UVI seeks applicants for new master's program in marine biology

The University of the Virgin Islands seeks applicants and internship partners for its new professional science master, or PSM, degree as part of UVI’s Marine and Environmental Science program, according to a UVI statement.

The new master’s degree, approved by the Board of Trustees earlier this year, is a program designed to prepare students to enter the workforce as professionals in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics careers. According the UVI statement, applicants could be people interested in a science career and those currently working in the field as educators, natural resource managers, environmental health technicians, ecotourism specialists and other related jobs. “The core courses of a PSM student’s first year include developing research skills and knowledge broadly applicable to marine and environmental science, with emphasis on the communication of science concepts to researchers, stakeholders, and the public,” the release stated.

Kayla Blincow, a UVI assistant professor and researcher, received a PSM degree in conservation biology at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia on her path to a Ph.D. in marine biology at Scripps Institution of Oceanography. “My PSM degree was an important stepping stone,” Blincow said in the prepared statement. “It exposed me to different conservation fields and helped me decide on a career in academic research. My peers from the program chose diverse conservation-related careers, working at government agencies, non-profits, and the private sector.”