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Fall 2025 Undergraduate Catalog
Marine Vertebrate Biology, BS
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 Return to: Majors
School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS)
Degree Awarded: Bachelor of Science in Marine Vertebrate Biology
Director: Joseph Warren
The Marine Vertebrate Biology major provides students with a solid background in basic biology with an emphasis on marine vertebrate organisms such as fish, sharks, birds, turtles and marine mammals. It provides a more intensive zoology background than the Marine Sciences degree.
Students are encouraged to participate in research and internships. Opportunities for experiential learning are available through field and laboratory courses taught at or near the Stony Brook campus and from a field station at the Stony Brook Southampton campus.
Most students who wish to have a career in research related to the marine environment will need to plan for graduate study. Career possibilities include research, education, or work in government agencies or non-profit organizations. The Marine Vertebrate Biology major is also good preparation for the Master of Arts in Teaching high school biology program or a pre-vet or pre-med program. A few additional courses are required for admission to the MAT program or for veterinary or medical school admission.
The Marine Vertebrate Biology major is administered by the School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences, one of the leading oceanographic and atmospheric institutions in the nation.
The School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) is Stony Brook University’s center for education, research, and public service in the ocean, atmospheric, and environmental sciences. Housed within the SoMAS are the Marine Sciences Research Center (MSRC) and the Institute for Terrestrial and Planetary Atmospheres (ITPA). MSRC is the only state-designated center for marine research, education, and public outreach within the State University of New York system. The SoMAS is one of the nation’s leading coastal oceanographic and atmospheric institutions, and the expertise of the SoMAS faculty places SBU at the forefront of addressing and answering questions about regional environmental problems, as well as problems relating to the global ocean and atmosphere. The primary focus of the SoMAS faculty is on fundamental research designed to increase understanding of the processes that characterize the coastal ocean and the atmosphere. The SoMAS is also committed to applying the results of research to solve problems arising from society’s uses and misuses of the environment. The SoMAS also includes mission-oriented institutes in several major areas: the Institute for Terrestrial and Planetary Atmospheres, the Living Marine Resources Institute, the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science, the Long Island Groundwater Resource Institute, and the Waste Reduction and Management Institute. The institutes and many research projects add a wealth of varied resources to education and research at Stony Brook.
The SoMAS offers undergraduate majors in atmospheric and oceanic sciences, environmental studies, marine sciences, and marine vertebrate biology, and minors in environmental studies and marine sciences. See the separate entries for atmospheric and oceanic sciences (ATM), environmental studies (ENS), and marine sciences (MAR) in the alphabetical listings of Approved Majors, Minors, and Programs. The SoMAS also offers several cooperative programs in both marine and environmental sciences with departments in the College of Arts and Sciences (Chemistry, Geosciences) and the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences (Chemical and Molecular Engineering).
Research opportunities in marine sciences, atmospheric sciences, and waste management are available to undergraduates. Information on research opportunities may be found by contacting faculty directly or on the SoMAS Web site at http://www.somas.stonybrook.edu
All students should consult with the director of undergraduate studies to design and approve an acceptable course of study before declaring the major.
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Degree Requirements
The major in Marine Vertebrate Biology leads to a Bachelor of Science degree. Completion of the major requires approximately 68 credits. Of these no more than one course (4 credits) with a passing grade lower than C can be credited to the major. Foundation Courses (43-46 credits)
Zoology and Marine Vertebrate Core (13 credits)
Marine Biology (12-16 credits)
Three electives from below:
Notes:
* These courses can be used as electives if not used as an alternative to MAR 349 . Other classes may be substituted with permission of undergraduate director Upper-Division Writing Requirement
The advanced writing component of the major in MVB requires registration in, and satisfactory completion of, the 0-credit MAR 459 or SUS 459 (S/U grading) along with enrollment in an approved advanced course that entails writing of either a term paper or a laboratory report. Completion of MAR 459 or SUS 459 with a grade of S will also result in fulfillment of the WRTD requirement. A list of preapproved courses can be found at http://www.somas.stonybrook.edu/education/undergraduate/. Successful completion of BIO 459 will also be accepted for MVB majors. Notes:
- MAT 131 , MAT 132 or MAT 141, MAT 142 or MAT 171 or AMS 151 , AMS 161 may be substituted for MAT 125 , MAT 126 .
- PHY 125 , PHY 126 /PHY 133 , PHY 127 /PHY 134 or PHY 131 /PHY 133 , PHY 132 /PHY 134 or PHY 141 /PHY 133 , PHY 142 /PHY 134 may be substituted for the two-semester physics sequences listed above. MAR 352 may also be substituted for PHY 127 / PHY 134 or PHY 132 / PHY 134 or PHY 142 / PHY 134 .
- BIO 207 may be substituted for BIO 205 .
