“Our world’s oceans and the life that inhabits them are finally beginning to receive long overdue and badly needed attention and resources,” said Dr. Ellen K. Pikitch, executive director, of the Institute for Ocean 
Conservation Science at Stony Brook University (SBU). Dr. Pikitch is among a group of scientists who are teaching the first course offered through a new graduate program, M.A. in Marine Conservation and Policy. SBU’s School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (SoMAS) launched the new program at the start of the 2010 fall semester. It is the first program of its kind in New York State and one of only a few such programs in the country.
The one-year M.A. program balances coursework in marine science, marine conservation biology, and quantitative analysis with classes in marine management, economics, policy, or law. And, through a collaboration with the SBU School of Journalism’s Center for Communicating Science, the program also aims to equip students with skills that will help them communicate more effectively with the public, public officials, and the media. From Stony Brook, New York