Coastal and Marine Management

Contents

Coastal and Marine Management is a cross-disciplinary resource management program that focuses on coastal and marine issues and mainly draws on three different fields: ecology, politics and economics. The program is internationally oriented, and all instruction and correspondence is in English. All instruction takes place in Ísafjörður at the University Centre of the Westfjords, but the degree is conferred by the University of Akureyri, one of Iceland´s state-run universities.

Degrees / numbers of credits

Students graduate with a M.R.M. degree (Master of Resource Management) with specialization in coastal and marine management. The program comprises 120 ECTS units at the master's level; students complete 75 ECTS in the form of coursework and 45 ECTS in the form of a thesis. Courses are taught in three terms, 30 ECTS during autumn and spring terms, and 12 ECTS during the summer term. Each course corresponds to 6 ECTS units. Students can also attend the course Writing Centre, which corresponds to 2 ECTS during autumn term and 1 ECTS during the spring term. At the end of the summer term an extra 6 ECTS course will also be offered. The first six courses in the program form a core which all students must complete. The second the final six or seven courses, are electives.

Prerequisites for admission / evaluation of applications

The prerequisite for admission to the program is completion of an undergraduate university degree; it is irrelevant whether this is a BA, BS or BEd. Application and registration forms are available both in electronic form and for printing. Each applicant also writes a letter in which he or she explains the motivation for applying for this program and his or her expectations for the program.

Specialization within the program

Each student must complete six core courses (36 ECTS). Following completion of the core courses, students may choose one of two courses in each three-week unit: that is, during each three-week unit, two courses are offered and students can decide which course they choose. Each student must complete either 42 ECTS in the form of elective courses or 36 ECTS plus the 3 ECTS Writing Centre course. It is possible to take elective courses at other universities, such as a partner institution. In each instance the Masters Program Committee must assess whether the course in question fits the theme of Coastal and Marine Management.

Duration of studies

It is assumed that the program will take less than one year at a normal pace apart from the thesis. The program is set up in such a way that students begin their studies in September and complete all coursework in three trimesters (fall - spring - summer). Following this, they will have yet to complete a 45 ECTS thesis, which is expected to take one term. However, there is no obligation to complete the program at this pace. Students can of course decide for themselves how many ECTS they take per term and can thus distribute the program over a longer period of time. This might be appropriate if, for instance, the program were completed while students were working.

Division into terms and units

The program is divided into four terms. The autumn and spring terms are further divided into five instructional units during which time students complete one 6 ECTS course in the space of three weeks for a total of 30 ECTS per term. The summer term is divided into four instructional units and after that students start work on their theses. See further the plan of instruction. Courses are taught one at a time, i.e., students complete one course every three weeks, except for the Writing Centre course which is ongoing throughout the autumn and spring terms. According to standard practice, it is assumed that 2 ECTS correspond to one week's work which amounts to 50-60 hours of workload per week.

Individually structured studies

Arranging instruction into units in this way makes it easier for a small institution in a rural area to recruit top instructors from elsewhere. The intention smallness of the University Centre is also exploited to the utmost to make the studies as individually structured as possible. A high priority for the program is that both instructors and staff members are accessible to students. Individually structured studies also entail assessing for credit the knowledge or competence at the graduate level which a student has previously acquired or which he or she intends to acquire outside the University Centre of the Westfjords, e.g., at a collaborating institution. This type of system fully exploits new teaching methods, such as projects, a supervisory system, participation in studies abroad, field schools, etc.

Core courses and electives

Core courses comprise a total of 36 ECTS, which all students must complete.

Core courses:

• Integrated Coastal and Marine Management - 6 ECTS
• Society and Natural Resources- 6 ECTS
• Economics of Coastal and Marine Environments - 6 ECTS
• Coastal and Marine Politics and Policy - 6 ECTS
• Physical Processes of Coastal and Marine Environment - 6 ECTS
• Coastal and Marine Ecology - 6 ECTS

In addition, each student must complete either 36 ECTS in the form of electives plus the 3 ECTS unit course Writing Centre or 42 ECTS in the form of seven electives.

Master‘s thesis

Students will complete a Master's thesis for 45 ECTS. It is assumed that students will work on their thesis after completing all courses; thus students will not have to be located in Ísafjörður while working on their thesis unless they wish to be there. Students are free to conduct their thesis, for instance, at the collaborating institution.