university of cape town biological sciences

APPLIED OCEAN SCIENCES MSc (AOS)

BIO5012W Applied Ocean Sciences Coursework

Students will enrol (and pay fees) for both courses BIO5012W and BIO5015W in their first year of registration; where the minor dissertation is not submitted by the February deadline of the subsequent year, the student will be required to enrol (and pay fees) for the minor dissertation component in the subsequent year/s.

90 NQF credits at HEQSF level 9

Convener: Dr C Reed, A/Prof Marcello Vichi

Course entry requirements: A relevant honours degree (or equivalent) in marine science, engineering or any closely related field. The course is intended for professionals interested in working in the field of applied marine science. The course is designed for both recent graduates as well as those with several years’ experience and who wish to gain skills to operate in the ocean services sector, with a focus on operational and conservational activities, food, water quality, recreation preservation and other aspects of the Blue Economy.

Course outline: The Applied Oceans Science masters degree is a 13-month programme commencing in mid January every year and comprising a coursework component (50%) and a short research project to be written up as a mini-dissertation (50%). Students will choose a curriculum from one of two streams: Operational Oceanography (SEA5011F) or Applied Marine Biology (BIO5014F). In addition, the curriculum contains one compulsory course for all students: the Fundamentals of Applied Marine Sciences (BIO5013F). This course includes modules that cover numerical skills and statistics, scientific computing and data management, descriptive and instrumental oceanography as well as project management and scientific writing. The disciplinary course in Operational Oceanography (SEA5013F) comprises detailed modules on operational oceanography, climate and ocean diagnostics, marine biogeochemistry and ocean instrumentation and monitoring. The disciplinary course in Applied Marine Biology (BIO5014F) includes topics such as an introduction to marine ecology, the South African fisheries and resource economics, marine law, ecosystem approach to fisheries and decision analyses, marine conservation, aquaculture and multivariate analyses. In addition to these modules student from each stream will be allowed to take at least two electives from interdisciplinary modules on offer every year.

Mini-dissertation component: The mini-dissertation is by definition smaller in scope than one completed where the dissertation counts for the full degree. Students will be offered topics for research projects once they have arrived and registered for the course in January. Topics may cover any aspect of applied marine science and may be taken through the departments of Biological Sciences (BIO5015W), Oceanography (SEA5012W) or Environmental and Geographical Sciences (EGS5044W). See respective departmental entries for details of each.

DP requirements: To qualify students must pass all coursework components with an aggregate mark of 50%. A supplementary evaluation may be conceded under exceptional circumstances if the aggregate mark is between 45% and 50%. A composite grade of the performance on the coursework component as a whole will be reflected against the assessment course BIO5012W. The minor dissertation component counts 50% of the degree. We reserve the right to ask students to leave part way through the course if their progress is deemed unsatisfactory.

ssessment: Students are assessed on each module, with formal marks for essays, presentations and mini-projects, and in some cases for class tests.

BIO5015W Applied OCEAN ScienceS Minor Dissertation

Students will enrol (and pay fees) for both courses BIO5012W and BIO5015W in their first year of registration; where the minor dissertation is not submitted by the February deadline of the subsequent year, the student will be required to enrol (and pay fees) for the minor dissertation component in the subsequent year/s.

90 NQF credits at HEQSF level 9

Convener: Dr C Reed

Course entry requirements: BIO5012W (BIO5013F and one of SEA5011F or BIO5013F)

Course outline:

The research component must be submitted as a minor dissertation for formal examination. The expected duration of the research component is 5-6 months.

Assessment: The minor dissertation must be presented for formal examination. The coursework and minor dissertation each count 50% towards the degree Applied Ocean Sciences (BIO5013W); each must be passed separately for the award of the degree

Visit the course website here.

 

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CONSERVATION BIOLOGY MSc

(BIO5007H and BIO5008W)
(by coursework and minor dissertation)
Coursework (BIO5007H): NQF credits: 90 HEQS-F at level 9
Minor Dissertation (BIO5008W): NQF credits: 90 HEQS-F at level 9

This programme is run by the DST-NRF Centre of Excellence in Birds as Keys to Biodiversity Conservation at the Percy FitzPatrick Institute

Convener: Dr Susan Cunningham and Professor P G Ryan

Course outline: A one-year intensive programme deals with the conservation and biologically sustainable and economically viable use of biodiversity. It provides the education and training necessary to identify threatened species, ecosystems and ecological processes, and to develop appropriate measures to mitigate against, or reduce the effects of, particular threats to biodiversity. From a utilisation perspective, it focuses on biological and socio-economic criteria necessary to select species and areas of utilisation and the development of appropriate management and monitoring strategies. This programme is intended for students concerned with both the theory and practise of conservation and consists of two components. The coursework component (BIO5007H) is a series of modules covering a range of fields of conservation biology: philosophy of science and conservation ethics; community ecology, population ecology, biodiversity basics, ecosystem/aquatic ecology, disturbance and restoration ecology, invasive species, complex systems concepts, landscape ecology, GIS and conservation planning, climate change and conservation, resource economics, conservation genetics, societies and natural resources. Each student receives a mark for each of the modules, and the modules are examined in groups during ‘open-book’ examinations. The research component (BIO5008W) must be submitted as a minor dissertation for formal examination. A pass in both components is required for the degree. It should be completed by mid-February following first registration. Those students already in possession of a Masters degree, or in exceptional cases those who wish to upgrade to a PhD, may expand a project in accord with the normal pursuit of that degree at UCT. A handbook for the programme is available here