrich the program for students planning to enter the field of marine science. Most recently, the degree program expanded with the addition of marine science instructor, Dr. Danielle Greenhow, who specializes in marine mammal acoustics and bioacoustics.

“Southern Miss Gulf Coast is in a perfect location for hands-on marine science education, which I've learned through my career is essential to foster and develop students' interest in the field,” said Greenhow. “Not only is the campus directly on the coast, it has other educational and agency resources that create a unique environment to foster collaborative research.”

With Greenhow's depth of research experience, her role at Southern Miss Gulf Coast will include broadening student interest and career training in the marine sciences. She explains that her teaching methods include engaging students with a variety of learning styles. Greenhow says she will incorporate hands-on learning so students experience different strategies for understanding the coursework.

“The marine science bachelor's degree program is in the process of expanding the curriculum and redirecting the focus to a general marine science degree as a means of appealing to a broader audience of students,” said Greenhow. “I have a great interest in being a part of that process, as well as recruiting more students who have a passion for marine science.”

As one of only 16 marine science undergraduate degree programs in the U.S., students earning this degree have a variety of career fields from which to choose. These careers include laboratory technicians, research assistants, environmental consulting and coastal management, among a variety of others.

Greenhow earned her doctorate in marine science in 2013 from the University of South Florida in St. Petersburg. In 2006, she earned her bachelor of science in marine science degree from Eckerd College, also located in St. Petersburg. Most recently, as a graduate research associate with the University of South Florida, Greenhow's research included designing and developing an autonomous, self-contained 25-element hydrophone array system for recording free-swimming echolocation beam patterns.

For more information about the marine science undergraduate degree program at Southern Miss Gulf Coast, visit www.usm.edu/gulfcoast/science-technology/marine-science.