The fall semester 2022 marks a major milestone in the growth of the University of Georgia Skidaway Institute’s education mission beyond its historical role as a research laboratory. The Semester@Skidaway domestic field study program will be a significant part of the UGA Department of Marine Sciences new undergraduate ocean sciences major. A small cohort of ocean sciences majors will spend the entire fall semester in residence at UGA Skidaway Institute taking classes and learning how to conduct marine research.

Assistant professor Sara Rivero-Calle teaches one of the Semester@Skidaway classes, with students both at Skidaway Institute and in Athens, as seen in the monitor.

“The Semester@Skidaway serves, essentially, as a capstone type experience for students before they graduate,” said Semester@Skidaway program director Clifton Buck. “The students will have the opportunity to take a number of courses that will be taught here, but also they’ll have the chance to take courses that are much more immersive and hands on.”

The research-based activities include field surveys, collecting samples from the environment, returning them back to the laboratory and analyzing them for chemical and biological and physical parameters.
“They will make a scientific journey from actually being out in the field and then into the laboratory, to analyze the data and think about it critically” Buck said.

The students take five three-credit courses that cover a wide range of marine science topics including data analysis techniques and marine science field methods. They also study the unique South Atlantic Bight system located off our coast under the instruction of associate professor Catherine Edwards. A highlight of the semester will be a cruise aboard the Research Vessel Savannah. Professor Jay Brandes teaches a course that focuses on the planning and preparation needed for a successful research cruise.

The Skidaway Institute-based student cohort, (l-r) Taylor English, Dillon Doomstorm, Ava Meier and Sarah Belcher.

“They’ll go on a two-day cruise just offshore and collect samples, apply some of the things they’ve learned in the laboratory class and bring those samples back and work with them,” Buck said. “And so again, they will take it from the planning stage through the execution, through the sample analysis and data interpretation.”

The fall 2022 group consists of just a handful of students. As the ocean sciences major grows, Buck expects later cohorts to include about 24 students.

“The Semester @ Skidaway program brings highly motivated ocean science majors to the Skidaway campus to experience hands-on and research-based instruction,” UGA Skidaway Institute Director Clark Alexander said. “This influx of young, enthusiastic students enhances the programs at Skidaway by their presence, and we are excited to be teaching tomorrow’s scientists and informed citizens.”