- CHE 129 /CHE 130 may be substituted for CHE 131 . CHE 152 may be substituted for CHE 131 +CHE 132 .
- CHE 331 may be substituted for CHE 321 .
- CHE 152 , CHE 154 , CHE 331 may be substituted for CHE 131 /CHE 132 /CHE 133 /CHE 134 /CHE 321 .
- ANT 300 (formerly ANP 300) Human Anatomy or HAN 200 Human Anatomy and Physiology for Health Science I may be substituted for MAR 362 or BIO 344 .
Marine Vertebrate Biology Honors Program
Graduation with departmental honors in Marine Vertebrate Biology requires the following: - Students are eligible to participate in the Honors Program if they have a 3.50 GPA in all courses for the major by the end of the junior year. Students should apply to the SoMAS undergraduate director for permission to participate.
- Students must prepare an honors thesis based on a research project written in the form of a paper for a scientific journal. A student interested in becoming a candidate for honors should submit an outline of the proposed thesis research project to the SoMAS undergraduate director as early as possible, but no later than the second week of classes in the last semester. The student will be given an oral examination in May on his or her research by his or her research supervisor and the undergraduate research committee. The awarding of honors requires the recommendation of this committee and recognizes superior performance in research and scholarly endeavors. The written thesis must be submitted before the end of the semester in which the student is graduating.
- If the student maintains a GPA of 3.5 in all courses in their major through senior year and receives a recommendation by the undergraduate research committee, he or she will receive departmental honors.
BS Degree in Marine Vertebrate Biology/MS Degree in Marine Vertebrate Biology
Students interested in this program, intended to prepare students for professional employment or graduate school in the field of marine vertebrate biology and marine science, may apply for admission at the end of the junior year. Students in this combined B.S./M.S. program may complete both degrees in 10 semesters plus two summers (although the exact timing will depend on the student’s progress on the research thesis). Entry in the combined B.S./M.S. program is contingent upon a student identifying a thesis advisor, so students should seek out research experience in the laboratories of prospective advisor prior to the end of their junior year. During the fourth year, students take a mixture of undergraduate and graduate courses (6-12 credits). After the 8 th semester (during the summer), students begin M.S. level research. During the fifth year, students complete the remaining graduate requirements for the M.S., likely needing the following summer to complete the research project. The two to four 500-level MAR courses taken during the senior year may be counted toward required or elective requirements of the undergraduate Marine Science major. Please visit the SoMAS website http://somas.stonybrook.edu/ for further information on the Marine Sciences programs. SBC Courses
This table illustrates major courses that can also be used to fulfill SBC requirements. (See Note 1 & Note 2) | SBC Category | Required Major Courses | Optional Major Courses (see Note 3) | | ARTS | | | | GLO | | | | HUM | | | | LANG (see Note 4) | | | | QPS | MAT 125, MAT 126 | AMS 102, AMS 110 | | SBS | | | | SNW | BIO 201, CHE 131, CHE 132 | ENS 119/PHY 119, PHY 121, PHY 122, PHY 125, PHY 126, PHY 127, PHY 141, PHY 142 | | TECH | | | | USA | | | | WRT | | | | STAS | | MAR 315. MAR 394 | | EXP+ | | MAR 388, MAR 487, MAR 488 | | HFA+ | | | | SBS+ | | | | STEM+ | BIO 202, BIO 203, CHE 321 | BIO 342, BIO 351, BIO 353, EBH 359, MAR 303, MAR 352, MAR 384, MAR 388 | | CER | | | | DIV (see Note 5) | | | | ESI | | MAR 315, MAR 380, MAR 388, MAR 394 | | SPK | | | | WRTD | | BIO 459, MAR 380, MAR 459, SUS 459 | Note 1: Some course information may be subject to change. Please contact your major advisor for additional consultation. Note 2: For majors that require study in a related area or completion of a minor, visit the respective program’s “Major SBC Courses” page to view expanded SBC options. Note 3: Denotes any course in which students can choose from more than one option. These may include, but are not limited to, major electives, concentration/track/specialization courses, or calculus/physics/chemistry sequences. Note 4: CEAS majors, the Athletic Training major, the Respiratory Care major, and the Clinical Laboratory Sciences major are exempt from the LANG learning objective. Students enrolled in the major in Social Work are exempt from the LANG learning objective, but are required to enroll in and pass with a letter grade of C or higher the first semester of an elementary foreign language course numbered 111, or satisfy through alternate methods. Note 5: Students are responsible for completing the general education requirements published in the Bulletin that was current as of the first semester of matriculation (or rematriculation). The following student groups must satisfy the DIV learning objective as part of their degree requirements: - Freshmen who matriculate in the Fall of 2019 or later
- Transfer students who matriculate in the Spring of 2020 or later
- Students who rematriculate in the Fall of 2019 or later
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