The ECOMAMA master programme
Curriculum of the Master in Ecological Marine Management
The programme puts strong emphasis on acquiring skills, both in marine research and management. It requires full-time attendance and active participation in lectures and practical exercises, visits to marine research centers, field trips and excursions.
The first year of the master programme mainly aims at acquiring fundamental knowledge and skills in marine research through the following courses:
Fundamental courses (27 ECTS*):
- Physical and Chemical Oceanography (6 ECTS)
- Marine Ecology and Biodiversity (6 ECTS)
- Marine Geology and Coastal Erosion (6 ECTS)
- Marine Pollution and Ecotoxicology (6 ECTS)
- Marine Microbiology (3 ECTS)
Specialization courses (6 ECTS):
- Marine Ecophysiology (3 ECTS)
- Molecular Ecology of the Marine Environment (3 ECTS)
Supporting courses (18 ECTS):
- Applied Mathematics (3 ECTS)
- Statistics (3 ECTS)
- Climatology and Climate Change (3 ECTS)
- Tropical Coastal Biocomplexity (3 ECTS)
- Introduction to Geographic Information Systems (GIS) (3 ECTS)
- Information Retrieval, Management and Presentation (3 ECTS)
Laboratory and Field training sessions (9 ECTS):
- Practical Exercises, Field Training and Seminars on Development Cooperation (9 ECTS) aimed at training students in (1) developing optimal sampling strategies and experimental designs to tackle a given question in marine ecology; (2) carrying out the research autonomously; (2) interpreting obtained data with appropriate statistical and mathematical tools; (4) critically discussing and reporting results; (5) understanding basic notions of development economics, identifying the main stakeholders and the appropriate instruments for development
The second year of the master programme focuses on research and the scientific approach to management issues.
Advanced core courses are (21 ECTS):
- Ecosystem Modelling (6 ECTS)
- Bio-Statistics (3 ECTS)
- Marine Optics and Remote Sensing (3 ECTS)
- Scientific Reporting and Didactics (3 ECTS)
- Data-management of the Marine Environment (6 ECTS)
Students also choose 6+3 ECTs from a list of specialized courses:
- Exploitation and Management of Coastal Resources (6ECTS)
- Recent Developments in Marine Biodiversity (6 ECTS)
- Environmental monitoring and Biomarkers of anthropogenic stress (6 ECTS)
- Law of the Sea (3 ECTS)
- International Environmental Policy and Law (3 ECTS)
Finally, students can spend at least 3 ECTS on electives, according to their own interest and future career prospects. The following electives are included as part of the curriculum of ECOMAMA:
- Integrated Coastal Zone Management (3 ECTS)
- Recent Internet Development for Information Management (3 ECTS)
- Geographical Information Systems (3 ECTS)
- Field Work (3 ECTS)
- Environmental Economy (3 ECTS)
- Surface Water Modelling (5 ECTS)
- Environmental Risk Management (3 ECTS)
- Ecology and Industry (3 ECTS)
- Water and Waste Water Treatment (3 ECTS)
- Sustainable Development (3 ECTS)
- Ecosystem Management (6 ECTS)
- Environmental Economy (3 ECTS)
- Environmental Education (3 ECTS)
- Global Change (3 ECTS)
The Master programme also offers optional internships (6 ECTS) of 3-4 weeks in the participating laboratories or institutes under the supervision of a marine expert.
Special attention is given to the Master thesis (27 ECTS): students carry out an independent research project, under the supervision of a promoter, and prepare a master thesis manuscript, i.e. a written account of the research and results. If possible and relevant, students are encouraged to select a research subject pertaining to problems and needs in their home country. Also, a list of possible research topics is given on the website.
ECTS (European Credit Transfer and Accumulation System) credits are values that are allocated to course units to describe the student workload that is required to complete them. The credits reflect the quantity of work each course requires in relation to the total quantity of work required to complete a full year of academic study at an institution: lectures, practical work, seminars, etc.