The Marine Option Program (MOP) is a certificate program available to all
undergraduate students at the University of Hawai‘i, regardless of major. The
program has branches on campuses throughout the UH system. The MOP certificate
is earned by completing selected course work and completing a hands-on project
or internship, combining academic requirements with practical experience in an
area of marine interest of the student’s
choice. Each year MOP sponsors a Student Skill Project Symposium where selected
students gain valuable experience by presenting the results of their projects.
The site for the symposium rotates among UH campuses. UH Hilo MOP also
coordinates QUEST (Quantitative Underwater Ecological Surveying Techniques), the
annual UH system-wide scuba research techniques course, MOP also serves as the
UH Hilo center for marine-related activities ranging from scientific research to
marine recreation. UH Hilo MOP offers students
experience in a variety of recreational skills, including sailing and
seamanship, fishing, snorkeling, and kayaking. Each year MOP students
participate in tagging Green Sea Turtles in an on-going research program carried
out in cooperation with the National Marine Fisheries Service. MOP also sponsors
seminars, films, field trips, and short courses on various marine-related
subjects. All UH Hilo students are invited to take part in
MOP-sponsored activities.
The Marine Option Program Certificate Requirements
12 semester hours
The goals of MOP are to:
1. Provide an opportunity for undergraduate students in any discipline to
acquire a marine orientation during his/her residency at UH
Hilo;
2. Add focus and relevance to the academic marine courses by aiding the students
in acquiring a practical “marine skill”;
3. Help each MOP student, through counseling, discover and implement his/her
individual marine-oriented educational career goals;
4. Provide special seminars and interdisciplinary courses designed to acquaint
the undergraduate student with the many facets of marine
affairs; and
5. Provide opportunities and guidance to students who wish to contribute their
talents by working toward solutions for social and environmental
ocean-related problems.
Required Classes:
MARE 100 (1) Marine Option Program Seminar
And...
1. Survey class (3 credits)
BIOL/MARE 171 (3) Marine Biology OR MARE 201 (3) Oceanography
2. Interdisciplinary class (3 credits) Choose from:
BIOL 425 (3) Water Quality and Aquatic Productivity (same as AQUA 425 and
MARE 420)
ECON 380 (3) Natural Resource and Environmental Economics
GEOG 101 (3) Geography and the Natural Environment
GEOG 319 (3) Natural Hazards and Disasters
GEOG 326 (3) Natural Resources
GEOG 332 (3) Geography of the Hawaiian Islands
GEOG 335 (3) Geography of Oceania
GEOG 440 (3) Advanced Environmental Planning
GEOL 100 (3) Environmental Geology
HWST 211 (3) Hawaiian Ethnobotany
HWST 213 (3) Hawaiian Ethnozoology
MARE 282 (3) Global Change
MARE 360 (3) Marine Resources
MARE 434 (3) Teaching Marine Science
POLS 335 (3) Environmental Politics and Policy
3. Electives (6 credits): any approved marine-related course.
4. Skills project or internship.
For further information, contact the MOP Coordinator, UH Hilo at (808) 974-7544,
(808) 933-3907, or at
http://uhhmop.hawaii.edu/ Email is
uhhmop@hawaii.edu