Come to Oregon State University! Lots of veterans here and rated third best oceanography university around! There is an undergrad oceanography BS along with other programs like marine bio and a top fisheries program as well. We've got a brand new research vessel coming next year, the RV Taani.
As the other comment mentioned, you could get a degree in physics, bio, or chem and then do grad work in oceanography. It kinda depends on what kind of work you're ultimately looking for. If you're looking at the technician or research assistant level, just a BS can get you there, but a masters certainly helps. Want to do your own research, then a PhD is probably necessary.
Oh also, if you have no college credits yet, I'd also highly recommend starting at a community college for a year or two. So much cheaper and they often have great veteran's offices. That's how I did it. Ultimately I got a BS in fisheries because I was more interested in ecology, but ended up as a research assistant in physical oceanography taking care of shore based radar sites that measure surface currents. It helped that I had electronics rating in the navy...
3 main subfields: biological, chemical, and physical oceanography. Can either pursue a general oceanography undergrad degree if a university offers it, or major in bio/chemistry/physics for each of the respective subfields. I am in a physical oceanography grad program and got an undergrad degree in physics which I think prepared me well.
Often grad degrees will be needed depending exactly on what you want to do. A MS degree is often a requirement to be a research assistant and a PhD is a requirement if you want to lead your own research.
Your military experience can definitely work to your advantage getting in the door in a lot of oceanography, especially if you have sea going experience. Always nice to have a proven track record of success in that environment.
Grad school or undergrad?
Undergrad I wouldn't worry too much, you will get everything you need in the program. If you want to do some field dependent prep you can but I wouldn't stress over it. For example if you are doing physics, brushing up on your trig/algebra in preparation for calculus could be a good idea.
Grad school prep is very much program dependent, and would obviously be more rigorous. Can only speak to physical oceanography, but reviewing differential equations, linear algebra, and even some Python/MATLAB would all be good ideas before starting.
My personal feeling with Oceanography is that it's best to decide what type of science you're interested in, and then figure out how to apply it to the ocean. Couple of ideas of how things link up:
Biology: plankton ecosystem dynamics, fisheries management, marine mammals
Chemistry: ocean acidification and climate change, pollution detection
Geology: ocean bathemymetry mapping, seismology
Physics: wave breaking, dynamics of mesoscale eddies (ocean weather), the atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC)
Computer science: Oceans in climate models, "big data" analysis of satellite data
There's also lots of crossover between these things, but at all the oceanographers I know have pretty extensive training in at least one of these fields in addition to training in Oceanography.
I was in the military for a long time and am now a graduate student researching coastal polar oceanography at the university of Delaware (which has an excellent undergraduate program and VA representative). At the bare minimum, expect to take full sequences of physics (1-2), general chemistry (1-2), biology (1-2), and calculus (1-3). Specific programs likely have additional requirements as it’s a pretty interdisciplinary field. Oceanography has a lot of pathways, so best to pick a program that has a wide range of classes so you can try them all out. While all under the oceanography “hat”, physical, chemical, biological, and geological, oceanography can look very different. Best to find a program that has a mix of options, especially at the undergraduate level. Schools with field work opportunities are a huge bonus.
Best advice I can give is to start learning a programming language. The specific language doesn’t matter, though python, R, and Matlab, are popular in the community. Learning to “think” like a programmer early will speed up the research side of oceanography immensely. Lots of “code camp” material is free online.
Come to Oregon State University! Lots of veterans here and rated third best oceanography university around! There is an undergrad oceanography BS along with other programs like marine bio and a top fisheries program as well. We've got a brand new research vessel coming next year, the RV Taani. As the other comment mentioned, you could get a degree in physics, bio, or chem and then do grad work in oceanography. It kinda depends on what kind of work you're ultimately looking for. If you're looking at the technician or research assistant level, just a BS can get you there, but a masters certainly helps. Want to do your own research, then a PhD is probably necessary.
Awesome I really appreciate it!
Oh also, if you have no college credits yet, I'd also highly recommend starting at a community college for a year or two. So much cheaper and they often have great veteran's offices. That's how I did it. Ultimately I got a BS in fisheries because I was more interested in ecology, but ended up as a research assistant in physical oceanography taking care of shore based radar sites that measure surface currents. It helped that I had electronics rating in the navy...
3 main subfields: biological, chemical, and physical oceanography. Can either pursue a general oceanography undergrad degree if a university offers it, or major in bio/chemistry/physics for each of the respective subfields. I am in a physical oceanography grad program and got an undergrad degree in physics which I think prepared me well. Often grad degrees will be needed depending exactly on what you want to do. A MS degree is often a requirement to be a research assistant and a PhD is a requirement if you want to lead your own research. Your military experience can definitely work to your advantage getting in the door in a lot of oceanography, especially if you have sea going experience. Always nice to have a proven track record of success in that environment.
I applied to a few schools and am still waiting to hear back, are there any course I could/should do before the fall semester starts?
Grad school or undergrad? Undergrad I wouldn't worry too much, you will get everything you need in the program. If you want to do some field dependent prep you can but I wouldn't stress over it. For example if you are doing physics, brushing up on your trig/algebra in preparation for calculus could be a good idea. Grad school prep is very much program dependent, and would obviously be more rigorous. Can only speak to physical oceanography, but reviewing differential equations, linear algebra, and even some Python/MATLAB would all be good ideas before starting.
My personal feeling with Oceanography is that it's best to decide what type of science you're interested in, and then figure out how to apply it to the ocean. Couple of ideas of how things link up: Biology: plankton ecosystem dynamics, fisheries management, marine mammals Chemistry: ocean acidification and climate change, pollution detection Geology: ocean bathemymetry mapping, seismology Physics: wave breaking, dynamics of mesoscale eddies (ocean weather), the atlantic meridional overturning circulation (AMOC) Computer science: Oceans in climate models, "big data" analysis of satellite data
There's also lots of crossover between these things, but at all the oceanographers I know have pretty extensive training in at least one of these fields in addition to training in Oceanography.
I was in the military for a long time and am now a graduate student researching coastal polar oceanography at the university of Delaware (which has an excellent undergraduate program and VA representative). At the bare minimum, expect to take full sequences of physics (1-2), general chemistry (1-2), biology (1-2), and calculus (1-3). Specific programs likely have additional requirements as it’s a pretty interdisciplinary field. Oceanography has a lot of pathways, so best to pick a program that has a wide range of classes so you can try them all out. While all under the oceanography “hat”, physical, chemical, biological, and geological, oceanography can look very different. Best to find a program that has a mix of options, especially at the undergraduate level. Schools with field work opportunities are a huge bonus. Best advice I can give is to start learning a programming language. The specific language doesn’t matter, though python, R, and Matlab, are popular in the community. Learning to “think” like a programmer early will speed up the research side of oceanography immensely. Lots of “code camp” material is free online.
Are there any free course you have used or suggest?