“I remember wanting to be a marine biologist when I was a kid!”

This tends to be the most frequent reaction I get when telling someone what I study. And to this, I say, why not pursue your dream career? The MSc in Marine Systems and Policies program at the University of Edinburgh has made this aspiration a reality, strengthening my undergraduate training in marine science while also offering the chance to study the governance, or the more social science side of the field, in depth. After a restful winter break, I am fortunate to look back on a first semester filled with field trips, dancing, new friendships, games, and countless trips to the library.

The semester kicked off with a field trip to Dundee to tour the RRS Discovery. Besides learning about the expeditions that took place on this ship, this excursion gave our small cohort of 23 students a chance to get to know each other.

The following week, we met up for a small picnic at Portobello beach. Throughout the semester, the cohort continued to schedule events, whether that be for birthdays, holidays, study sessions, or pub crawls. Having a cohort is one of the many great things about this program as navigating this course, and a new city for most, with others has significantly enhanced the experience.

For this semester, we had the option to take an elective class on top of our two required classes. Most of our cohort took Coastal Environments and Communities, a class concerned with coastal communities around Scotland, emphasizing the social element of marine science. A main part of this class was focused on creating a hypothetical consultation for North Berwick, a seaside town just half an hour from Edinburgh. This class gave us hands-on, practical experience in designing and conducting an experiment while also learning about the policies and legislation surrounding the assets and rights of coastal communities in Scotland. The field trip to North Berwick to collect the data for this project was a fun aspect of this class.

We also took Marine Ecosystems and Policies, a class that highlighted a different marine ecosystem each week. What I loved most about this class was the variety of guest speakers that were invited to present. For example, one week we learned about deep-sea mining from an expert on the deep-sea, and the next we would be discussing the polar oceans. The professor of this class hosted additional “Breakfast Briefings” every Monday to help us digest the content we were learning. These sessions were a great start to the week, not to mention there being an incentive of a free breakfast if we went!

Sustainable Marine Development was my personal favorite class, due to the use of a very serious learning technique: gaming. For three or four weeks of the semester, we laid out a giant board game and practiced real life scenarios that involved Marine Spatial Planning (MSP), or the sustainable utilization and development of a marine space.

Some people took on the role of policy makers, others became conservationists. I represented local communities, making sure to prioritize and voice their needs throughout the exercise.

While gaming was certainly insightful, the highlight of this class was our field trip to St. Abbs. About an hour away from Edinburgh, we hiked breathtaking seaside cliffs and observed hundreds of seals care for their newly born pups.

While cohort specific events were always fun, the GeoSciences ceilidh gave us the opportunity to mingle with students in other programs. We had a very fun night of dancing and eating. If you haven’t attended a ceilidh, make sure to wear proper shoes and get ready to continuously and quickly break the ice as you dance with strangers!

The Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland (MASTS) conference in Glasgow coincided with our first semester, giving our cohort the opportunity to hear about the groundbreaking research occurring around Scotland and network with employers. This event, along with our program dissertation mixer, helped us to begin brainstorming about dissertation projects and meet potential advisors. At the dissertation mixer, we were able to talk with industry and academic partners as well as previous students of the program. It was intriguing to see the possibilities for dissertations and future careers, making these two events key moments from the semester focused on our career development.

The semester ended with a program-funded Christmas dinner. Here, the cohort reminisced on the semester, shared our plans for the holidays, and played an intense round of white elephant. I ended up with a book as my gift, which I was more than happy with!

Overall, I am already looking back on my first semester as a master’s student fondly. Besides academics, I was able to join several societies including the EUMS Sinfonia Orchestra and the Kolour dance team. Balancing schoolwork with hobbies was difficult but needed, as these breaks to practice and perform helped keep me motivated. I also began working as a postgraduate Student Ambassador and have been able to interact with prospective students and others passionate about the university experience.

Despite all these amazing opportunities and experiences, the semester was not without its challenges. However, I hope the overwhelming positive aspects of my semester at the University of Edinburgh encourages others to pursue a degree at the School of GeoSciences and provides insight about what the life of a master’s student in Marine Systems and Policies looks like.

______________________________________

Learn more about our MSc in Marine Systems and Policies

Our MSc programme places you right at the forefront of the fast-paced interface between marine science and policy that deals with these sustainability challenges.

You will get to learn from real-world practitioners and people with lived experiences through global case studies and field trips.

MSc Marine Systems and Policies

Please note that course content is subject to change each year.

My first semester as an MSc Marine Systems and Policies student / School of GeoSciences Blog by School of GeoSciences Marketing & Recruitment Team is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution CC BY 3.0

Share