Graduate Program

In addition to the Bachelor’s degree, a select number of students are admitted to the Master’s program. If you are interested in an advanced degree in Marine Biology at Occidental College, whether you’ve earned your undergraduate degree from Occidental or elsewhere, here are highlights of what you need to know:

  • Call or e-mail the Biology office about the application process, deadlines and financial aid.
  • Prepare for the GRE General Test as well as the GRE Subject Test in Biology; scores from both exams are required for admission.
  • A minimum of 30 units must be taken and a thesis research project must be completed to earn a Masters degree.
  • Students generally complete the coursework and thesis research in two years

    • Recent graduate projects include:

    Mariculture Pen Sampling
  • Chris Oakes (advisor: Pondella) - completed in 2006.
    • The value of a mariculture net-cage as a fish aggregating device (FAD) in southern California.
      Published: Oakes, C., and D. Pondella II. 2009. The Value of a Net‐Cage as a Fish Aggregating Device in Southern California. Journal of the World Aquaculture Society 40: 1-21. .pdf


  • Alanna Martin (advisors: Goffredi and Martin) - expected completion in 2011.
    • Describing a new species of deep sea clam found near cold seeps off the coast of Costa Rica using morphological and molecular techniques to describe the bivalve host and characterize its chemoautotrophic bacterial symbionts (with Dr. Goffredi)
      • Giant Keyhole Limpet
    • Identifying the cell type in the limpet Megathura crenulata, which produces Keyhole Limpet Hemocyanin (KLH), a respiratory plasma protein important in immunological studies and clinical trials in the treatment of cancer using light microscopy, transmission and scanning electron microscopy, immunolocalization of KLH and in situ hybridization to detect mRNA for KLH. Other projects focus on the activity of hemocytes and plasma proteins in fighting bacterial infections (with Dr. Martin)


    • Sargo
  • Mel Mandrup (advisor: Pondella) - expected completion in 2011.
    • Demographics of an incidental catch species, sargo (Anisotremus davidsonii) from the Southern California Bight and potential implications for ecosystem-based management



    • Need more information?
    E-mail Dr. Gary Martin or call him at (323) 259-2890.

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